Summit County Safety Town Video Contest

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The Summit County Safety Town Video Contest asked local high school and university students to create a video informing children ages 4-6 about when and how to call 9-1-1. Over three months, the County received 13 submissions from 24 students across 5 different school districts. These entries were then reviewed by staff from the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Administration and Public Information. Prior to the Contest, children in Safety Town programs had learned about 9-1-1 from a near 19-minute video ripped from a 1996 VHS tape, complete with a talking rotary phone and Muppet-style puppets. Communities administering these programs throughout Summit County had stopped using this video due to its outdated, unhelpful presentation, and sought a new video to replace it. The winning video is an artful, 5-minute stop-motion video with handmade figures and represents a massive improvement over its predecessor. The winner received a monetary award and their video was distributed to local communities for use in future Safety Town programs. The Contest proved to be a cost-effective way to engage older students in teaching their younger peers about safety.