Volunteer group works to repair damaged benches at Lehigh Acres school bus stops

Benches in a community were found damaged recently after they were originally put in place to make sure children are safe at school bus stops.

Benches for schoolkids waiting to be picked up are no longer suitable for use at public stops in Lehigh Acres Wednesday. These are benches that are of great significance to the community.

“I was in utter shock,” said Karen Ambrose, a director at Shield4Kids.

Multiple benches were found broken or in piece recently.

“I just couldn’t believe why somebody would go to that extent to take a bench apart,” Ambrose said.

Shielf4Kids is a volunteer group that put benches up to keep kids safe while they wait for their school bus.

“It’s just cars flying by,” Waldo Matos said. “They don’t pay attention to the speed limit.”

Local families aren’t sure who is doing this, but they want it to stop, since it’s the one thing keeping their loved ones away from harm.

“Those benches are everywhere, and it’s good because kids should be able to sit there instead of sitting on the streets,” Khezia Goodman said.

“Why are you breaking it for?” Jose Retana said. “This is for the kids. You know? It’s safety.”

One of the benches found damaged in Lehigh Acres has already been repaired.

Ambrose says people who share their concerns can help. If you see damaged or broken benches moving forward, reach out to Shield4Kids on Facebook, so group members can go out and repair benches quickly.

“These benches are there for the kids,” Ambrose said. “Let’s not take something away from them that people worked so hard to get out there.”

MORE: Shiled4Kids volunteer group Facebook page