Ivy Tech Community College Northeast is receiving a $2,250 Service Engagement Grant from the Indiana Campus Compact for the College’s Safety Village application. It will use the grant to make repairs to Safety Village.

Safety Village is a space that teaches children about fire-safety education. Located directly behind the Public Safety Academy: Ivy Tech South Campus, Safety Village consists of 30 small buildings and a downtown area with 16 structures. It is the largest public-education site of its kind in the country, and an on-site classroom combines Ivy Tech Northeast’s police- and fire-safety education programs. The project is an on-going one for Ivy Tech Northeast construction students and allows the College to continue to support an educational resource for children in the community.

Many of the aging structures at Safety Village require restoration, and construction technology students are working to update many of the buildings. The grant specifically will help fund materials needed to reroof two miniature houses, re-side one skyscraper replica, and replace aging doors on another structure.

“Construction students will have a chance to put the skills that they learn in the classroom into action,” said Ryan Voorhees, construction technology program chair. “The Safety Village is a perfect match for our classes, as the buildings provide just the right amount of work to fill out our regular laboratory times. Even better, students appreciate the fact that their labor is helping a good cause.”