04/03/2026
In collaboration with The Steel Yard, we were able to install a buddy bench on the playground of Warwick Early Learning Center to honor our dear friend and fellow preschooler, Liam Dempsey.
A buddy bench is a place where children can sit when they are wishing for someone to play with. The children are taught that if a student is sitting on the buddy bench, that means they are looking for a friend to play with. Then those friends know to go initiate play. It is a way to support and encourage early childhood friendships.
This buddy bench is very special because our hearts still ache for the young friend we lost. We think about him when we see purple flowers growing around Warwick, when we walk into our building each morning, and even when we see random dinosaur toys sitting in the hallways and classrooms of our preschool building. Liam was a bright, smiley, playful boy who was taken from us abruptly.
WELC has been working in collaboration with The Steel Yard of Providence, to create this one-of-a-kind memorial to honor Liam and celebrate his young life. This has been an amazing project that reminds us what community is all about. Rhode Island and Warwick specifically, is a place where even in the face of horrific tragedy, people come together. In a time of total sadness, we find ways to comfort, build, create, and connect.
A special thank you to The Steel Yard and staff donations that made our preschool’s wish come true with a buddy bench that was even more incredible that what we had imagined. This is such a bright, happy way to honor the memory of Liam and allow his energy to touch other children by finding friends to play with.
We will be having a ceremony to dedicate this bench to our friend Liam in an upcoming Playground Party this May. We will celebrate his life with a ribbon cutting for the bench, music, bubbles, dinosaurs, and snacks while we share the experience and wonder of building early childhood friendships through play.
We miss you Liam. Our hearts and prayers are still with you and your family. 💜🦕
Warwick Public Schools
