LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP. 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.
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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.
