Approximately $60,000 was raised for Crime Stoppers during the events, which amounts to more than half of the organization’s yearly budget for rewarding citizens for important crime tips in Greater Cincinnati.
“I was very happy,” Chuck Kreimer, director of Crime Stoppers of Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana, said. “We did a lot better than I thought we would do because of the economy.”
Kreimer said the fund-raising events included the annual telethon held at the WCPO-TV station in Cincinnati, an online auction as well as fund-raisers in Blue Ash, Northern Kentucky and Union Township.
In Union Township, a paper shredding event was held to raise funds, and residents were able to dispose of personal documents safely after making a donation to Crime Stoppers.
Kreimer said the idea was developed by organizers because it provides a service for residents to dispose of unwanted papers safely and also helps raise awareness about identity theft.
“We thought it would be a nice idea to be able to get people to come in,” Kreimer said about the event.
The event was held in front of the new Jungle Jim’s in Eastgate, and residents were able to drive through, make a donation, drop of their documents and watch them be shredded.
Innovacycle, a recycling company out of Somerset, Ky., provided shredding services for the event.
“This is specifically a mobile shredding unit,” Trent Perkins, security consultant for Innovacycle, said about the truck used shred documents. “The main thing we deal with is secure shredding.”
Perkins said the truck is designed to be able to shred and collect large quantities of paper, which is then recycled.
Residents who came to the Union Township event were able to view the process on a monitor outside the truck to insure their documents were secure and completely shredded.
The Union Township Police Department helped organize the event and volunteers from Union Township Citizen’s Police Academy and Walgreens collected donations, directed traffic and helped unload documents ready for shredding.
“Donations have been going really well,” Susan Osterbrink, a member of the Union Township Citizens Police Academy, said during the event. “It’s like we don’t even have to ask, they just give. It is a great organization.”
Kreimer said the Union Township event raised $1,100 for Crime Stoppers.
“We’re just appreciative of all the people who helped us and all the volunteers who came in to help us,” Kreimer said. “It’s a community effort.”
Kreimer said donations, no matter what the amount, are crucial for the organization, because they enable Crime Stoppers to continue to encourage citizens to provide tips that are used by local law enforcement officers.
“If we don’t have fund-raisers we don’t have money to pay rewards,” Kreimer said.