Sammie Vance is an Indiana native who founded Sammie’s Buddy Bench Project in 2017 when she was just eight years old. She wanted an easy way for kids to make friends, so she started collecting plastic bottle caps that could be turned
into a Buddy Bench for her school. The project has been a huge hit and there are hundreds of Buddy Benches in schools across the country. The project was a hit (and still is)! Fast-forward to now, and hundreds of Sammie’s Buddy Benches fill public spaces across the country.
Panhandle Creek Press is proud to release a new edition of Sammie’s book, Inspire the World: A Kid’s Journey to Making a Difference, coming winter of 2026.