GREENSBORO, N.C. — If you look at two parks in Greensboro, you will find there are these towns full of things we see daily. There are stoplights, businesses, and crosswalks.
The biggest difference is it's a lot smaller than you'd expect a town to be. That's because it's teaching five and six-year-olds how to be safe.
Corporal Sherry Bruscino works with the Greensboro Police Department and has worked with this program for several years.
"I see people all the time that have been coming through safety town and they say 'Oh you're the safety town lady,' so people remember it and they want to send their kids to it," said Bruscino.
This summer camp is focused on all things safety.
"We do all sorts of safety techniques, from poison, gun safety, stranger safety, we do a little bit of everything," she said.
One of the safety scenarios that is newer to the program is railroad crossings and train safety.
Bruscino said there have been more concerns about train safety after recent tragedies, so they added in a new element.
The program is far from new. It's been around for more than 45 years.
"Kids know about it. Parents know about it. Parents that have been through safety town are now sending their kids," she said.
There is one thing though, that a lot of people don't know about.
There are two locations.
One is near Country Park and the Lewis Recreation Center on Forest Lawn Drive.
The second is the newest Safety Town. It is at Barber Park on Barber Park Drive.
"We're really glad to be on this side of town and we just need to get the word out there," said Bruscino. "A lot of people just don't know it's here."
Bruscino said the department expanded the program because of the demand and to make it more accessible to people all over Greensboro.
It's a program that she said has been passed on to generations.
"We have people in the program that have moved away and they send their kids to their grandparents for these two weeks to come to Safety Town, so it's pretty important," she said.
Bruscino said these skills are critical for these young kids to learn about.
She said these skills are critical for these kids to learn about.
"The kids this age, five and six years old, are just little sponges," she said. "They take everything in that we teach them and they pass it on to their parents and I'm constantly meeting parents that say, 'Oh my kids, every time the light turns yellow, they tell me to slow down, every time I pick up my phone to text they tell me to put the phone down, so the kids are learning so much and actually teaching the parents."
This summer camp is two weeks long and two hours a day. It costs 40 dollars per child.
There are several sessions at the two different sites and about 100 kids can sign up per class.
Bruscino says she loves the program and the connection it builds in the community.
"You need to teach some kids how to cross the street, you need to teach them about poison control, just all the things you need to teach them and every day we have something fun," she said. "We have EMS come one day and they get to see the inside of the truck, they get to know when to call 911, because sometimes they don't even know the number yet to call 911 and the fire truck comes one day and then the firemen actually put on their full suit, which is really cool because if you're in a fire situation and you're very scared and there's smoke everywhere, and you see somebody dressed up in that it can be very scary for a five-year-old, so they let the kids see what they're dressed up in and they let them hear what they sound like as they're talking, so it's very good for them and it's so it's not as scary if it actually does happen."
Not only is the department looking for kids to sign up, but they are also looking for volunteers as well.
"We have volunteers that come in that are ages 12 and older, up through 18 years old," she said. "They come in and kind of help corral all of them and keep them where they're supposed to be out here because it can get wild and crazy out here."
She said it's a great opportunity for high schoolers to get volunteer hours, which looks good on a college resume too.
All of the information to register your kids or to become a volunteer can be found on the Safety Town Website, which can be found here.