The firm has now surpassed $100,000 in funds raised at its annual charity events over the last 12 years to help organizations throughout the U.S.

VENZA, a global data protection company with a focus on the hospitality industry, hosted its 12th annual charity event on November 12, 2019. This year, the firm and its sponsors raised more than $12,000 for The SAM Foundation, which promotes mental health awareness and provides suicide prevention training programs to groups of all sizes at no cost.

The event was held at Gate City Brewing Company in Roswell, GA, with great food from Zubi’s Taco Kitchen and Jim ‘n Nicks BBQ. More than 100 guests from the community attended to support the mission of The SAM Foundation. The evening was highlighted by the presentation of a check by Jeff Venza, chairman and co-founder of VENZA, to Julie Smith, Georgia program coordinator for The SAM Foundation.

With the help of companies like VENZA, The SAM Foundation hopes to change the way our communities view mental health and serve as a resource to those who have been affected by suicide.

“It’s important to the team at VENZA to support organizations that are working in our communities to help others,” said Venza. “This year, suicide prevention was at the forefront of our minds, and The SAM Foundation and its partners are providing some amazing training programs throughout our community and across the country.”

The SAM Foundation facilitates suicide prevention training programs for community groups and corporate groups of any size, and higher-level training programs are available for mental health professionals, first responders and educators. Recently, just one training program provided by The SAM Foundation to six therapists resulted in successful intervention for 18 at-risk students in one high school over a six-month period.

“We are so grateful to Jeff, Eileen, Sean and the rest of the team at VENZA for believing in what The SAM Foundation is doing,” said Smith. “Through the efforts of their team and sponsors, we will be able to add more suicide prevention training programs to our schedule this year.”

“What we have found is that the programs The SAM Foundation provides are working,” said Nicole Goggans, Alabama Program Coordinator for The SAM Foundation. “People who have attended our community workshops have been able to directly help specific individuals who were in crisis, and they have been able to get them the help they needed, preventing a much worse outcome. We are really proud that we are already seeing our suicide prevention programs at work and succeeding in helping our community. We are grateful to VENZA for hosting this fundraiser, and for how it is helping many throughout our community.”

VENZA would like to thank the following sponsors: Aperia; Arnall, Golden & Gregory; Atrium Hospitality; Bank of America; Classic Hotels & Resorts; HFTP Georgia Chapter; Hospitality Upgrade Magazine; Hotel Effectiveness; Hotel Interactive; INAP; Keith Argo; Newport Hospitality Group; Sertifi; TraknProtect; and Trinet.

VENZA would also like to thank the silent auction sponsors: Gracious Plenty, Roswell Beer Festival, Salon de la Vie, Topgolf, Walmart, The Manor Golf and Country Club and Deep Roots Wine Market.

VENZA would like to thank photographer Becky Bourne for donating her time and talent.

About The SAM Foundation
The mission of The SAM Foundation is to prevent suicide through public awareness and education. The acronym “SAM” stands for “Suicide Awareness Means … Hope.” The foundation hopes to change the way our communities view mental health and become a resource for those who have been affected by suicide. The inspiration for the foundation is Sam Johnson, brother of Georgia Program Coordinator Julie Smith and Alabama Program Coordinator Nicole Goggans. Sam died by suicide December 17, 2002. The foundation’s free programs include a variety of suicide prevention trainings that it can customize for any organization. It also facilitates support groups for those affected by suicide and those who may be in crisis and their families and friends. For more information on The SAM Foundation or to schedule training for your organization, contact nicole.samfound@gmail.com or visit www.SAMfound.org.