From the outside, the Venetian is a tribute to the famed city of Venice, Italy. But on the inside, it’s a representation of the heart of those who work and give to this wonderful place they call home: Las Vegas. Under the Las Vegas Sands umbrella, the Venetian believes it’s important to engage with the community to drive impact and inspire change – and they’ve risen to the challenge in their philanthropic work through their corporate giving program, Sands Cares.
“The ultimate goal for Sands Cares is to build on our company’s legacy of making an impact in the areas we care about most – our people and those working in the hospitality industry, the communities we call home and the planet we share,” said Katarina Tesarova, senior vice president of global sustainability at Las Vegas Sands.
Sands Cares focuses its community engagement in three key areas: providing shelter, food and services to underserved and underprivileged populations; providing disaster relief support and working with the community to drive resiliency; and supporting education and promoting opportunities for employment. Perhaps its most significant contribution is in its response to homelessness in the Valley.
Not only has it provided immediate relief in the form of financial investment in organizations that provide necessary shelter and services to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, such as HELP of Southern Nevada and Project Homeless Connect, as well as distributed more than 8,000 personal care kits as part of the Sands Cares Fresh Start Mobile Showers Powered by Clean the World, it also devotes efforts to long-term solutions and awareness and advocacy on behalf of this critical issue.
The Venetian also hosts an annual “Season of Giving,” a collection of holiday season volunteer and fundraising opportunities for team members, directly benefiting more than 80 local nonprofits and 5,000 families.
“We are committed to making the communities we call home better places to live both with the significant economic contributions of our business and by helping improve the quality of life with strategic investments that address social issues and improve the community’s ability to respond to challenges,” Tesarova said.