'Buddy Bench' to Honor Long Valley Teen Who Lost Cancer Battle

Brendt Migliaccio was a brave young man who was buddies with just about everyone.

The Long Valley teen died earlier this year after a four-year battle with Medulloblastoma, a cancerous tumor on the back of the brain.

A group of students at Flocktown-Kossmann School are hoping to preserve his legacy and all he stood for – “Be Brave” was his catch phrase – by bringing a “Buddy Bench” to the campus in Migliaccio’s name.

After learning about a student in York, Pennsylvania, who introduced the “Buddy Bench” at his school, eight second-grade girls approached Principal Michael Craver about the idea, who then gave the go-ahead.

A “Buddy Bench” is a designated seating area where students feeling lonely or upset can seek camaraderie, according to a report in the York Daily Record.

Madeline Morgan, Katherine Morgan, Kyra Demarest, Keira Ochten, Savanna Murata, Violet McMeen, Sabrina Gumersell, and Taylor Weth would paint the bench, which is currently undergoing a fundraising effort, according to Michelle Lis, who is guiding the project through Kids4Kindness.

Fifty-percent of the cost has been covered thus far, but the group is hoping for more donations to help the project come to fruition, Lis said. Anyone interested in donating can send a check to kids4kindness Club, P.O. Box 202, Long Valley, NJ 07853.