Sands for Singapore 10th Edition Raises $3.5 Million for Local Charities and Nearly $30 Million Since 2013
Published by Las Vegas Sands on September 19, 2024
Marina Bay Sands held its 10th Sands for Singapore Charity Festival Aug. 23-25 and raised more than $3.5 million for local nonprofit organizations, bringing the total amount generated by the festival to nearly $30 million since its inception in 2013.
The cornerstone of the resort’s community engagement program and one of its signature annual events, the charity festival featured multiple days of activities, live entertainment and events, all to benefit local charitable causes under the theme: Where Hearts Come Together.
A key annual highlight of the Sands for Singapore Charity Festival is the annual Community Chest Heartstrings Walk and Vertical Marathon in which participants ascend 57 stories up to the Sands SkyPark. Co-organized by Marina Bay Sands and Community Chest, the event benefited more than 30 programs supported by Community Chest.
The charity festival again featured the Giving Marketplace, where nonprofit organizations and small businesses raised funds and promoted their causes in 16 booths that offered handcrafted products, baked goods and lifestyle products made by beneficiaries from local nonprofit and charitable organizations.
New features added this year in celebration of the festival’s 10th edition included the return of the ice cream pop-up Scoops of Hope from August 16-25. Marina Bay Sands’ executive pastry chef Hoi Kuok I offered locally inspired flavors, and all proceeds benefited Metta Café and its mission to provide food and beverage vocational training programs for graduates with intellectual disabilities.
Marina Bay Sands also introduced Heartwork: Upcycling for Good, in which visitors could make a small donation and turn plastic bottle caps into heart-shaped coasters and keychains. More than 35,000 bottle caps were upcycled, and funds benefited the Asian Women’s Welfare Association for its transitional shelters program, which provides displaced families with temporary housing.
Encompassing all activities, the festival capped 10 weeks of community events and innovative fundraising efforts. More than 4,000 Marina Bay Sands Team Members participated in over 20 volunteer activations and contributed more than 6,600 volunteer hours, bringing the total number of Team Member volunteer hours to more than 110,000 since the resort’s opening.
Volunteer service in the weeks leading up to the 2024 Sands for Singapore Charity Festival included supporting the Asian Women’s Welfare Association, one of Singapore’s largest multi-service social service agencies, by enhancing the living conditions in its temporary shelters. Team Members also organized a National Day celebration for residents at Moral Home for the Aged Sick, including music, engaging activities and a cake to enjoy.
In July, Team Members volunteered to support beneficiaries from three local Singapore Red Cross programs, including the Day Activity Centre for the Disabled, ElderAid and Red Cross Home for the Disabled. Team Members were paired with beneficiaries to paint art canvases, and the completed canvases were joined together to form a bigger art piece, which was displayed during the 9th Singapore Humanitarian Conference by the Singapore Red Cross.
“We recognize the collective impact we can make when we come together as a community,” Paul Town, chief operating officer at Marina Bay Sands, said. “This year’s Sands for Singapore Charity Festival marked a decade of contributions, and it is heartening to see how far we have come since its early days. The festival is testament to the power and strength of unity, when we band together to create lasting impact in the community.”
The annual Sands for Singapore Charity Festival is part of the global Sands Cares community engagement program, which provides charitable investments, capacity-building initiatives and volunteer support to ensure Sands’ regions remain great places to live, work and visit.
To learn more about the variety of community endeavors spearheaded by Sands Cares, read the company’s latest ESG report: https://www.sands.com/resources/reports/.
