LAS VEGAS - Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced introduction of the Sands Cares Accelerator Program, a community partnership endeavor that entrenches deeper investment in growing nonprofit organizations that have the potential to more greatly impact the local community with the gift of additional resources and nurturing from a major corporate partner.
The Marty Hennessy Inspiring Children Foundation has been named the first member of the Sands Cares Accelerator Program and will be the recipient of proceeds from INSPIRE, a charity event presented by Las Vegas Sands' corporate giving program Sands Cares and held annually to raise funds for Accelerator program participants. This year's inaugural INSPIRE celebration will feature a concert performance by Grammy-nominated artist Jewel at The Palazzo in Las Vegas on May 19 in The Palazzo Theatre.
Las Vegas Sands created the Sands Cares Accelerator Program to forge deeper engagements with community organizations that have potential to grow beyond their current size and stature, and who have demonstrated a strong ability to make impact and inspire change with greater involvement from a corporate benefactor. As part of the Accelerator program, Sands Cares commits expanded resources, such as funding, in-kind services, facility support and volunteers to program participants as a catalyst for acceleration of the great work they do in the community.
"The Marty Hennessy Inspiring Children Foundation is an organization that is changing the lives of at-risk youth and building our community's leaders of tomorrow," said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs at Las Vegas Sands. "It is the best example of the type of organization we want the Accelerator program to propel into its next stage of growth and development. The Foundation's mission also is closely aligned with Sands Cares' focus on education and addressing the social, economic and family challenges many of our community's youth face."
Founded 15 years ago and currently operating with a small staff out of a single room in the Senior Center at Lorenzi Park, the Marty Hennessy Inspiring Children Foundation takes at-risk youth off the streets and into greatness by providing them with life-changing opportunities. The Foundation helps children to develop a vision for their life, where they can grow their strengths through project-driven learning, mentoring, apprenticeships, academics, and athletics. The program inspires children to earn their way and discover their passions by helping them create and execute quarterly business plans. Through this process, the leadership and character development program arms youth with a psychology for life that prepares them mentally, emotionally and physically to live happy, driven and inspired lives.
Though the Foundation's work, hundreds of youth every year are inspired to achieve beyond previously limited beliefs for their lives – 95 percent of the children in the full-time leadership program receive college scholarships, and students in the program have gone onto prestigious universities such as Stanford, Princeton, Oxford, Yale, Georgetown University, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania-Wharton School of Business, Vanderbilt, United States Air Force, The Citadel, Villanova, Williams College, BYU and many others.
"We are grateful to Las Vegas Sands for recognizing the power of the work we do with our children, and making this amazing investment in our future," said Ryan Wolfington, founder, Marty Hennessy Inspiring Children Foundation. "Being part of the Sands Cares Accelerator Program is going to put us on a trajectory to impact many more young lives."
