Plum's Pivik Elementary students have new place to make friends courtesy of distinguished alumni couple

Pivik Elementary students have a new place to sit and make friends.

A Buddy Bench recently was donated to the K-4 school in the Plum School District by Renee DeMichiei Farrow and her husband, Bob.

Both are distinguished alumni and wanted to give back to the borough.

Renee Farrow said they were looking for a bench to honor their family at the Renton ballfield when the idea of giving one to the school district came up.

She said she knows what it’s like to be a bully and get bullied as a child and wanted to promote a more positive student lifestyle.

“That’s what it’s all about, making a difference,” Farrow said. “I just think it’s a really great thing.”

The bench is a tool to help students to express acts of kindness.

Students can choose to sit on the bench to signal they are looking for someone to play with or having a difficult day. When another child sees someone sitting on the bench, they are encouraged to invite them to play.

The project took almost a year. The family got the customized bench from Tree Top Products in Batavia, Ill.

“It’s been well received,” Principal Kristen Gestrich said. “I think especially this year students come in to school with extra worries. It’s nice to give them another way of making a friend or finding someone to play with without having to worry about it.”

The 4-foot bench is made of composite resin material. It was installed near the school’s KaBOOM! playground.

Gestrich made a video talking about the bench and of her reading “The Buddy Bench” by Patty Bronzo to help spread school awareness of the project.

Plum students have the option of five-day in-person learning or learning online.

Pivik has about 740 students enrolled, with more than 600 of them in the building each day.

Renee Farrow grew up in Renton. Elementary students in that neighborhood attend Pivik since the Renton school closed years ago.

There is a plaque behind the bench commemorating the donation.

“Me and my husband weren’t top of our classes, and we both have done very well,” Farrow said. “For a young child to see that and think, ‘What’s a distinguished alumni?’ That opens up a conversation to have people strive for things.”

Bob Farrow, a 1974 graduate and member of Pittsburgh Paramedics’ inaugural class, started a life of community service as a Unity Volunteer Fire Department junior firefighter. He was the city’s hazardous material team chief for many years and moved through the ranks of every position in its EMS department.

He retired as Pittsburgh’s EMS chief.

Renee Farrow, a 1976 graduate, is the director of business development for Architectural Innovations, a former entrepreneur, small-business advocate and two-time author among other accomplishments.