Nevada HAND, in partnership with Three Square Food Bank, opened a food pantry at Stewart Pines Apartment Homes, 1351 E. Stewart Ave., Las Vegas. The property is home to about 200 low-income senior residents. The pantry will offer fresh and nutritious food options provided by Three Square. There will be a pantry manager on site to support healthy meal planning, nutrition assistance and other resources.
The Henderson Chamber of Commerce donated $4,529 to HopeLink of Southern Nevada. The money was raised at the fourth annual Henderson Chamber of Commerce Foundation Golf Tournament in December. HopeLink serves families living below the poverty line by providing creative ways to a better life and stable living.
Professional Women in Building, part of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, raised more than $12,000 for the Building Hope Scholarship at the fourth annual Wine Pull Scholarship Fundraiser. Funds will go to students interested in the building industry.
The Las Vegas Philharmonic held its annual Cox Communications Young Artists’ Concerto Competition on April 27 at the College of Southern Nevada, Cheyenne Campus. Kayla Quijano, a senior at Las Vegas Academy, was awarded first place and $2,000 toward her music education, provided by Cox Communications of Las Vegas. In addition, Quijano earned the opportunity to perform with the orchestra during their annual Youth Concert Series in October and February 2020. Daniel Kyong, a sophomore at Coronado High School, was awarded second place and $1,000. Shyler Macaggi, a sophomore at Green Valley High School, earned an honorable mention.
Peyton Barsel, 16 and Jackson Bentham, 11, both of Las Vegas, were named Nevada’s top two youth volunteers of 2019 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Barsel, a junior at The Meadows School, helps children who have been traumatized by the death of a parent or sibling through her work at Adam’s Place, a grief counseling center in Las Vegas. Bentham, a sixth-grader at Somerset Academy Lone Mountain, conducted a food and toiletry drive at his school to benefit service members returning from combat. He then held a raffle that raised funds to buy toilet paper for veterans in need.
Spread the Word Nevada, an advocate for children’s literacy, adopted Hollingsworth STEAM Academy thanks to a $25,000 donation from Zappos for Good. Hollingsworth is the 60th Southern Nevada school adopted by Spread the Word. As part of the program, students receive a book bag and five books to start a home library. From there on, students will choose a book each month. In addition, the school will receive Breakfast with Books, a family literacy program that encourages reading with children in the home.
The Richard Harris Law Firm announced the winners of the 10th annual Spirit of Nevada scholarship contest. They are: Alyssa Lagua, West Career & Technical Academy; Memoryz Webb, Legacy; Michael Skinner, Advanced Technologies Academy; and Tiffany Fung, West Career & Technical Academy. Each winner received a $1,000 scholarship, and $500 was awarded to the school of each winning student. The 2019 edition focused on the theme “Home Means Nevada.”
Cure 4 The Kids Foundation unveiled a Criss Angel-themed patient room, sponsored by the Strip entertainer. The room draws inspiration from “Mindfreak,” Angel’s show at Planet Hollywood. Angel has been an advocate for those affected by pediatric cancer, including his five-year-old son, who is now cancer free after a three-year battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The Olympia Companies SH Charitable Foundation raised $1.3 million at its 19th Annual Governor’s Black-Tie Event at Southern Highlands Golf Club and M Resort. Money raised will support local charities including Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, Children’s Heart Foundation, Assistance League of Las Vegas, Opportunity Village, Andson, Discovery Children’s Museum and the Folded Flag Foundation.
Downtown Cares, a grassroots movement formed by El Cortez and Moonridge Group Philanthropy Advisors, revitalized the Downtown Boys & Girls Club during the group’s ninth annual Day of Volunteerism. Volunteers repainted the interior rooms and two indoor murals, updated the club’s outdoor play area, planted a garden, refurbished the teen center and participated in a youth soccer game. Other participating companies included Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, DTP Companies, Zappos for Good, Northcap, NS8, PKWY Tavern, Larson Zirzow & Kaplan, Umbrella Bookkeeping, Rossetti Public Relations, Pink Kitty Creative and Evel Pie. Additionally, Downtown Cares donated more than $8,000 in cash and in-kind donations to the club, including books, games, art supplies, toys, sports equipment, gardening tools and electronics.
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Western Governors University Nevada, Dunkin’ and Lyft Las Vegas gave away nearly 18,000 doughnuts and several gift cards to Southern Nevada teachers from every school.
“Jeopardy!” champion James Holzhauer of Las Vegas donated $10,000 to Project 150.
Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association and One Nevada Credit Union presented scholarship money to Nevada student-athletes at the 27th Annual NIAA/One Nevada Top Ten Student-Athletes of the Year Awards. Winners from Southern Nevada included: Benjamin Ballin, Rancho; Jacob Cipollini, Pahrump Valley; Delaney Friel, Tonopah; Clara Heislen, Faith Lutheran; Sydney Ludvigson, Virgin Valley; Hunter Mecham, Green Valley; Ashlyn Western, Moapa Valley; Mark Wilbourne, Faith Lutheran; Dylan Wilson, Virgin Valley; and Abigail Zuhlke, Shadow Ridge.
CPLC Nevada, an affiliate of Chicanos Por La Causa, celebrated its third annual Esperanza Latino Teacher Awards, presented by Zappos and Southwest Airlines. The group presented Latino Educator Awards to Laura Juliana Urtubey, special education teacher at Crestwood Elementary School, and David Enrique García Ramírez, science teacher at Del Sol Academy of Performing Arts. Averill Kelley, social studies teacher at West Preparatory Academy, received the Multicultural Educator Award. Each award comes with $5,000.
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded $3,000 each to the Friends of the North Las Vegas Library District and Imagine Schools at Mountain View in Las Vegas. The funds are aimed at supporting adult, family and summer literacy programs within a 20-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center and are expected to affect the lives of more than 625 Nevadans.
The Nevada Law Journal awarded UNLV Boyd School of Law student Paige Hall with the Justice Elisa Cadish Award for Outstanding Student Note. Hall’s winning entry, Welcoming E-Wills into the Mainstream: The Digital Communication of Testamentary Intent was honored as the best writing project by a student published in the Law Journal.
TRU Development aided NAIOP Southern Nevada’s Getting Dirty for a Great Cause project by helping renovate four of the on-site cottages at St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. Employees assisted in the initial renovations of two homes on the campus, and the company donated $500 to help fund the project.
This story originally appeared in the Las Vegas Weekly.