June is National Safety Month. With the weather heating up and children out enjoying their summer vacations, it’s the perfect time to learn bicycle and pedestrian safety.
To help make this possible, and build on the National Safety Council’s goal of making communities and workplaces safer during the month of June, FirstNet®, Built with AT&T is contributing $110,000 to help renovate and refurbish the Nassau County Police Department’s (NCPD) Safety Town educational facility for elementary school children.
Built in 1972 and operated by the NCPD, Safety Town is an educational center and miniature village that provides children with a variety of public safety learning experiences. Each year more than 10,000 third graders from across Nassau County visit Safety Town and are taught traffic, pedestrian, and bicycle safety by NCPD Crossing Guards — first in a classroom, then through a unique “hands-on” experience using bicycles and miniature electric vehicles.
“Having gone to Safety Town as a child, I am especially happy that the Foundation is continuing this tradition. We are grateful for the generous support from FirstNet, Built with AT&T, that brought this important community training facility into the 21st century. Safety Town is vital to building relationships between law enforcement and youth and we are proud to be involved in such an important endeavor.” – Eric Blumencranz, Chairman of the NCPD Foundation
A 10-year analysis of bike accidents in Nassau County found that children who attended Safety Town were more than 10 times less likely to be involved in a bike accident than a child who did not receive training at Safety Town, demonstrating the venue’s critical role in promoting public safety.
The support from FirstNet allowed the NCPD Foundation to revitalize the aging community public safety asset including removing and replacing 22 dilapidated buildings within Safety Town, adding professional landscaping throughout the campus and repairing and beautifying other critical infrastructure elements. The new and improved Safety Town was carefully planned to ensure local children can learn traffic safety for at least another 50 years.
FirstNet is the only wireless broadband network built with and for America’s first responders and the extended public safety community, and this support for Safety Town’s modernization is part of AT&T’s commitment to increasing public safety.
As we recognize National Safety Month, we encourage everyone to do their part in making workplaces and communities nationwide safer for all of us.
