SAFE (Supporting Autism Friendly Environments) Program
SAFE Program Mission
The SAFE (Supporting Autism Friendly Environments) Program partners with campus and community organizations to provide greater access for individuals with autism to attend local venues and participate in community events.
Stay in-the-know about our SAFE programming through our VTCAR fall and spring weekly e-newletter and via our Facebook and Instagram pages. See information about our SAFE interest form below.
Program Overview
Autism is one of many neurotypes and can be associated with social, communication, behavioral, and sensory differences. These differences may make it difficult to attend community events like basketball games, festivals, fireworks demonstrations, the movies, etc.
For 10 years, the SAFE program has upheld Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission, Ut Prosim, by providing greater access for individuals to attend local venues and participate in community activities.
We do this by:
· Consulting with community organizations, businesses, and campus partners to determine low or no cost interventions for their events
· Training interested parties/teams/employees on how to implement a SAFE event
· Partnering with a variety of organizations to host SAFE events for the community
The SAFE Program's partners through the years have included the Hokie BugFest, the VT Women's Basketball Team, Wonder Universe, the Lyric Theater, the VT Science Festival, the VT Makers Camp, the VT Physics Department’s K-12 Outreach Program, the Universal Design course at VT, VT Housing and Residential Life, Theta Delta Chi fraternity’s “Bro’s United” mentoring program, Kids Tech University, the Panhellenic Council at VT, and the VT ICAT Creativity and Innovation Day.
Join our SAFE community
Would you like to receive information about upcoming SAFE events and learn how to get more involved? Scan this QR code and complete the interest form to join our email listserv.
You can also email us at vtcar-safe@vt.edu with questions or ideas.
SAFE Email List QR code
SAFE Community Champion Awards
The success of the SAFE program depends on community partners who are willing to "champion" the mission and goals of the SAFE program. To be eligible for this award, one must exemplify the qualities of resilience, determination, accommodation, and strength, especially in the face of neurotypical obstacles. Winners are individuals who have demonstrated how a fulfilling, comfortable, accommodating experience can be created outside of typical expectations.
We thank the following individuals and their organizations for being our SAFE Community Champions through the years:
2017 Susan Mattingly and the Lyric Theatre
2018 Mike Weaver and Hokie BugFest
2019 Phyllis Newbill and the Virginia Tech Science Festival
2020 Jordan Albright, VTCAR PANDA Lab graduate student clinician
2022 Tori Thurston, Assistant Director of Marketing and Fan Experience for VT and the VT Women's Basketball Team.
2025 Marcus Austin and Charlie Merriam and the Simple Fixins Food Truck
VTCAR congratulates the dynamic father-son duo, Charlie Merriam and Marcus Austin and their Simple Fixins Food Truck! They work diligently to conquer the demands of the neurotypical world in ways that work for them, while teaching others about the importance of the comfort of autistic individuals. Visit their food truck, Simple Fixins, as soon as you can!
Support our SAFE Program
Contributions may be made to the VT Center for Autism Research SAFE Program.
For online giving, use Virginia Tech's secure online form. If the fields on the page at this link are not auto-populated, please follow this process:
- Select an Area: College of Science
- Select a Fund: Other
- Designation: VT Center for Autism Research SAFE Program
If you have questions, please contact Virginia Tech Gift Accounting at 800-533-1144 or give.to.vt@vt.edu.