Las Vegas Sands Cares for Communities in the Face of Disaster

In 2017, our global properties were called on many times to step up in the face of tragedy. From Typhoon Hato in Macao to the Las Vegas shooting massacre and other U.S. natural disasters, Las Vegas Sands and its Team Members rose to the challenges.

Cleaning Up Typhoon Hato

In August 2017, one of the most powerful storms in 50 years wreaked a path of destruction across South China. To assist in the aftermath of Typhoon Hato, Sands China Ltd., its properties and its Team Members stepped up to help each other and the entire community. In the initial wake of the typhoon, all of Sands China’s properties mobilized to provide access to clean water for Team Members and their families, distributing 10,000 water bottles and enabling Team Members to refill bottles with clean water from back-of-house areas. Properties also provided shower rooms for Team Members at various locations and set up temporary shelters to help displaced Team Members and their immediate families.

In addition, more than 100 volunteers from the Sands China Care Ambassador program cleaned debris off the streets and distributed bottled water, meal boxes, and cleaning kits to families near the Fai Chi Kei public housing building. Ambassadors also distributed packs of dry food and water to the elderly and others in need at Seac Pai Van public housing. To help with community response and rebuilding, Sands China provided transportation, technical, and professional support, SME support and other long-term assistance in the aftermath of the typhoon. For long-term relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts in Macao, the company made a major financial donation of $8.4 million – $3.7 million from Sands China and $4.7 million from the Adelson Family Foundation.

Recovering in Las Vegas

When a gunman opened fire on country music festival-goers in Las Vegas last October, killing 58 people and wounding more than 500, it was as if the entire city had been hit – and quite possibly all of the United States, as the nation watched the city of Las Vegas deal with this shocking act of violence. Though it was the most devastating mass shooting in modern American history, the massacre could not break the heart of Las Vegas. Showing the community’s true spirit, first responders, citizens, service providers, civic leaders, and companies banded together to help the victims and heal the community.

Las Vegas Sands and its properties immediately stepped into action to provide facility and hotel room accommodations for victims and displaced hotel guests, food and water supplies for blood donors, and grief counseling services for affected Team Members. Las Vegas Sands, through Sands Cares, and the Adelson Family Foundation pledged a combined $4 million to various local organizations in memory of the people who lost their lives in the shooting, as well as to honor the courageous victims, festival-goers, first responders, and medical professionals who joined together to save lives. Contributions were distributed to the Vegas Strong Fund to assist victims and their families, the American Red Cross, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, and the Clark County Fire Department.

Helping Hands in Bethlehem

Sands Bethlehem Team Members gathered various donations for people affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma. In an effort to eliminate the inventory of Indoor Grills from a prior casino giveaway, Casino Marketing and Sands Cares established a Hurricane Relief Fundraiser where Team Members donated $5 and received an Indoor Grill, with $2,990 being raised. The vendor who provided the grills matched each donation and proceeds were donated to Clean the World to create additional Hygiene Kits for the areas affected by the storms in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

To learn more about CSR programs and initiatives at Las Vegas Sands, including Sands Cares, view the 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility Overview.