A BJWC Legacy Project
Safety Town
A miniature town on Grove Avenue where Barrington five year olds learn to cross a street, stop at a light and find a firefighter. Built in 1997 with community support, it has run every summer since.
What it is
Two weeks that stick with you
Safety Town is a summer program for children entering kindergarten or first grade, run by BJWC at its permanent site at The Orchard, 1301 S. Grove Avenue. Campers ride trikes through a miniature town with real buildings, street signs, traffic lights and a working railroad crossing. They learn pedestrian, bicycle, fire, water, poison, animal and playground safety, along with stranger awareness, and they meet the Barrington police officers and firefighters who keep the town running.
The story so far
Built, broken, rebuilt
The permanent Safety Town site is built through community support, giving the program a real place instead of a borrowed parking lot.
Safety Town is vandalized. Two buildings, street signs and a traffic light are damaged. None of it structural, and camp opens on schedule.
Safety Town turns 20. The club throws a birthday party at the gates and invites the whole town.
Union Pacific donates a full size railroad crossing gate and designates the site "Train Town USA."
Safety Town is vandalized repeatedly in the weeks before camp. Most of the buildings and fixtures are extensively damaged.
Every building and walkway is repaired. The club opens street sign sponsorships at $100 to modernize the signs, and 195 children come through four sessions with 43 middle and high school volunteers.
Registration opens to BJWC members first, then the public. It fills fast.
Who makes it work
A town takes a village
Student volunteers
Middle and high schoolers run sessions alongside the directors. Many of them came through Safety Town as campers.
First responders
Barrington police officers and firefighters visit every session, and campers tour the Public Safety Building.
Local partners
The Barrington Area Library, the Park District, Metra, BASA and others bring guest lessons. Village Cycle tunes up the bikes for free.
The fashion show
BJWC's fall fundraiser is what keeps enrollment affordable and the gates open each June.
"Safety Town is not just about teaching rules, it is about empowering children with the knowledge and confidence to make safe decisions."
Megan Zarling, program director, 2024