THE STORY...
Safety Village of Darien is a child safety educational program for children ages 5 through 10.
Our program began in August of 1988. In the summer of 1987 the Hagen family, Dave, Cindie and children Kelly and Mark took a vacation to Oregon to visit family. On the evening of July 12th, Kelly, her brother Mark and cousin, Mike was going to the arcade. As Mark was crossing the street a driver who was not paying attention to the road struck Mark and he lost his life within an hour. This accident took the life a nine-year old boy who was found to be crossing the street correctly.
After many months, the Hagen family was encouraged to start a small safety program for children in the area. As a family it was decided that with the very generous donations given in Mark’s name a safety program should be started. In the beginning it was thought that we would offer a small pedestrian program. The first class ended in 1988 with 39 students graduating and by the time registration was held for the 1989 classes Safety Village of Darien grew beyond all expectations. Our enrollment topped with 389 children enrolled in the classes. The goal then and now was to provide only the very best in safety awareness education.
Many months were spent researching safety for children and talking to fire, police and school individuals who helped guide the Hagen’s into developing a curriculum. They also had to try and find family and friends who would be willing to volunteer in the operation of the programs. Hours upon hours were spent deciding what and how to teach the many subjects we wanted to offer the students.
Students
Our primary focus is for children ages 5 through 7. We offer classes for this age group throughout the summer months. We also have a class for students 8 through 10 years of age, usually held in the late summer. We have tried many different ways of teaching the safety subjects and have offered programs to different age groups, but the most impressionable children who are able to grasp the information fall in the 5 to 10 year old range. But we have been able to develop a program for the 8 – 10 year old students and we use a "hands on" program for these children and find it to be very successful!
The 5 to 7 year old classes run for five days, 2 1/2 hours per day. The class runs Monday through Friday. On the last day class is held as usual and on that Friday evening we hold a big graduation ceremony for the children. Graduation is open to all family members, neighbors and friends who would like to join us. The ceremony is held at the Safety Village site with all the students marching in and parents smiling ear to ear as if their child were receiving their Ph D.
Curriculum
Subjects offered to the younger class include: pedestrian, traffic, 9-1-1, ID. Information (knowing their name, address, city, state, zip code, phone number, area code and parents first names),poison, school bus, stranger danger, bullying, weather, water, bicycle, skateboards, scooter and roller blade safety, animal, railroad, driveways, playing near a street, playground, home, gun safety, parking lots, buddy system, Teddy Bear clinic (first aid), van safety, good touch/bad touch, seat belts, parked cars and fire safety is saved for the last day! Hand out material is given out each day according to the subjects we have taught during class.
The 8 to 10 year old class is held in the summer running for five days for 3 hours per day. The curriculum is upgraded from the younger program and geared to concerns this age group faces. We teach the Red Cross First Aid and Rescue Breathing, bike safety as well as skateboard, rollerblade and scooter safety. Also, the students go through a bike rodeo to test out their ability to ride and control a bike. A police officer comes for an entire day and talks about his/her duties, peer pressure, bullying, internet safety, home alone, stranger danger and latchkey concerns. The police also bring a canine unit and our bicycle patrol officers. We include fire day on the last day.
In Conclusion...
Our goal remains the same......to be the best we can be and to never be thought of simply as just some summer program or a summer camp. We want to be thought of as an extension of a child’s formal education. In today’s world, life is rush, rush, rush, too quick and very busy for everyone. Children need to know what to do in an emergency and today’s emergencies are bigger then every before.
The rewards are endless and knowing we have touched the lives of the children and provided them with the skills they need to be safe in the world around them. This is our reward!! We can’t stop all accidents but with the support of you, the family, the community and the many volunteers who give so much, we can make a difference. Safety for our children is something that cannot be ignored.
Safety Village Classes
Look left, look right, look to Safety Village
5-7 Year Old Classes
The 5 to 7 year old classes run for 5 days, 2-1/2 hours per day. The class runs Monday through Friday. Graduation will be held in the evening following the Friday class. Graduation is open to all family members and friends who would like to us. The ceremony is held at the Safety Village site.
Subjects offered to the younger class include: pedestrian, traffic, 9-11, poison, school bus, stranger danger, bullying, weather, water, bicycle, skateboards, scooter and roller blade safety, animal, train, driveways, playing near a street, playground, home, gun safety, parking lots, buddy system, Teddy Bear clinic (first aid), van safety, good touch/bad touch, seat belts, parked cars and fire safety is saved for the last day! Hand out material is given out each day according to the subjects we have taught during class.
8-10 Year Old Classes
The 8 to 10 year old class is held in the summer running for five days for 2-1/2 hours per day. The comprehensive curriculum is upgraded from the younger program and geared to concerns this age group faces. We teach the Red Cross First Aid and Rescue Breathing, bike safety as well as skateboard, rollerblade and scooter safety. Also, the students go through a bike rodeo to test out their ability to ride and control a bike. A police officer comes for an entire day and talks about his/her duties, peer pressure, bullying, internet safety, home alone, stranger danger and latchkey concerns. The police also bring a canine unit and our bicycle patrol officers. We include fire day on the last day. Students for this class do not need to have attended our 5-7 year old classes.
