Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield donated $10,000 to Sunrise Children's Foundation at a luncheon honoring philanthropist Barbara Lee Woollen. Event sponsors included Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Artistic Iron Works, Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits and the Bruce & Barbara Lee Woollen Foundation.
Circus Couture’s “Encompass” raised $279,000 for the Cure 4 the Kids Foundation. Circus Couture is a collection of performers, artists, fashion designers, makeup artists, models and technicians who work on the Strip.
More than 100 volunteers from the WorldVentures Foundation celebrated Nevada Day with students at the Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club in Henderson.
The Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court received a $381,551 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs grant for mental health court. “The Department of Justice grant gives mental health court tools to improve the effectiveness of treatment aimed at preventing participants from revolving through the justice system,” said District Court Chief Judge Linda Marie Bell.
Bok Bok Chicken donated $5,000 to Project 150.
Carlos Santana helped unveil a “Peace” bench at Henderson City Hall. The wooden bench, designed by artist Justin Lepper and woodworker Kerm Sablan, was created for Habitat for Humanity’s historical project in the Pittman community of Henderson.
Chef Mark Crane and Anthony Herve of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas’ executive culinary team taught a group of Communities In Schools of Nevada students at Eldorado High School how to make the Wicked Spoon buffet’s French toast and berry smoothies.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation + CareMore Foundation gave $25,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada for Triple Play programming. Triple Play seeks to address socioeconomic and environmental factors that can negatively affect health and wellness in children.
Merging Vets and Players and the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation launched a transportation service that will serve homeless and disabled veterans. The VGK Foundation gave $10,000 to MVP and is sponsoring a van. MVP works with veterans who served in combat zones and former professional athletes to live a life full of pride and purpose by giving them a supportive team of peers as they transition into civilian life. MVP is available in Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
The Salvation Army Southern Nevada opened a 42-bed facility at 37 W. Owens Ave. to serve homeless veterans in Southern Nevada. Services will include transitional housing and case management for veterans in their Community Integration program, funded by a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The building was rehabbed with a grant and volunteer hours provided by the Home Depot Foundation.
Caesars Entertainment collaborated with Clean the World to distribute 2,500 pounds of soap to 14,000 children in Zambia. The soap was hand-delivered to young children and their families by Caesars team members, who were selected for the trip after being nominated by colleagues, including Georgina Guerrero, housekeeping floor manager at Planet Hollywood.
Golden Entertainment raised more than $30,000 for the ALS Association Nevadachapter at the company’s 12th annual golf tournament.
The United States Bartenders’ Guild helped raise $10,000 for Keep Memory Alive by crafting the world’s largest gin and tonic. The organization broke the previous Guinness World Records title by mixing 249.99 gallons of beverage.
Wynn Las Vegas partnered with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Southern Nevada for a benefit performance of Le Rêve— The Dream that raised more than $120,000 for the organization.
Junior Achievement honored partners who aided the organization in 2017 and 2018. “Impact Partner of the Year” was awarded to Bank of America for providing a generous monetary donation; “In-kind Partner of the Year” was awarded to Caesars Entertainment; “Media Partner of the Year” was awarded to the Las Vegas Review-Journal; and “Heart Junior Achievement Partner” was awarded to the Nevada State Bank for continuously investing financially, providing volunteers and being an advocate and connection to other resources.
The Salvation Army Homeless Services Campus is open at 35 W. Owens Ave. It brings the number of beds available to homeless veterans in various programs to 95.
Veterans Village received a vehicle as part of Progressive Insurance’s Keys to Progress. The donated vehicle was refurbished by Winners Circle Kustom Autobody.
Dr. Yen Cao, a second-year internal medicine resident at UMC, received the UNLV School of Medicine’s inaugural Above and Beyond Award for stopping on her way to work to assist at an accident.
Project 150 distributed approximately 16,000 meal boxes to help feed people in Southern Nevada during the holiday season.
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada provided dinners to 115 local families coping with childhood cancer. The meals were made possible by The Revolution FMO.
SLS Las Vegas employees raised more than $6,000 for Eye Care 4 Kids, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to providing professional eye care to low-income children and underserved families in Southern Nevada.
Communities In Schools of Nevada raised more than $580,000 at a gala at the Cosmopolitan. Event sponsors included the Cosmopolitan, PSAV, Destinations by Design, Breakthru Beverage, the Bennett Family Foundation, the Shulman Family Foundation, Eureka Casinos, Sands Cares and Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation.
This story originally appeared in the Las Vegas Weekly.