GIVING:

The Notes: Philanthropy, Feb. 3, 2020

Mon, Feb 3, 2020 (2 a.m.)

Cox Charities, the charitable arm of Cox Communications funded by employee donations, awarded Vegas PBS over $1,000 for books for underserved families to build home libraries.

Mrs. Nevada 2020 Amanda Klein created a giving platform and fashion line, Smart Barbie, with a mission is to advocate for the advancement of women. Proceeds of the clothing items benefit Project Marilyn, which provides feminine hygiene kits to women and teens in our community.

Walker Furniture was honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals at the 28th annual Las Vegas National Philanthropy Day celebration in the outstanding corporation/foundation category.

Sunrise Children’s Foundation honored philanthropist, Cindy Doumani at the Color Us Friends’ Luncheon, which raised money for the Home Instruction of Parents of Preschool Youngsters program. The nonprofit has helped more than 344 children across the Valley at developmental sites and early head start. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield donated $10,000 for the breastfeeding program and Cicis Pizza on Charleston Boulevard raised some “dough” with dining events for the foundation.

Adam S. Kutner & Associates sponsored A Salute to First Responders to show gratitude to the men and women who serve the Las Vegas community. The mayor and city council recognized Adam Kutner and Las Vegas Elks Lodge with a proclamation, naming it the official “First Responders Day.”

International Game Technology’s Women Inclusion Network partnered with nonprofit Project Marilyn to collect donations and assemble 120 bags to benefit women and children in need.

Helix Electric hosted its annual golf tournament, with proceeds benefitting the 22 Warriors Foundation, the Those Left Behind Foundation and the Down Syndrome Organization of Southern Nevada. This year’s event had the largest attendance since the start of the tournament, with 131 participants raising $8,500 for each charity.

Siegfried and Roy donated $5,000 to the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas LIFE. The donation will support youth sports programs in the city.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck gifted $150,000 to the Harry Reid Endowed Chair for the History of the Intermountain West at UNLV. The endowed chair is named for Reid, the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, to honor his life of public service. This position was created to elevate the college’s department of history to a national leader in the study of the Intermountain West region.

U.S. Bank awarded Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada a $50,000 Community Possible grant. The funds will be used to buy and equip a 26-foot truck to take Junior Achievement’s programming on the road and provide 5,000 more Nevada students free financial education programming. The grant is part of U.S. Bank’s new annual $1 million fund focused on organizations driving economic development across the country in the areas of workforce preparation, affordable housing and arts and culture.

Dr. John Rhodes, senior medical director for the Mountain West Region of primary and adult medicine for Southwest Medical, part of OptumCare, and his wife, Shelley, received the Heitkotter Award from Faith Luthern Middle School and High School. Dr. and Mrs. Rhodes were co-chairs of the “You Gotta Have Faith” campaign that raised nearly $6 million toward construction of the school’s chapel and performing arts center. They were also catalysts for the creation of the Mark 10:14 program to help developmentally disabled students.

Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada recognized outstanding pro bono lawyers and companies in Southern Nevada who fight injustice for thousands of the community’s most vulnerable residents at its annual pro bono awards, including pro bono attorney of the year Mary Bacon and pro bono law firm of the year, Snell & Wilmer. Additional winners recognized at the event included Holland & Hart; Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie; the Dickerson Karacsonyi Law Group; Dawn Hathaway Thoman; Marshal Willick; Southwest Gas; U.S. District Court Judge Richard Boulware II; Brittnie Watkins; Kevin Hernandez; Shannon Wilson; Meng Zhong; Edgar Cervantes; Glenn Schepps; and Leora Abrams.

City National Bank awarded 135 Reading is the Way Up literacy grants totaling $82,500 to support literacy-based projects as well as financial literacy. Local recipients included Garehime Elementary School for manipulatives and consumables for second grade, Betsy Rhodes Elementary School for fifth-grade book clubs, Vassiliadis Elementary School for leveled reading library and John C. Bass Elementary School for battle of the books reading club.

The Penta Building Group has officially donated over $8 million to 350 charities since 2000, including more than $900,000 in 2019. Through its charitable organization, the Penta Cares Foundation, funds and volunteer efforts conducted by Penta employees and family members directly contribute to supporting organizations that address and provide aid to issues such as food insecurity, veteran services, homelessness and childhood cancer.

Desert Radiology’s Do-Gooders donated more than 200 toys to the Firefighters of Southern Nevada Burn Foundation for the nonprofit’s annual Fill the Fire Truck Toy Drive. Las Vegas Lights FC mascot Cash joined the Do-Gooders team to load the truck with the donations. The toys collected will go to children across the Valley who benefit from more than 40 schools and organizations.

Mortenson-McCarthy Joint Venture, builders of Allegiant Stadium, and their more than 1,800 construction workers and subcontractors who are working on the stadium daily, donated new and unwrapped toys, books and bikes to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign. The donation included 45 overflowing boxes of toys and 30 bikes.

Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada donated 4,733 toys to nearly 850 children in the WIC program.

Founders Coffee hosts Coffee with a Cause, where the coffee shop works with local charities to raise awareness and money for great causes. Each month it will serve a Barista’s Choice beverage, with proceeds of its sale donated to the monthly charity partner, including Families for Effective Autism Treatment, Opportunity Village and Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada.

Get Outdoors Nevada received a $10,000 donation as part of the “Stickers for Good” program by CarMax. The funds were applied toward a Chevy Silverado pickup truck, which will be used for its volunteer program. In 2019, GON organized and conducted more than 120 clean-up events throughout Southern Nevada and almost 600 education programs for kids reaching almost 60,000 people.

United Way of Southern Nevada has rebranded and renamed the Women’s Leadership Council to become Women United, a group dedicated to supporting emerging female leaders and empowering girls from a young age. Women United joined UWSN donors to invest $1 million over three years to change lives in the Southern Nevada community. It also provides support for UWSN’s seven funded partners, including Sunrise Children’s Foundation, Girls on the Run Las Vegas, Las Vegas Clark County Library District Foundation, Nevada Health Centers, Leaders in Training, Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas and Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow.  

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas announced the charitable beneficiaries of its giving module program. From January to March, guests of the resort will have the option to donate to HELP of Southern Nevada, Goodie Two Shoes, America Heart Association or Veterans Village when they redeem ticket vouchers on the casino floor. The giving module is the first of its kind on the Strip. Since the program’s debut in July 2019, there have been more than 124,000 donation transactions, equating to more than $26,000 to nonprofits in the Las Vegas Valley.

This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.

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