Safety Town Comes To Walker

Your child might know the rules, but would they remember the steps when their heart is racing? Safety Town is finally coming to Walker, Michigan, and we sat down with Jenna Wilmers to explain why this hands-on kids safety program can make a real difference for families. A late-night 911 call from her little brother became the spark, and it turned into a community effort to give local kids practical skills they can actually use. 

We break down what Safety Town in Walker looks like: a half-day summer program at Zinser Elementary with a life-size street-style setup where kids can ride bikes and practice road safety in a safe environment. From there, children rotate through age-appropriate lessons that cover bike safety, fire safety, weather safety, water safety, vehicle safety, and home safety. One of the most memorable features is a smoke-filled trailer experience supported by the fire department, helping kids learn how to move and think clearly in a simulated emergency without the risk. 

You’ll also hear how city teams like police, fire, and DPW partner with local businesses to make the program possible, what ages the sessions are designed for, and where organizers want to take Safety Town next as it grows year after year. We also share what the Walker Community Engagement Committee does and how volunteer residents help bridge the gap between the community and city services. 

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If you have comments about this podcast, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at PODCAST@WALKER.CITY

Transcript

Welcome To Maiden Walker

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Maiden Walker, a podcast that connects you to the people, the stories, and the ideas shaping our community. From local innovators to everyday change makers, we're diving deep into what makes Walker a great place to live, work, and grow. Here's your host, Nicole DiDonato.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Communities across the country have used what's called Safety Town to teach kids practical safety skills. And this summer, that model is coming to the city of Walker for the very first time. I'm joined by Jenna Wilmers. She is chair of our community engagement committee and pretty instrumental in bringing this program to Walker. Jenna, thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to tell the community and the listeners about this program. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

And you made a good point. Some of our listeners, they may actually know about Safety Town if they've gone through it as kids over the years in other communities. Um, but what was it about bringing Safety Town to Walker? What was you had a personal story with it as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

So it started with a funny story. My little brother, when we were younger, he actually called 911 in like the middle of the night at like two in the morning. And uh the dispatch ended up calling my parents on the phone because it was back when we didn't really have cell phones, it was just the landlines. And they were like, Hey, um, do you do you know that your son is awake? And my parents are like, What do you mean? And they're like, Well, we just got a phone call from him. And so as my mom and I were talking one day, reminiscing this story, I was telling her, I wish that my son could learn how to uh call 911 and like what questions are gonna be asked in practice, because with bringing in cell phones, it adds another component to it. And uh, she was like, Well, have you ever heard of Safety Town? And I was like, No, I was like, What's Safety Town? And that really started a deep dive into what it is, what happens there, and how other communities do that and bring this program to their communities. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

And we've talked about it for a couple years, it is finally happening. We're very excited about that. It is June 22nd to the 25th. It's a half day, and it's going to be at Zinzer Elementary, which we're pretty grateful for as well. When you're doing programs in summer in Michigan, it could be pretty hit or miss. So inside a school, weather controlled, this is going to be very good.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

So, yes, we're very thankful to our partners at uh Zinzer Elementary, Principal Johnston, and her husband are going to actually MC the program. And then our city uh assets such as Police and Fire and the Department of Public Works have all graciously jumped in on this, and they're very excited to join in and bring this program not only to the kids, but also to the community and expand on even their programming that they're already doing in the schools, which is awesome as well. So it's going to be a great uh collaborative effort, uh, not only within the city, but then we also have some business partners that are joining us as well that are also helping elevate the program as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

And everyone who's reached out to do that independent bank, pro tech, pro collision, JJ Wright Salon, they're so excited to see this come. So we know that there's a need for it. Yeah. So what does Safety Town look like for someone who's never really heard of it?

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Sure. So Safety Town for us is going to look like a it's a three-hour a day program that kids can come. And when they when they arrive, they will be introduced into what we call Safety Town Play. And I don't know if you remember when you were a kid and you had those little uh rugs that had the little streets and all the buildings on them, and you would drive your little cars like the Hot Wheels. Yeah. And we are actually getting a life-size one. So kids will be able to actually ride their bikes all the way around. Uh it'll be in the gymnasium, and they will be able to then practice road safety where because it's like those little drugs, it's pretty pretty nifty. Yeah. And they will do that for a little while. And then we will go into uh playtime instruction. So meaning we make it fun. So they will learn about bike safety, fire safety. Uh, we actually have weather safety, which is which is really I'm really excited about that one as well. Uh, we will learn about water safety, uh, vehicle safety, home safety. So really kind of the gamut of the safety uh things that kids do learn in school, but in an expanded version and then also in an immersed experience too.

unknown 4:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Chance to um take some time and really go through all the movements and the actions. So as a parent and seeing something like this come to your community, what does that feel like? You know, kind of removing yourself from, you know, kind of hosting it, but for, you know, having a child.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

I wish that I would have had something like this when I was younger. One of the highlights that we have coming is that uh our fire department has been amazing in uh securing a smoke-filled trailer so the kids will be able to actually learn how to uh navigate getting out of a smoke-filled room in a safe environment. And I've I've actually always, as even as an adult, wondered what that would be like if I was ever faced with that, uh, especially because I have uh assets in my home, such as my child, that I would want to go back in to get, and they always say don't do that. So I'm actually looking forward to as an adult as well, just to learn how to navigate that as well and ask questions. Yes, yeah.

