On June 19th, 2017, the Cleveland Job Corps UBC Carpentry program ended a year of hard work on a local community service project. The Carpentry program was honored and recognized at the unveiling and ribbon cutting ceremony for the brand-new Lorain County Safety Town.

Standing proudly behind the police department, were the Job Corps students that built the town by hand. Students took delight in seeing their work used for the first time in their life and were very proud. The local dignitaries in attendance expressed how impressed they were by the friendliness and professionalism of the Job Corps students.

Safety Town was created in Mansfield, OH in the 1950s after a child was struck by a passing automobile. The initial program ran until the 1970s, teaching students the concepts of safety and familiarizing them with public safety officials. Funding for the program was unavailable until 1992, when the program was reinstated in Lorain.

The city, in the process of building a new High School campus, also wanted to update its aging safety town. Lorain County contacted Carpenter’s Union, and the Union thought it would be an excellent opportunity for community service and trade skills training for the Pre-Apprenticeship program at the Cleveland Job Corps.

Cleveland Job Corps UBC Carpentry Instructors, David Lummus and Daniel Volpe jumped on the opportunity to take the entire project over from designing the buildings to constructing them. Buildings were designed to replicate local area homes; in addition to incorporating buildings honoring partners and sponsors such as Mercy Hospital, Key Bank, the City Post Office, Lorain County Historical Society, and the Tax Depot. They also added buildings for the Carpenter’s Union and the Job Corps Carpentry Program.