Sands Extends its Partnership with The LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada

Las Vegas Sands announced Sands Cares funding of just over $142,000 for The LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada (The Center), extending the company's partnership with Southern Nevada's leading nonprofit organization serving the LGBTQ+ community.

The Center has been a vital part of Las Vegas for more than 25 years, offering inclusive, life-enriching programs, events, education and support groups for people who identify as LGBTQ+ and allies of the community. The Center serves as the hub for an array of essential resources and care, including food and meal delivery, physical and mental health care services, and community advocacy.

Sands' contributions will support two important capacity-building initiatives to help The Center expand services, while generating recurring revenue to sustainably fund programs: continued support for the Arlene Cooper Community Health Center with funding for a new exam room and counseling rooms to accommodate growing demand for services, and an investment for renovation of The Center's events center.

These contributions continue the capacity-building focus of the Sands Cares partnership with The Center by helping transition the Cooper health center into a full-service medical clinic on the path toward becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in 2023, and enabling The Center to upgrade the events center to deliver enhanced offerings that provide revenue-generating income through special events and rental fees.

With six different rooms and space for up to 600 people, the events center is home to a variety of The Center's offerings, including health education programs, support and advocacy group meetings, as well as rental events and celebrations such as weddings, concerts and theatrical productions.

"Sands continues to be a dedicated partner in helping us realize our strategic vision to better serve the LGBTQ+ community by investing in initiatives that support our long-term sustainability and deliver critical resources to support our mission," said John Waldron, CEO of The Center. "The Sands Cares funding helps us provide life-saving resources to positively impact the lives of people in crisis, victims of crime and individuals seeking medical assistance in a safe and supportive environment, as well as deliver affirming programs and services for the LGBTQ+ community."

The 2022 Sands Cares funding continues the partnership established in 2021, in which Sands helped close out phase one of The Center's capital campaign to expand the Arlene Cooper Community Health Center in downtown Las Vegas. Funding enabled The Center to advance plans to provide full onsite health and wellness care for LGBTQ+ and low-income downtown residents, while supporting the organization's long-term goal of generating recurring revenue through the clinic to sustain its LGBTQ+ programming in Southern Nevada. Through Sands Cares and other community funding, the health center was able to increase patient service days to six from four in 2021, while expanding its offerings to include treatment for individuals unable to pay for services, outreach activities for communities most vulnerable to HIV infection, education programs for people living with HIV, prevention collateral to inform at-risk communities, and medical supplies used to treat conditions related to sexual health.

"The progress The Center has made with the health center over the past year has been remarkable, which gave us strong confidence in expanding our support to include the events center as another capacity-building focus of our partnership," said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility for the company. "The health center and the events center are two key assets that both serve the LGBTQ+ community and ensure the long-term sustainability of The Center. We look forward to seeing their continued progress in these endeavors."