Tell us a little about yourself. How did you two meet one another and how long have you known each other?

We met in 2012, when our oldest kids were in the same kindergarten class. We really got to know each other and became friends after we volunteered and helped coordinate our kids in their DI group, when they were in first grade. We also worked together on PTO when our kids were in elementary school. In the eleven years since we met, we’ve worked together on a variety of school-based events and projects, and we’ve also had coordinating family trips and holiday movie parties. (We love Elf!)

Why did you decide to start Centerville Safe?

After the shooting in the Oregon District in 2019, we were both feeling frightened and helpless. We decided to combat that feeling by “doing something”. We agreed that school safety was something we felt very strongly about, and we also felt it was a way we could take action to make our community a safer place.

When you first started the group, what did success look like?  

It’s interesting how the group’s focus has changed since we started. Our goals initially were focused mainly on fundraising and physical safety measures, like door locks and building features. As we have grown and evolved, especially with our close relationship with Centerville City School district personnel, Centerville Safe has widened our focus to include more facets of safety, including mental and emotional health as well as online safety.

What are you proudest of as far as what Centerville Safe has accomplished so far?

We are extremely proud of the classroom safety kits we provided to every teacher in the Centerville School district. These classroom kits were made possible in all ways by community support. We received donations from $4 to $4000, and from individuals as well as community businesses. Our Amazon wish list was so successful at times we thought we should make Emily D's house a new Amazon hub! The community also helped out in putting together and distributing the classroom kits to all our teachers. It was truly a community effort. Centerville Safe also really values our Safety Series presentations as these allow us to bring safety information to all members of our community. 

What do you think the community needs to know about Centerville Safe?

Our hope is that the projects we take on allow anyone and everyone a way to make a difference. Safety is for everyone and each of us can truly make a difference- and that we see safety as not just creating safe classrooms, but truly we are working toward creating a safer community.