Las Vegas Sands in the Community

At the corporate level and through each of our properties, Las Vegas Sands has made significant contributions to improve the quality of life in the regions where we operate. We are a major economic contributor, spurring tourism, jobs and tax revenue, as well as a committed catalyst for addressing social issues and helping the less fortunate in our communities.

Driving Economic Impact

We have a long and successful track record of generating significant economic benefits for our host cities and countries through increases in high-value tourism and tourism spending, meeting and convention activity, tax revenue and jobs. Our presence in the regions where we operate has enhanced their stature as global business capitals and served as an economic engine to revitalize these areas.

Since 1989, Las Vegas Sands has invested $22.9 billion USD (nominal uninflated dollars) in the development of integrated resorts in the United States, Macao and Singapore. On an annual basis, these projects contribute approximately $19 billion USD to our host cities’ gross domestic products (GDPs).

Our operations worldwide annually generate approximately 198,000 jobs, combining direct, indirect and induced jobs. We pay approximately $3.5 billion USD in taxes annually to cities and countries in which we operate, and our procurement spend totals $2.5 billion USD with 80-90 percent spent through local businesses in the host country.

Inspiring Change through Philanthropic Giving

Building on our business impact, we aim to also contribute significantly to quality of life through our corporate giving and community engagement partnerships, under the umbrella of our corporate giving program, Sands Cares.

To deliver the greatest impact, Sands Cares aligns philanthropic giving, community partnerships and volunteer engagements with causes and issues authentic to our company as a major developer and operator of integrated resorts, and a significant economic contributor to our regions around the world. In each of our communities, we focus on partnerships that promote the community’s livability by strengthening educational opportunities; attracting and promoting business, jobs and tourism to the region; helping people become more employable and productive; and improving the region overall by working to solve chronic issues such as homelessness and hunger.

Impacting Homelessness and Hunger

At the global level, we have made aiding underprivileged populations a priority issue. Our strategy is to lend resources and rally community support to both deliver relief and be a catalyst for long-term change. 

Corporate

Our corporate home of Las Vegas ranks fifth in the country for the highest number of homeless people, trailing only New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego. We have a long-term, three-pronged strategy to impact this problem: 1) Provide immediate relief to homeless people 2) Help find long-term solutions to homelessness, and 3) Increase awareness and advocacy among stakeholders. Our delivery on this strategy includes grants to local nonprofit organizations that positively impact the issue of homelessness. Our support has helped Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth to extend its Drop-In Center hours, allowing the organization to serve its clients for an extra 21 hours per week. We’ve also partnered with HELP of Southern Nevada on a critical grant that added four case managers and programming for its federal Housing- First Harm Reduction Model program, which provides permanent supportive housing and intensive case management. 

Promoting Productivity and Employment

Many of our community engagements support building a productive work force, as well as helping individuals to reach their full potential by becoming employable through job training.

In Las Vegas, our properties have had a long-term partnership with Opportunity Village, a nonprofit organization that serves adults in the Southern Nevada community with intellectual and related disabilities to help people become their very best through vocational training, community employment, day services, advocacy, arts and social recreation. Las Vegas Sands has several ongoing initiatives with Opportunity Village, including a recycled linen program, in which linens that get torn or stained at Las Vegas properties are repurposed by Opportunity Village into cleaning rags to be used by our service staff. In addition, nearly 2,000 Team Members rallied last year to support the annual Great Santa Run, a community event to raise funds and awareness for Opportunity Village’s numerous programs and services for individuals with disabilities. 

Improving Schools and Education

We believe that delivering educational opportunities today builds long-term success in our communities by producing a thriving work force for tomorrow. We strive to set an example for how the private sector can be a catalyst for positive change in education within each of our communities.

Corporate

Las Vegas Sands has supported Nevada education for many years, establishing the Sands Education Council as part of Sands Cares to address challenges faced by the Southern Nevada school system. We aim for impact in three areas:

1. Recruitment, retention and training of talented teachers for Southern Nevada classrooms
2. Professional development and leadership training for educators and administrators
3. Facilitation of opportunities for parents, teachers and the private sector to collaborate for better student learning and growth.

Last year, Sands Education Council’s contributions to our community included funding for the Public Education Foundation (PEF) to train educational leaders for the move
to a site-based leadership school model, development of leadership curriculum and
a scholarship program for graduating seniors of Las Vegas Sands Team Members.

We also worked with Teach for America – Las Vegas Valley to support its mission of recruiting high-quality teachers, including a welcome dinner for new teachers at The Palazzo. For Nevada Succeeds, which works with parents, educators and policymakers to address the state's education needs, we provided a grant to continue its work advising on policy proposals. As a group, the Sands Education Council worked together to introduce a Teacher Appreciation Discount Program to thank local teachers for their service. Finally, we piloted family learning workshops at The Venetian and The Palazzo to assist Team Members in being good advocates for their children in Southern Nevada classrooms. 

Making Mass Community Impact: Sands for Singapore Charity Festival

Marina Bay Sands’ dedication to having a positive impact in the local community is centered around the massive annual Sands for Singapore Charity Festival, which raises public awareness of charity partners and critical funds for their missions.

The festival reached a high point in 2016, with more than $2.5 million USD raised in support of 80 local charities. Launched four years ago, the festival is held over multiple days and features a myriad of events to give back to the local community. In addition to working with designated charities such as Art Outreach Singapore and the Association for Persons with Special Needs, Marina Bay Sands supports other charities benefiting youth and education.

This year, the festival featured 22 fun-filled activities that took place throughout the iconic property. More than 1,900 Marina Bay Sands Team Members lent their support to the festival, clocking more than 4,000 volunteer hours, an 81 percent increase in Team Member volunteerism and a 47 percent increase in volunteer hours compared to last year. 

Team Member Impact in Our Community

Our own Biar Atem exemplifies how empowering others can make a significant impact. As one of 20,000 young boys known as “The Lost Boys of Sudan” who were displaced and orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War, Biar became a refugee when he fled Sudan at the age of nine.

Fast forward to 2016: This past year, Biar was honored with The American Red Cross Everyday Hero Award for his achievements with The South Sudan Center of America, a resource he founded for South Sudanese people in Nevada. It was a long road to get there, but he was up for the challenge.

Las Vegas is an ideal relocation venue for refugees because of its employment opportunities. Catholic Charities took in Biar and helped him attain legal documentation and find employment. He began working at The Venetian in 2001 as a porter, while going to school at the College of Southern Nevada to get an associate’s degree. In 2007, Biar became a United States Citizen.

Biar started the South Sudan Center in June 2014 as a way to formally give back to the community and help fellow refugees. The Center assists the South Sudanese living in Las Vegas, while also providing uniforms, school supplies and backpacks to students in Sudan. With 150-200 students per classroom in the same refugee camp Biar lived

in as a young boy, students are unable to obtain a proper education. His mission is to empower students with the skills to succeed, while inspiring and encouraging them. 

To continue reading > download the complete Las Vegas Sands 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility Overview here