Teen Volunteers
Teens interested in volunteering during the summer classes at Safety Village will be
able to signup at a link RIGHT HERE beginning Saturday, April 8th anytime after 12:00 p.m
For complete information, please click here!
2023 Safety Village of Darien Class Schedule7400 Cass Ave., Darien -- SafetyVillage@att.net -- Phone: 630-968-0777
5-7 Year old students (Tuition - $95)
9:30am - 12:00pm, Monday, June 12th - Friday, June 16th
1:00pm - 3:30 pm, Monday, June 12th - Friday, June 16th
9:30am - 12:00pm, Monday, June 19th - Friday, June 23th
1:00pm - 3:30 pm, Monday, June 19th - Friday, June 23th
9:30am - 12:00pm, Monday, July 10th - Friday, July 14th
A "graduation ceremony" will be held on Thursday evening at 7:00pm of each week.
50/50 Raffle / "Safety" Raffle Basket / Refreshments
Parent Orientation: All classes - June 8th at 7:00pm.
8 - 10 Year old students (Tuition - $95)
1:00pm - 3:30pm, Monday, July 10th - Friday, July 14th
Parent Orientation: June 8th at 7:00pm.
Registration
Starting Saturday, April 8, registration for class openings will be done online:
www.SafetyVillageOfDarien.org
1. Register your child online starting Saturday, April 8, 2023
2. After registering your child online - print the class application and fill out and sign
3. Send check for $95 for the 5-7 class or 8-10 class made out to:
Safety Village of Darien – 7735 Warwick – Darien, IL 60561
4. Any questions: please email SafetyVillage@att.net or call Safety Village at 630-968-0777
5. You will receive a confirmation online and by email.
The Mark Hagen Memorial Foundation is a 501 c3, Non-Profit, tax deductible Organization
We strongly urge both parents to attend our parent orientation. It will explain all aspects of our program and allow you time to ask questions of the staff. Our Directors feel it is very important to spend time with the parents before the session opens. You will understand everything far better and you will have spent time getting to know some of the teachers.
We ask that you do not bring your children to parent orientation. We discuss different points of classroom work and show a video that could be disturbing to the children. Also, having small children attend could be disturbing to others attending. If you have never attended a Safety Village program, we strongly urge that you attend parent orientation.
Special Events at Safety Village
We currently do not offer birthday parties.
If you are looking for a fun and educational birthday party, please check back at a later time.
Tuition
Anyone! We do not have restrictions as to where you live. We have had students from over 49 different suburbs and 10 different states. The only restriction is that the students must be 5 years of age and attending kindergarten in the fall. The 8 to 10 year old group must be that….8 through 10 years of age. We also have had students with disabilities and our building is handicapped accessible.
Class tuition for the 5-7 class and the 8-10 class is $95 per student. We do not receive funding from any organization. We do all fundraising on our own. The tuition does not cover our costs, but we keep going as best as we can, which is difficult. But our goal gives us the strength. As of June of 2023, we will open our classes for over 35 years.
Class tuition for each class is $95.00 per student. We do not receive funding from any organization. We have to do all fundraising on our own. The tuition does not cover our costs, but we keep going as best as we can, which is difficult. But our goal gives us the strength. As of June of 2023, we will open our classes for over 35 years.
Each child should bring a water bottle with something to drink, and a small snack, if they would prefer.
We offer many different classes for many different groups. These include field trips for scout troops, school assemblies, speaking engagements on safety, and going to parent groups. Just contact Safety Village and we will be happy to work out something for your group. We are willing to work with anyone.
They are friends and neighbors who have supported us since day one. We have two elementary teachers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, the canine unit and more. Volunteers also serve on our Board of Directors, as well as a Superintendent of a local school district etc.
Kelly "Hagen" Connelly
Kelly is the daughter of Dave and Cindie Hagen, who founded Safety Village of Darien in 1988. She started out as a teen for the first few years. Kelly then married and had 2 daughters, She held a career in the Senior Housing industry, beginning as a Recreational Therapist, and the ended the last 10 years of her career at a Corporate level, overseeing Recreational Depts at multiple Senior Housing properties. In 2010, due to some physical limitations, Kelly had to go onto Disability. This allowed her to come back as a Teacher, as well as to be a support to Kelly”s mother, whose health was starting to decline at the time. Unfortunately, in 2016, Cindie passed away, so Kelly stepped up in her role, along with Beth, to continue to keep our beloved Safety Village moving forward.
Beth Orr
Beth Orr was a student in the first class that Safety Village ever offered. She enjoyed the program so much that she repeated the class several times. After taking every class that Safety Village offered, Beth became a teen volunteer up until she entered college. At this point she became one of Safety Village's teachers and is currently the secretary on the board of directors.
She also runs the Safety Village birthday parties and heads up the SVD Teen Drone Corp. She received a degree in Eartly Childhood Education from Elmhurst College. Beth and her mother own a child care center,
Ready, Set, Grow in Darien. She is also the lead preschool teacher. When Beth isn't with the children at her child care center or at Safety Village, she is spending time with her daughter and twin boys.
