For the fourth year in a row, America First Credit Union and the Vegas Golden Knights honored teachers in the Clark County School District with a special award. The Game-Changer program awarded four teachers who made a positive impact in the classroom and in the lives of students each with a $1,000 grant to improve their classrooms. Winners were Melissa Finnan of Grant Sawyer Middle School; Stacye Tesh of Bozarth Elementary; Shane Goffstein of Wayne Tanaka Elementary School; and Sasha Jones of Jerome Mack Middle School.
Las Vegas Sands announced the continuation of its multiyear partnership with Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth with a donation of $300,000 to aid Southern Nevada’s most vulnerable youths. The Sands Cares funding will help NPHY strengthen services and pursue long-term solutions to help make the incidence of youth homelessness rare, brief, nonrecurring and equitably addressed, as outlined in the Southern Nevada Plan to End Youth Homelessness.
The Silver State Schools CU People Over Profit Foundation made a $2,500 donation to The Garden Foundation, which is dedicated to helping those with special needs by providing a place to learn, grow, socialize, explore, create independence and have fun. This donation will help purchase equipment for computer workshops, internet access, and/or computer programs.
Nevada Gold Mines, operated by Barrick, donated $150,000 to support Three Square Food Bank. Since 2009, Barrick, now NGM, has given more than $1.6 million to the nonprofit, equating to nearly 5 million meals provided to Southern Nevadans in need.
Health care provider Optum, working with the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, established the “Optum Dr. Tony and Renee Marlon Endowed Chair in the Department of Orthopaedics,” with a pledge of more than $1.2 million over five years. Dr. Tony and Renee Marlon have donated a match to those funds, for a total of $2.5 million.
HomeAid Southern Nevada acquired in-kind corporate donations of labor, materials and fees for construction of a Woodside Homes three-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 2,004-square-foot charitable home build in Ridgeview at Skye Canyon. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to HomeAid’s Shelter Build and Outreach Programs, funding various community projects that benefit vulnerable and homeless populations in the valley.
Nevada Women in Trades, a nonprofit that prepares women for successful careers in blue-collar occupations, will host its first National Alliance of Women in Trades Summit to advance visibility, advocacy, empowerment and awareness for women in trade careers September 10-11 at the Mirage. Learn more at nevadawit.org.
Jennifer Bradley was named Volunteer of the Year for the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl at the national Bowl Games event.
The Public Education Foundation awarded $3,066,250 in college scholarships in its most successful year to date. Through the Scholarships PLUS program and its generous donors, 822 scholarships were awarded to 621 students pursuing college or vocational school.
Vegas PBS recently received a $49,999 grant from the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation to fund an accelerated cybersecurity program. The objective is to provide industry-recognized credentials and licenses in various fields, to help support dislocated and underemployed workers, and new job seekers. Additionally, Vegas PBS received a $98,237 corporate grant from MGM Resorts International to fund a program aimed at assisting youths in the juvenile system in acquiring skills for in-demand careers. In collaboration with several community partners, including the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services, Workforce Connections, the Clark County School District, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Services Youth Advocacy Program and Help of Southern Nevada, Vegas PBS will provide online workforce education to students at Summit View Correctional Center and Spring Mountain Youth Camp.
Three Las Vegas-area teens, Mackenzie Miles, Colyn Abron, and Cherrial Odell, were appointed to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation 2021 Advisory Board, along with nearly 30 other members around the world, to build kinder communities.
City National Bank awarded Three Square Food Bank and Assistance League of Las Vegas with Community Reinvestment Act grants in the amount of $10,000 each to support their health and welfare initiatives.