Story written by The Grand at 101 Centre Wellington District High School Co-op Student: Sandro Molina
WELLINGTON COUNTY – Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington is once again receiving global recognition.
Crime Stoppers International announced the 2025 award winners via social media on October 29th.
CSGW was named as the winner of the Cybercrime & Digital Safety Initiative Award for a population of up to 300,000.
“The Cybercrime & Digital Safety Initiative Award recognises a Crime Stoppers program that has demonstrated leadership in tackling online crime, fraud, and digital threats through innovative education and prevention initiatives. We are proud to congratulate the 2025 winner – Crime Stoppers
Guelph Wellington, Canada,” stated the post. It further recognized the nomination and its content “for its comprehensive, considered, and school board–approved Cyber Safety Presentation for schools.”
The campaign, was developed by CSGW and launched in Upper Grand District School Board and Wellington Catholic District School Board in September 2024.
The Cyber Safety Presentation was delivered to more than 8,000 students from September 2024 to June 2025. The interactive in class presentation was offered to students in Grades 6-12.
Students were cautioned on the impact of their cyber footprint and to only accept friend requests from people they know in real life.
Additionally, the presentation urged students to utilize privacy settings to protect themselves and those who follow them.
“Thank you to Crime Stoppers International for recognizing the work we are doing here in the City of Guelph and County of Wellington,” said Program Coordinator Sarah Bowers-Peter. “As a smaller program, we appreciate the opportunity for global recognition. However, the most important piece here is the fact that youth across Guelph and Wellington County are getting information that will help them stay safe online. We believe that preventing crime is as important as solving one, and we will continue with our mandate of crime prevention and community safety.”
The 2025-26 version of The Cyber Safety Presentation will be delivered by Child and Youth Workers/Counsellors in elementary schools.
