Pubs with Heart Marks Five Years of Fundaing for Sammy D

from Hotel SA September 2022

From the President

The Sammy D Foundation educates young people on the impacts of bullying, violence, and drug and alcohol misuse. Founded 14 years ago after Sam Davis tragically lost his life to a one punch attack, the goal of the Foundation is to end violence by empowering young people to make positive life decisions for a better community.

Pubs with Heart has supported this admirable goal, having awarded in excess of $120,000 in funding over the last five years towards the South Australian based Foundation. This funding initially supported the purchase of portable computer equipment used to deliver the program presentations and of vehicles to travel to schools. But 2022 saw the first ‘Pubs with Heart’ funded programs, directly increasing the number of young people educated!

This exciting project aims to reach 3,000 young people across 30 primary and secondary schools through a range of Sammy D’s education portfolio. The schoolbased programs, such as “Impact” and “Party Wise” aim to educate young people around the consequences of bullying, violence and drug and alcohol misuse.

A participating school - John Hartley School - provided this feedback from their Senior Leader in Wellbeing on how the session was for their students: “It is one of the most valuable proactive behavioural education programs we have ever had and has had a huge impact on our children…It shows how silly decisions can have devastating effects for lots of people.”

Consisting of an educational presentation followed by small group workshops, they are designed to explore real-life scenarios and to provide young people with the tools to either avoid or remain safe if these situations arise.

“Issues such as violence, bullying and alcohol and other drug misuse have extensive and severe consequences, not only for the individuals involved but for their loved ones and broader community. The best way to prevent these behaviours is through focused primary prevention educational programs,” said Sammy D Foundation CEO Brigid Koenig.

The funding through Pubs with Heart also meant the Sammy D team could respond to a parent’s request to a school who had unfortunately experienced a violent incident and offer them a program free of charge, directly impacting that school community and giving students the knowledge and strategies to keep themselves and their schoolmates safe.