Las Vegas Sands: Honoring a Culture of Volunteerism

In 2017, Las Vegas Sands established The Sheldon G. and Dr. Miriam Adelson Citizenship Award presented by Sands Cares, an annual honor to recognize Team Members across all regions who have demonstrated dedication to giving back to their communities and important causes. The award was created to honor the Adelson family’s legacy of philanthropy and service.

Sands Bethlehem training coordinator Erik Weiner was named the first recipient of the Sands Cares Adelson Citizenship Award for his tireless work to promote initiatives for people with special needs on a local, state, and national level in Pennsylvania. Weiner serves on the Pennsylvania State Amber Alert System to include specific information necessary for first responders when interacting with individuals with disabilities for health conditions. He spearheads the design and implementation of “Growth Through Opportunity,” a program dedicated to providing valuable job and social skills to young adults with unique challenges, enabling them to volunteer with local police departments within the state of Pennsylvania.

Weiner also serves as the Director of the Bucks County Down Syndrome Interest Group, board member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center, ambassador of the National Down Syndrome Society, co-director of the Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Coalition, and ambassador for Parent to Parent in Pennsylvania. In addition, he partners in policymaking around disability issues and supports Project Max, which builds the capacity of Pennsylvania Schools  and Intermediate Units to help students with complex instructional needs.

Weiner was among 12 finalists for the award, who were named the Sands Cares Heroes of the Year and selected out of 182 nominations worldwide. Finalists were chosen by executives in their respective regions based on their volunteer efforts with Sands Cares and organizations in their local communities. Sands Cares hosted a special award dinner and trip to Las Vegas Sands’ headquarters in Las Vegas for the 12 finalists.

“From a very young age, my father instilled in me that giving to those less fortunate was the right thing to do,” Mr. Adelson said. “There is no better way to give than to volunteer one’s time to help someone in need. Each of our 12 Sands Cares Heroes set exemplary examples that should be modeled by every one of us. I could not be prouder to have such fine individuals representing Las Vegas Sands.”

2017 Sands Cares Heroes of the Year

Singapore: Alicia Lau, Mohamad“Noor” Bin Spono, Jonathan Vista Macao

Macao: Martin Ieong Lap Kun, Thomas Chan Iek Cheong, Joyce Tam Mei Heng

Bethlehem: Pam Burgio, William Romero, Erik Weiner Las Vegas

Las Vegas: Biar Atem, Tina Peetris, Eric Vozzola

For detailed information on Sands Cares, visit Sands.com to download our most current sustainability report.