A Child-Sized Village Used for Teaching Safety
The Kids’ Safety Village of Durham Region is a child-sized village used for teaching safety to the children of Durham Region. Originally built by the Optimist Club of Ajax and the Rotary Club of Oshawa Parkwood, it is now a non-profit, charitable organization.
The Village originally opened in September 1995 and then expanded in 2018 to keep pace with the population growth in the Region.
It is now run by a volunteer Board of Directors including Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS), The Rotary Club of Oshawa Parkwood and other community minded individuals.
More than 90 organizations and individuals contributed to the construction of the Village, either with financial support or donations of construction materials and labour. Another 160 sponsors contributed to furnish the Village with bikes, helmets, peddle cars, scooters and classroom furniture.
The 1.2-acre site was donated by the Durham District School Board.
More than 200,000 school aged children from grades 1 through 8 in Durham Region have attended the village to learn about keeping safe. The wide-ranging programs are taught by Regional Police Officers as well as members of the local fire departments and paramedics as well as other specialists from different fields.
All schools in Durham Region are invited to bring their students to the village, by contacting the village directly at 905-721-4291 or visiting durhamkidssafetyvillage.com to register online. Approximately 15,000 students visit the Village each year!
There are many community events for the general public as well, such as the Halloween Haunt, Christmas in the Village, Easter Eggstravaganza and our Summer Drop-In Program.
Our largest fund donations have been made by the Rotary Club of Oshawa Parkwood and the Optimist Club of Ajax.