Ages Cost Sponsors And Future Growth

SPEAKER_02 5:46

And hopefully if uh parents are kind of considering this for their kids, uh, what is the age groups that we're really looking for to target?

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yep. So we're targeting uh anywhere from K to third grade uh in the fall. And we um there's the cost to it too. We're charging$125. Um we have some amazing community partners that are helping uh support that. So if there's people in the community that also want to get involved, we are still looking for support. And um we just are looking for kids that want to learn and grow and have fun with us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

We're pretty excited um because this we want to see this grow year after year. So, and hopefully like building on that. Where do you see it going in the future?

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Yeah, so our goal is to, because this is the first year, we were we are only doing um, we're doing four days and in the inaugural program, it will run from Monday to Thursday. Our goal is to build it to where we would have a morning uh session uh from eight to eleven and then do a PM session from like uh 12:30 to 3 so that we can at least reach more children uh throughout the community. And, you know, hopefully this year we'll help get the word out in doing so.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Yeah, absolutely. Um and it's been a couple years in the making, uh so very excited to do this. And as you had mentioned, a lot of the the community partners, even um Helen DeVos Children's Hospital doing a melon drop, just kind of showing the uh impact of what it's like to have a helmet in you know, in a in a fall in an event for that. So a lot of um unique opportunities for kids to experience this safety.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Yeah, and I'm really excited that they get to go in and and try things out. I mean, with the bus, like they're so used to getting on and off the bus. But like I remember when I was younger, we actually had one day where they um the bus garage told our parents that, oh yeah, we're gonna keep the kids for like an extra half hour. And I'm like, what are they keeping us for? Like we're already on this bus long enough. Uh, but I remember we actually went to uh a uh parking lot of a grocery store and they had us actually like run a drill of getting off the bus and helping each other because uh we don't realize it, but it's a big drop. If you have to get out of the back of the bus, like that's that's a huge drop, especially for a small child. And so even practicing that and then really also coaching uh because at that point in time we had uh high schoolers would kind of always sit in the back and then obviously get the little kids as you go forward on the bus. And so even coaching them how to help the kids get off the bus and stuff like that was it was an experience and it's something that I haven't forgotten. And so I just want to be able to help provide that for our kids in our community because it's something that we don't do every day. Yes, or even year every year. If you're yeah, like very riding the bus.

The Community Engagement Committee

SPEAKER_02 8:46

So yes. So all that information it can be found at walker.city slash safety town. Again, June 22nd to the 25th. These are morning sessions inside Zinzer Elementary, and just in general about the Walker's Community Engagement Committee. You've been for um serving on it for five years. If people don't know that this even exists, um Yeah, tell us about that.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Yeah, so the community engagement committees uh sole pillar is to uh connect the community and the community members with the city, whether that be through our city assets like the fire, place in fire and uh DPW, clerk's office, uh all the offices that are within our city, uh really just helping bridge the gap and build relationship with the community. So not only do we help with events like this, but we also help with city events as well, whether we're volunteering or putting the word out or even engaging other community assets. Uh we, you know, like the American Legion or the Vine Church, things like that, uh, where we're constantly bringing people and groups of people together to do things for uh the community, which is an amazing thing. But uh it's really been uh an amazing committee to be a part of because we get to have a voice in the community as well. And I I do realize that the other committees like for the city do have a voice. But we we get to see ours come to fruition. I mean, we we say safety town and here it comes, right? So uh it's things like that where it's it's been really amazing to work with our city commissioners and the mayor over the years to really understand how to make Walker a place, a great place really to live, work, and grow.

How To Join And Get In Touch

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Love that. So these are all volunteer residents and we could always use more folks on it as well. Just head to walker.city, find information about being part of that committee. So, Jenna, we're very excited to finally see this idea come to fruition. Thank you for all the information and your work as well on the community engagement committee. Thank you. It's my pleasure. Yes, and we thank you for tuning in.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Maiden Walker Podcast. If you have comments or questions about this podcast, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us an email at podcast at walker.city. Maiden Walker is the official podcast of the city of Walker, Michigan. You can find Maiden Walker wherever you get your podcasts.