Remembering Cindie Hagen
Cindie was the President/Program Director of Safety Village and co-founder of the program. Cindie has lived in Darien since 1974. She was very active in the community. She was a member and past President of the Darien Woman’s Club and has belonged to the club since 1988. She was a member of the Darien Chamber of Commerce and has been active in Darienfest since it began in 1988.
Cindie and a few members of the Darien Woman's Club started Darien Unites which was a group of residents that came together after 9/11. Their goal was to educate as many people as possible about preparedness in the event of a community emergency such as tornado, fire, earthquake, setting up a shelter etc. That group was now become a part of Safety Village. All the members have been fully trained in all areas of preparedness.
Cindie grew up in Oak Park and lived there until 2 years after she and Dave married. They then moved to LaGrange to be close to Dave’s work as a teacher at Lyons Township High School. When they were expecting their daughter they decided to buy a house in some town they never heard of…Darien. Before Cindie married her husband Dave she worked for Chas. A. Stevens a retail business in Chicago. She continued to work there as Training Director until the birth of her daughter Kelly after which she retired to be a stay at home mom. The Hagen’s have two granddaughters, and two great grandsons.
When Safety Village began the teachers took many classes with the Red Cross to learn all about child safety. They went to seminars, workshops and conventions that had anything to do with the many subjects they now teach. We are proud to say that every subject taught has been reviewed for accuracy.
We utilize volunteers from the teen community to help with our younger students. The teens are recruited each March or April and sign up for classes that work into their summer schedule. The teens must be going into 8th grade. Teen volunteers go through a training class to teach them their responsibilities and how to do things with their students. They reinforce all the subjects taught and look after their assigned children inside and outside on our site. The teens are assigned 4 to 5 children and are with them the entire nine days. A wonderful friendship develops between them. A great many of our teens are former students of our program as well as one of our teachers.
2023 Safety Village Teen Volunteer Information
Welcome all! The teen volunteers play such an important role in the Safety Village family and I am so very grateful to all of you.
Classes for 2023 will have (5) 5 - day sessions. At the end of each week on Thursday evening we will hold a short "graduation ceremony" for that week's classes.
The classes are as follows:
June 12 to 16 - A.M. class is from 9:30 A.M. to Noon.
June 12 to 16 - P.M. class is from 1:00 P.M. to 3:30 P.M.
June 19 to 23 - A.M. class is from 9:30 A.M. to Noon.
June 19 to 23 - P.M. class is from 1:00 P.M. to 3:30 P.M.
July 10 to July 14 - A.M. class is from 9:30 A.M. to Noon.
Teen registration will be accepted starting on Saturday, April 8th, anytime after 12:00 p.m. Sign up on the registration form under "Classes".
We will use as many of the teen volunteers as we can this year – helping with classes as well as assisting with needed work at our Safety Village facility. With this letter, you will have ample time to decide if you can work this session and talk it over with your parents.
You will receive a confirmation and permission slip for you and your parents to sign.
I must have the permission slip when you come to teen training. Class volunteers, please make note of the Tuesday, June 6th training session at 5:00 pm. We will provide dinner for your training class. The meeting will be about 2 hours at our Safety Village building 7400 Cass Ave., Darien. Pls let the person who will pick you up, that you will call when we are about done. Your attendance at this evening meeting is necessary. The class will be held at Safety Village. We are in need of a lot of help and are going to try and use as many of you as possible.
Teen Training
– Tuesday evening June 6th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Safety Village – 7400 Cass Ave
Thank each and every one of you for caring about Safety Village and for wanting to help teach children how to be safe.
Each of you will make a difference in the life of a child. I treasure you all! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And we look forward to working with all of you!
Safety Village Staff: Kelly Connelly, Beth Orr
Click on CLASSES TO SIGNUP!
Any Questions email SafetyVillage@att.net or call 630-968-0777.
Please let us know your (#1, #2, #3, #4) preference about your availability for:
Classes: 6/12-6/16 A.M. ____ 6/12-6/16 P.M. ____ 6/21-6/23 A.M. ____ 6/21-6/23 P.M. ____ 7/10-7/14 A.M. ____ 7/10-7/14 P.M. ____
Help with building and site work, etc. around SVD:
June weekdays ____ June weekends ____
Welcome to Safety Village of Darien, IL
In regards to COVID-19 Protocol
We will continue to have some safety precautions for the children this year, as well as for our teens and teachers. Our children, as well as our teens and teachers, will have the option of wearing a mask. In addition, instead of providing snacks for the children, we will be asking parents to provide water bottles for water or juice for the children. We will not have snacktime during classes, so that we can prevent the spread of germs as well. However, we will take breaks so that the children are able to stay hydrated. We will also be sanitizing all chairs, desks, tables, and outside equipment before every class, and after each session. We will also have plenty of hand sanitizer, and we will encourage the children to wash and sanitize their hands as well, at necessary times during class. Our teachers have all been vaccinated, which is an added safety precaution.
© 2023 - This site was developed by Ed Orr of Darien, IL