BUILDING SAFETY MONTH

Contact:

vbca@dhcd.virginia.gov

804-371-7180

Building Safety Month (BSM) is a public awareness campaign celebrated by jurisdictions worldwide during the month of May to help individuals, families and businesses understand what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures. DHCD has various campaigns to recognize and celebrate Building Safety Month throughout the commonwealth.

2020 Building Safety Month Video

2020 Building Safety Month Podcast

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), in partnership with the Virginia Building and Code Officials Association (VBCOA), and the Virginia Plumbing and Mechanical Inspectors Association (VPMIA) are pleased to announce this year's student essay scholarship contest to highlight Building Code Safety Month. This year’s theme is No Code. No Confidence and we are seeking a 1000-word or less essay illustrating how having building codes in place can increase the level of confidence within a community. The contest is open to all junior, senior high school level students and students of two or four year higher education institutions.

There will be a total of five secondary or higher education scholarships to rising or graduating high school seniors and current first, second or third year students of a two or four year institution. The scholarships will be awarded in the following manner:

First Place: $2,000

Second Place: $1,000

Honorable Mentions: $500 each

2019 Building Safety Month Essay Contest Winners

Building Safety Month Essay Application

Building Safety Month Essay Contest Rules

I CC Building Safety Month Resources

The annual Building Safety Month Campaign Contest held in May celebrated the campaigns of numerous localities across Virginia and saw greater participation than ever before. Entrants provided descriptions of their Building Safety Month campaign, and DHCD selected winners for each of the three categories based on the department size: Large (more than 40 employees), Mid-sized (11-40 employees) and Small (10 or fewer employees).

Local campaigns included a variety of events and promotions, including workshops for the public, guest speakers, cook-outs, newspaper and radio ads, workshops, giveaways and special events. Winners received a free day of training and lunch for up to 40 office staff members, provided by the Jack A. Proctor Virginia Building Code Academy (VBCA). This year’s winners are:

Large department: Prince William County

Mid-sized department: Warren County

Small department: City of Hopewell

International Code Council Building Safety Month