S.B.P.D. & R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana Announce Joint Press Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACTS:
Sergeant Lee Ross
South Bend Police Department - Crime Prevention Unit
701 W. Sample Street
South Bend, IN 46601
574-235-7526
LRoss@southbendin.gov
www.southbendpolice.com/community/cp.htm

Mike Roe
Executive Director
With Wings & a Halo - R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana
622 Donmoyer Avenue
South Bend, IN 46614
574-707-2727
michael@reachachild.org
www.withwingsandahalo.org/indiana.html
www.reachachildindiana.blogspot.com [blog]
www.squidoo.com/reachachildindiana [lens]

FASTEST GROWING CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAM IN THE MIDWEST
COMES TO SOUTH BEND, INDIANA

Endorsed by Senator Evan Bayh, as well as Mishawaka and Elkhart Mayors Rea and Moore, With Wings & a Halo - R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana partners with the South Bend Police Department to distribute new children’s books to area children experiencing a crisis situation.

South Bend, IN -- April 22, 2009 -- At 10:00 AM on Tuesday, April 28, the South Bend Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit and With Wings and a Halo - R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana will conduct a joint press conference to announce their partnership in distributing backpacks with new children’s books to South Bend children experiencing a crisis situation. 100 backpacks, each containing 10 - 12 new children’s books will be provided free-of-charge to the department and, ultimately, distributed by various uniformed police cars, the detective bureau and other specialty units within the South Bend Police Department. The press conference will be held at the South Bend Police Department at 701 W. Sample Street in South Bend, Indiana.

The mission of R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana (Reading Enjoyment Affects Childhood Happiness) is to put a smile on the face of a Hoosier child in a time of need. Thanks to the efforts of South Bend Mayor Luecke’s office, specifically those of his Director of Communications, Mikki Dobski, as well as to those of Sergeant Lee Ross of the South Bend Police Department, R.E.A.C.H., the partnership is the first step in fulfilling the 501(c)(3) non-profit's mission in every city across each of Indiana’s 92 counties.

Founded in Waunakee, Wisconsin in late 2007 by Paul and Chris Gilbertson, With Wings and a Halo - R.E.A.C.H. a Child! has since expanded throughout Wisconsin and into California, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio, New York and Indiana. R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana provides law enforcement and other first responders (fire/EMS), as well as social workers, with a backpack containing 10-12 new children's books that they can then distribute to children at the scene of a crisis or emergency such as an auto accident, house fire, domestic dispute or natural disaster. Referred to as the B.A.C.K. Packets program (Become a Cheerful Kid), the program does not cost departments a single penny, and does not require any paperwork as to when, why or to whom the books are distributed.

R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana is supported by Hoosiers through the private donation of time, new children’s books and money; booksellers throughout Indiana, such as Olivia Jobe, the Store Manager at Elkhart's Waldenbooks/Borders, that conduct book drives on R.E.A.C.H.’s behalf; corporate donations; and, grants.

For more information about Sergeant Ross and the South Bend Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit or Mike Roe and R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana, please visit www.southbendpolice.com/community/cp.htm or www.withwingsandahalo.org/indiana.html.

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About Sergeant Lee Ross:
Sergeant Lee Ross is with the Crime Prevention Unit of the South Bend Police Department. The S.B.P.D.’s Crime Prevention Unit is tasked with providing citizens in the community with the information, tools and resources to not only keep themselves from becoming a victim of a crime, but also to make South Bend a safer place to live and to do business. A security expert and crime prevention specialist, Sergeant Ross has been interviewed on blogtalkradio.com and has appeared on radio shows such as Let’s Talk Home Security. In 2005, the American Crime Prevention Institute certified Sgt. Ross a Crime Prevention Specialist.

About Mike Roe:
Mike Roe is the Executive Director of With Wings & a Halo - R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana. Born in South Bend, Indiana and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Mike lived in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo, California for almost 15 years, where he worked in advertising and marketing as a copywriter. During that time, he concepted campaigns and wrote copy for the motion picture industry, toy companies, interactive gaming publishers, plastic surgeons and Vegas casinos. In 2009, he returned to his home state to head-up the efforts of R.E.A.C.H. a Child! Indiana.