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The Creative Campaign Agency Will Donate Over 100 Hours of Marketing Services

FREEHOLD, N.J. (March 21, 2019) – Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide (SPTS) announces a 2019 marketing partnership with award-winning Spring Lake Heights-based creative campaign agency, Rizco.

Based in Freehold, SPTS is dedicated to saving lives of youth that would be lost to suicide. The non-profit organization has partnered with Rizco for assistance in developing a strategic marketing plan that will help bolster the awareness of the organization and its resources, establish deeper brand equity, and generate further expansion and growth of SPTS.

The two organizations were connected through the Monmouth-Ocean Development Council’s (MODC) Project Connection, a grant program that connects the expertise of business and non-profit members that are in need of additional support. MODC is a local networking organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life and business environment in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Members include hundreds of influential business, community, and government leaders representing diverse groups through the bi-county region.

“It’s always exciting to see two organizations come together through the MODC Project Connection, which is an added benefit to our membership,” said MODC Executive Director Ben Waldron. “We look forward to seeing the results that this match will bring.”

“We are a small team without a dedicated marketing person on staff,” added SPTS Executive Director Dawn Doherty. “We are grateful to MODC for the introduction to Rizco. We believe that Rizco’s localized, creative marketing experience will be instrumental in helping us to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to reach the broad range of our target audience and generate more awareness of youth suicide prevention.”


Rizco, the Spring Lake Heights-based creative campaign agency, will be donating over 100 hours of marketing services to assist the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide (SPTS). The two organizations were brought together by the local networking organization MODC (Monmouth-Ocean Development Council). L-R: Jill Nappi (Director of Business Development, Rizco), Samantha Parker (Development Officer, SPTS), Ben Waldron (Executive Director, MODC), Dawn Doherty (Executive Director, SPTS), and Debra Rizzi (President + Partner, Rizco).

SPTS is dedicated to providing valuable training, consultation, and resources to communities to help save the lives of teens. In 2006, SPTS was instrumental in the passage of legislation in New Jersey requiring public educators to have a minimum of two hours of suicide prevention training every professional development period. SPTS offers a free, online training program along with a variety of prevention training programs and presentations to prepare districts for an organized response to traumatic events. SPTS has presented in-person to over 18,500 educators, parents, and students across more than half the country, trained over 350,000 educators through its online training program, and its parent video has been viewed online nearly 68,000 times. Annually, it is estimated that SPTS directly serves 253,500 individuals. Though statistics are not able to report the number of lives directly saved by the organization’s efforts, it is estimated that over 8.1 million youth have been potentially impacted as a result of training and resources made readily available.

“Giving back has always been ingrained in Rizco’s culture,” said Rizco President and Partner Debra Rizzi. “We are committed to inspiring students, especially teenagers, who experience stress and social pressures that tend to a impact self confidence greatly. SPTS provides tools and training that positively impacts our youth – we are proud to support their work.”

Services rendered will occur in two phases. The first phase will include comprehensive market research that will review the organization’s internal needs, determine external competition/constituents, and provide an assessment of the current marketing components. The results of the research will guide the second phase, which will include the development of a 12-month marketing plan that will potentially embrace all facets of communication including public relations, print and online advertising, and social media.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people age 10-24. In 2017, there were 6,769 young people age 10-24 who took their own lives across the United States. In New Jersey, the suicide rate per 100,000 young persons between 2011 and 2016 has increased nearly 25 percent.

More information about SPTS, including available programs, resources, upcoming events, and how to donate, is available via sptsusa.org. For more information about Rizco, visit rizco.com.

About SPTS:
The Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide, Inc. (SPTS) is a 501(c)3 public charity, incorporated on January 18, 2005. The organization was founded by two Monmouth County, New Jersey, fathers who each experienced the devastating loss of a teenage child by suicide. The mission of SPTS is to reduce the number of youth suicides and attempted suicides by encouraging public awareness through the development and promotion of educational training programs. The core values that define SPTS and its founding board are a passionate commitment to the value of life, belief in the effectiveness of evidence-based suicide prevention strategies, dedication to removing the public stigma about suicide, and the conviction that accurate information and education about suicide can save lives. SPTS offers a variety of resources on its website that can be downloaded and duplicated at no cost. More information is available at sptsusa.org.

About Rizco:
Founded at the turn of the new millennium, Rizco is an award-winning creative campaign agency based at the Jersey Shore. Melding strategic thinking and creative expertise seamlessly, Rizco’s focus is on building brands and growing companies through all aspects of branding, design, and communication strategies. An integrated approach to brand building allows Rizco to help clients creatively engage with their audiences and deliver results through their customized, six-step, research-based process. Rizco has implemented campaigns for some of the nation’s top brands that span across many verticals. For more information, visit rizco.com.

About MODC:
The Monmouth-Ocean Development Council (MODC), established in 1965, is a networking and advocacy group dedicated to supporting the business environments of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, New Jersey. MODC’s membership includes hundreds of influential business, community, and government leaders representing diverse groups throughout the bi-county region. For more information on how to join, visit modc.com.