Local couple collects over 900 pounds of bottle caps to build an anti-bullying ‘Kindness Bench’
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
All it takes is one person with a vision and a team of support behind them to create something wonderful. Langhorne’s Millie Spencer had just joined a local networking group when one encounter and a spark of interest led to the kids at FDR Middle School in Bristol receiving a “Kindness Bench” made from hundreds of pounds of recycled plastic caps.
About eight months ago, Spencer was retired from the corporate world while her husband ran the Langhorne-based shop, Elegant Flooring and Design. She needed something to fill her time, so he suggested she join a few networking groups to meet new people. After becoming a member of Linked Ladies of Langhorne, Spencer was introduced to a fellow member who mentioned a volunteer-based project she was working on. Spencer learned how the woman had been collecting plastic bottle caps for months, which were to be donated and turned into a bench for a school in Chicago. The idea behind the project was to deter bullying and create a space for students to sit and talk.
Spencer was immediately hooked on the idea, though she wasn’t crazy about doing all of that work for a school so far away. She wanted to promote anti-bullying and recycling in her own backyard of Bucks County. Quickly, she learned the process wasn’t going to be easy. Acceptable caps had to be a certain size, and hundreds of pounds of caps were needed just for one bench. But Spencer was determined.
At the time, Spencer was taking Zumba classes at St. Mary’s Wellness Center. After receiving support from her instructor, Lorrain Goodwin, she was able to promote her cause to the class, setting up a collection station at the gym for water bottle caps. Though things were finally getting started, they were moving slowly, with Spencer collecting about 200 pounds of caps between August and February, which was still several hundred pounds away from her goal.
“I remember saying to my husband, can we even do this?” she recalls.
Thankfully, Spencer’s Zumba friends came through. One of her classmates used to teach at FDR Middle School and was able to put her in touch with the principal, who was on board for the challenge. Spencer spoke directly with the school’s student council about the project and the message behind it, and they created a touching promotional video entitled “Kaps for Kindness” to spread awareness in the community. With the student council’s help, an additional 400 pounds were collected, which was finally enough to create a Kindness Bench.
Little did Spencer know, additional communities were silently collecting caps for the cause as well. St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Newtown included a message about the program in its bulletin, a sister at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church in Warminster spread the word in her community and even St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls in Philadelphia joined in. From February to May, Spencer’s project took off, and she not only had enough caps to have a bench made for FDR Middle School, but also one to have donated to St. Andrew’s for its enthusiasm in collecting so many caps without any sort of promotion.
At this point, Spencer and her husband had more than 900 pounds of caps in their home. Thanks to Kim Williams, treasurer at Rolling Hills Elementary School, they were able to call upon the help of the local Boy Cubs Scouts Pack 147 and Junior Girls Scouts Troop 2009, who assisted with sorting the caps into larger bags.
With the caps loaded into their massive Elegant Flooring and Design van, the husband and wife set off for their journey to Evansville, Ind., the home of Green Tree Plastics, manufacturer of the Kindness Bench. As luck would have it, it poured throughout the long drive. By the time they reached Indiana, the Spencers were exhausted, but they were finally able to take home the two benches they worked so hard to make a reality.
On May 31, the Spencers were seen in the parking lot of FDR Middle School, putting the finishing touches on the bench as the student council and teachers excitedly emerged from the building to see the final product. The Kindness Bench was placed front and center in the school’s hallway, so passing students can use it to foster new friendships and help to eliminate loneliness and bullying.
Now that she can relax from her journey to Evansville, Millie Spencer wants to thank everyone who played a part in making her vision a reality: Lorrain Goodwin, the Zumba instructor at St. Mary’s Wellness Center, as well as Pat and Janet who helped her carry the bags of caps to her car; the ladies who attend the Zumba class and all of the gym members who donated caps; Bob Derderian at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church who included the program in the church bulletin; Sister Rosemarie Lafferty and Mrs. Patricia Dougherty, assistant principal at St. Hubert’s Catholic High School; St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church; Kim Steinberger and Robyn Battershell at FDR Middle School who accepted the challenge to partner with her; Williams, treasurer of Rolling Hills Elementary School, who contacted the local Boy Cub Scouts and Junior Girls Scouts; Bonnie for her donation to help purchase the bench for FDR Middle School; and last but not least, her husband, who took time from his business to drive to Evansville. ••
