Press Release
For Immediate Release
The Sam Anagnostou Foundation Launches to Expand Mental Health Education, Support, and Pathways to Healing
San Francisco Bay Area - May 14, 2026 - The newly formed Sam Anagnostou Foundation today announced its launch as a nonprofit, community-focused organization dedicated to helping individuals and families affected by mental health challenges find education, connection, resources, and hope.
Founded by John Anagnostou in memory of his brother, Sam Anagnostou, the Foundation was created to help people feel less isolated, better informed, and more supported as they navigate mental health challenges affecting themselves or someone they love.
Sam was known throughout the Bay Area for his generosity, kindness, humor, energy, ability to bring people together, and the support he offered to those around him. His life, compassion, and legacy now serve as the inspiration for a Foundation committed to helping others reconnect with themselves, with loved ones, and with a path toward wellness.
"My brother Sam had an extraordinary ability to connect with people and believed deeply in community," said John Anagnostou, Founder of the Sam Anagnostou Foundation. "This Foundation is about carrying that spirit forward, helping people and families recognize when someone is struggling, understand that help is available, know that they are never alone, and find a path to healing."
Mental health challenges affect people across age, income level, profession, and background.
The Foundation helps people understand warning signs, reduce shame, and find practical support pathways.
Programs will include education, resource connections, outdoor activity, mentorship, and ocean-based wellness.
The guiding belief is simple: mental health deserves the same seriousness, compassion, and persistence as physical health.
A National Crisis That Touches Every Community
Mental health challenges such as major depression and anxiety are not rare or isolated. They are among the most common and urgent health issues in American society, affecting people across age, income level, profession, and background.
Recent national data estimate that 61.5 million U.S. adults experience some form of mental illness, and 29.5 million do not receive mental health treatment. Many people who recognize a need for care still do not seek or receive it because of lack of access, not knowing where to go, reluctance to share their struggles, concerns about what others may think, or the belief that they should be able to handle it on their own.
The impact on young people is especially concerning. CDC data show that almost 40% of U.S. high school students experience persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 20.4% seriously considered attempting suicide, and 9.5% attempted suicide, making suicide the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 44.
For many people, mental health illness such as depression does not improve with the first treatment attempted. Treatment-resistant depression affects about 30% of people diagnosed with major depressive disorder, but it does not mean that someone is beyond help. It means they may need a more individualized plan, alternative therapies, persistence, and access to additional evidence-based options.
The Sam Anagnostou Foundation was created to help close that gap.
A Different Kind Of Mental Health Foundation
The Sam Anagnostou Foundation was founded by a Bay Area group with diverse personal and professional experience, including healthcare providers, business and community leaders, people with mental health expertise, and individuals who have personally navigated mental health challenges and recovery.
The Foundation's mission is to help people better understand mental health, recognize when someone may be struggling, reduce the fear and shame that often keep people silent, and guide individuals and families toward practical resources, supportive communities, and pathways to healing. In short, the Foundation exists to help people help themselves, their family members, and their friends.
The Foundation will support a broad view of wellness. For some people, care may include medical treatment, therapy, or crisis support. For others, recovery may also involve peer connection, family support, movement, sleep, nutrition, time in nature, addressing co-occurring issues, spiritual or community support, or other evidence-based and wellness-based approaches.
The Foundation's guiding belief is simple: mental health should be approached with the same seriousness, compassion, and persistence as physical health.
Programs And Initiatives
The Sam Anagnostou Foundation will support programs designed to educate, connect, and guide people toward appropriate care, healthy outlets, and supportive communities.
The Foundation is developing accessible educational tools, wellness guidance, and resource connections to help individuals and families better understand mental health challenges, warning signs, suicide risk, treatment options, and available support pathways.
The Foundation will promote wellness and nature-based healing through programs that encourage outdoor activity, exercise, shared experience, mentorship, and connection with others.
Inspired by Sam's lifelong connection to the ocean, the Foundation will support ocean-based programs, including surfboard sponsorships, lessons, mentorship opportunities, youth programs, veterans' wellness initiatives, and community paddle-out events.
Inaugural Fundraising Event: "Ride The Wave"
The Foundation's inaugural fundraising event on May 14, "Ride the Wave," will bring together friends, families, supporters, community leaders, and local partners for an evening focused on remembrance, education, healing, and impact.
The event will feature a live auction, coastal getaway experiences, private dinners, community sponsorship opportunities, and fundraising for mental health education, resource navigation, youth wellness programs, veterans' initiatives, and community-based outdoor healing experiences.
Funds raised will directly support Foundation programs, partnerships, educational resources, and future community initiatives.
"We want people to know that help can take many forms," John Anagnostou said. "No one should have to go through mental health struggles alone."
About The Sam Anagnostou Foundation
The Sam Anagnostou Foundation is a Bay Area nonprofit organization dedicated to mental health education, awareness, resource navigation, and community-based support for individuals and families affected by mental health challenges, suicide risk, and suicide loss. Inspired by the life and legacy of Sam Anagnostou, the Foundation helps people find connection, guidance, healthy outlets, and hope.
For more information, visit samanagnostou.com.