The Risk Factory is celebrating a successful first year up and running since it opened its doors on February 1st 2007.
Since the Centre opened to Primary 7 children from all over the Lothians there has been an overwhelming interest from schools to book their visits to The Risk Factory, To date more than 4822 children from 140 schools have visited the centre.
The Risk Factory is Scotland’s first interactive, experiential community safety centre. The aim of the centre and all the agencies involved in it is to teach young people in particular how to stay safe and to help others do the same.
Inside the building realistic settings are used as background to highlight specific safety messages. Professional officers use interactive sets help to create realistic scenarios. The sets used include a house, road, bus, shops, railway line and a building site to name but a few. The children are guided around the centre by a dedicated team of volunteers.
Councillor Paul Edie, Community Safety Convener, said: “The number of children that have visited and the sheer number of calls we get every day to book into the facility are testament to the success of the centre. For the Risk Factory to operate at full capacity we need volunteers and are always looking for more people to come on board this project. The children who visit are not the only beneficiaries it is also very rewarding for our volunteers too.”
For anyone interested in this scheme or volunteering in their own time we would ask them to contact Jess Wade (Volunteer Co-ordinator) on 0131 455 8932 or email jess.wade@edinburgh.gov.uk
For more information about The Risk Factory please visit our website: www.theriskfactory.org
Notes for Editors, 1. The City of Edinburgh Council Services for Communities department focuses on delivering better services to communities across the city, thereby improving everyone’s quality of life.
Additional quote; Kathleen O’Connor has enjoyed working with children in a rewarding role as a Risk Factory volunteer. She said: “I think that as volunteers we play a crucial role in the success of The Risk Factory. We actually deliver the messages that the centre was designed to demonstrate which is great. Children benefit from both the visit itself and the documentation that they are given to reinforce the message. The Risk Factory is an absolutely worthwhile project, and I would love to see it developed further in the future.”
Media information; Kelly Murphy, Media and Communications Officer, tel, 0131 529 7856. email: kelly.murphy@edinburgh.gov.uk
source-CapInfo