05-11-2012 Mayor Pete Buttigieg Joins the South Bend Weed & Seed Youth Award Ceremony

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SOU TR 8F � G z s 1865 CITY OF SOUTH BEND PETE BUTTIGIEG, MAYOR Office of the Mayor FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2012 Contact: Debra Johnson, Director of Communications Phone: 574-235-5853 MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG JOINS THE SOUTH BEND WEED & SEED YOUTH AWARD CEREMONY South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg along with Interim Police Chief Chuck Hurley and Muessel Primary Center Principal Michael Budzinski, will award winners of this year's Coloring Book design contest for the South Bend Weed& Seed program. The three will also distribute copies of the 24-page book depicting the theme "Police Officers are Your Friends". The award ceremony will take place Monday, May 14 at Muessel Primary Center at 1021 Blaine Avenue beginning at 1:00 p.m. "The Weed& Seed program has helped improve the lives of many youth over the years," said Buttigieg. "I am pleased to take part in this program with a long history of proven results." As part of the Community Policing Committee initiative three schools serving the Weed & Seed area were asked to design a page for the book. The art class project encourages police and youth partnerships in the community. Students from each of the schools, Muessel Primary Center, LaSalle Intermediate Academy and Madison Primary Center were represented within the top designs selected by the committee in the coloring book. Three thousand copies of the books were printed for distribution to students and other partners through the Weed& Seed grant funds. The funds also serve to recognize all students that participated in the project through their own separate award ceremonies. As an additional award, representative students from each of the participating art classes will appear within group photos with police officers, as part of a Weed& Seed sponsored billboard campaign later this year. Weed& Seed is a federally sponsored initiative whose purpose is to develop a community of diverse cultures working together to create safe and pleasant neighborhoods. Two of the programs objectives are to increase positive interaction between the community and police and to improve awareness of crime and its prevention. Grant funds were provided by the US Department of Justice. South Bend Weed& Seed Steering Committee grant partners include: the City of South Bend, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor, South Bend Police Department, US Attorney, and the Drug Enforcement Agency. 1400 COUNTY-CITY BUILDING•227 W.JEFFERSON BOULEVARD•SOUTH BEND,INDIANA 46601 PHONE 574/235-9261• FAx 574/235-9892