LAS VEGAS, June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Las Vegas
Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) today announced a new corporate citizenship
commitment to provide homeless youth in the Las Vegas area increased educational resources
and support during the summer school break, when they are at a
higher risk to lose focus on their education.
Through donations to local service organizations Nevada
Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) and STREET Teens, LVS will
help more homeless teens focus on their academic and professional
futures by providing strengthened educational sites and assistance
that are available year-round, including technology, personal
support and scholarships.
Summer months magnify the challenges homeless youth face because
they don't have the infrastructure of school as a safe haven or
educational alternative. Locally, more than 9,000 students in the
Clark County Unified School District were considered homeless or
children in transition last year.
"Education provides a foundation for all youth to overcome
challenges, realize their goals and reach their highest potential,"
said Ron Reese, senior vice
president of global communications and corporate affairs at LVS.
"It is essential to provide support, especially during the summer
months, for our community's most vulnerable youth to have access to
educational resources as a path to a more secure
future."
Homeless youth have some of the highest school dropout rates.
Approximately 75 percent of homeless youth nationally have dropped
out or will drop out of school, according to the National
Conference for State Legislatures.
To mitigate these trends in the summer months and beyond, LVS
has established a $60,000 grant for
NPHY, to fund computers, books and other career resources for its
drop-in center, which allow youth to focus on academics and plan
their future with the help of NPHY's case managers, especially
during the summer months when they have few good choices of where
they will spend their time. This grant also will support
scholarships, pay school fees for some clients and increase
staffing to assist homeless youth.
"Young people often become homeless quickly and unexpectedly,"
said Arash Gahfoori, executive director of NPHY. "While they are
focusing on survival, they can very easily be distracted from their
education. With this grant, NPHY will be better equipped to
facilitate our clients' educational goals, particularly in the
summer months when there is a greater need."
LVS also has established a $45,000
grant for STREET Teens, which will allow the organization to expand
its infrastructure and provide more educational resources at its
drop-in center, which is a critical resource for homeless teens
during the summer months. "We are thankful that LVS' commitment
will allow us to help more youth and provide them with an
educational destination this summer," said Lisa Preston, executive director of STREET
Teens. "Having more support available will help our youth stay
committed to their educational goals."
LVS' focus on homelessness is part of the company's corporate
citizenship program, Sands Cares, in Las
Vegas. Announced in April
2014, Sands Cares manifests the company's core corporate
social responsibility focus: supporting people in the company and
the hospitality industry, making local communities where LVS
operates a better place to live and reducing environmental impact
on the planet. Sands Cares provides a cohesive approach to
corporate and property-level giving and support in local
communities where LVS operates to address the most pressing issues
in its local communities and help make them better places to live.
For more information about Sands Cares and key initiatives, please
visit www.sandscares.sands.com.
About Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:
LVS) is the world's leading developer and operator of Integrated
Resorts. Our collection of Integrated Resorts in Asia and the United
States feature state-of-the-art convention and exhibition
facilities, premium accommodations, world-class gaming and
entertainment, destination retail and dining including celebrity
chef restaurants and many other amenities.
Our properties include the five-diamond Venetian and Palazzo
resorts and Sands Expo Center in Las
Vegas, Sands Bethlehem in Eastern
Pennsylvania, and the iconic Marina
Bay Sands in Singapore.
Through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd., LVS owns a
portfolio of properties on the Cotai Strip in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Plaza
and Four Seasons Hotel Macao and Sands Cotai Central, as well as
the Sands Macao on the Macao
Peninsula.
LVS is dedicated to being a good corporate citizen, anchored by
the core tenets of delivering a great working environment for
nearly 50,000 employees worldwide, driving impact through its Sands
Cares corporate citizenship program and leading innovation with the
company's award-winning Sands ECO360° global sustainability
program. To learn more, please visit www.sands.com.
About the Nevada Partnership for Homeless
Youth (NPHY)
NPHY began in 2000 when a group of concerned community members
formed a coalition to address the growing problem of unaccompanied
homeless youth in the Las Vegas Valley. Confronting legal barriers
preventing homeless youth from accessing life-saving services, the
group successfully fought to get the landmark "Right to Shelter"
law passed by the Nevada Legislature in 2001. Today, this law still
makes it possible for abused and neglected unaccompanied homeless
minors to receive critical services they might otherwise not be
able to access. Since then, NPHY has grown from a small citizen
coalition to the most comprehensive service provider for homeless
youth in Nevada, bringing
resources, safety and well-being to thousands of homeless youth
each year.
About STREET Teens
Street Teens is a volunteer-based, non-profit organization
dedicated to assisting homeless, abandoned, and at risk youth, ages
12-21, in the Las Vegas Valley. Our primary goal is to meet the
survival needs of our youth by providing basic necessities in a
safe, compassionate environment. It is able to provide access to
educational, health care, and employment resource services through
our drop-in center and by actively collaborating with community
partners. Street Teens does not discriminate on the basis of
gender, religious affiliation, national origin, ethnicity or sexual
orientation.
Contacts:
Kristin McLarty
(702) 414-3218
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SOURCE Las Vegas Sands Corp.