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Crime Stoppers Home Page There are no paid positions in the Crime Stoppers program. The
money donated to Crime Stoppers goes into a reward fund. This
money is then spent on rewards, maintaining a phone service,
office supplies, equipment and postage, along with the training
of the Coordinator, and Board Members. All Board Members for the
South Bend Area Crime Stoppers serve on a voluntary basis. Since
the Police Coordinator is a Law Enforcement officer, his/her
salary is paid by the department who "loans" his/her services
to Crime Stoppers. This is considered a donation to the Crime
Stoppers program. The office Staff is also supplied as a donation
to Crime Stoppers. One day-time Crime Specialist is provided
by the South Bend Police Department and one evening
Crime Specialist is provided by the St. Joseph County
Police Department.
The major fund raising event of the program is the Moonlight Walk Against Crime. This event brings in more than half of the funds needed to support Crime Stoppers. The Moonlight Walk is a community event where walkers form teams, and solicit money for Crime Stoppers. They then bring this money to the Coveleski Stadium on the night of the Walk, and everyone goes on an 8K walk, which is about 5 miles. When the walkers return to the Stadium, SUBWAY provides party subs for all of the walkers. Several other sponsors such as PEPSI and CENTENNIAL WIRELESS also participate by donating services to the walk.
Prizes are solicited from businesses in the community and are given away to the walkers, and team leaders on the night of the walk. Also, we save the best prizes for the Team Leader reception which is held at MADISON CENTER in South Bend. That night, we allow those team leaders who brought in the most money for Crime Stoppers to pick a prize from the 10 best prizes donated for the walk. MADISON CENTER provides the refreshments, and a fun time is had by all.
Planning for the Walk begins in January each year and is
intense up to and including the day of the walk. This event is a
full board member sponsored event, and everyone becomes involved
in one way or another.
This event is held each year during "Walk Week"
which is the week preceding the Moonlight Walk Against
Crime. This is another large community involvement event. We
try for 36 teams to come out to a local golf course and play for
Crime Stoppers. It is a highly coveted media event for Crime Stoppers and
is second only to the Moonlight Walk for community involvement.
The South Bend Area Crime Stoppers has a partnership with the WAS Vending Company in Plymouth, Indiana.
They are operators of bulk vending machines (gumball) and have many machines placed around our 13 county area
with a Crime Stoppers logo. Crime Stoppers receives money from the company on a monthly basis. WAS has become a
very good supporter and partner with the South Bend Area Crime Stoppers Program.
In Michigan our partner for bulk vending is Wolverine Vending. They handle the candy machines in our 4 Michigan counties.
We have exclusive contracts with both companies for bulk vending. Each company handles their own state and the proceeds
come to South Bend to help support our reward program. The Board of Directors has been very satisfied with the income and the way that the machines
are maintained. The program not only provides income but also keps our name out in front of the community.
The Corporations in the South Bend Area are asked to be
sponsors for the Crime Stoppers program and are asked to make Tax-deductible
contributions to the Crime Stoppers Reward Fund. A Committee
begins contacting the companies usually in February, and the
solicitation is on a personal basis. If board members know of a
company who they would like to contact on behalf of Crime Stoppers,
they are assigned that company.
Individual donations are also accepted at Crime
Stoppers, and these go into the Crime Stoppers Reward Fund.
Individual donations may be mailed to:
THE SOUTH BEND AREA CRIME STOPPERS
701 W. SAMPLE ST.
SOUTH BEND, IN 46601
E-mail: cstop@skyenet.net