Sands Announces Funding to Help the Asian Community Development Council Provide Vital In-Language Social Services

$75,000 commitment is the largest local donation to ACDC's capital campaign for a language bank and hotline to link Asian and Pacific Islander Americans with critical resources

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Las Vegas Sands Corp.

May 27, 2021, 14:02 ET

LAS VEGAS, May 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) today announced it will donate $75,000 through Sands Cares to a capital campaign spearheaded by the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) for establishment of a language bank and resource hotline to facilitate access to critical social services for the Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai communities in Southern Nevada. The donation is the largest to date in the Las Vegas community and is intended to help ACDC kickstart the local funding campaign.

ACDC's capital campaign goal is $500,000 to establish the In-Language Client Success Advocacy Program, which aims to break down language barriers between non-English speakers and social service providers by recruiting and training a team of in-language specialists to assist Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members with limited English proficiency in navigating the social service infrastructure.

Ultimately, the program will provide improved access to food, healthcare and rental relief for basic needs support and to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19; resources for addressing discrimination and hate crimes targeting AAPIs; and citizenship and voter registration guidance to ensure AAPIs are represented in civic and political processes.

"Most social services are facilitated in English, but with more than 40 different languages spoken in Nevada, our community has a demonstrable need for bilingual service providers," said Vida Lin, founder and president, ACDC. "With the support of companies like Sands, we can realize our goal of opening more doors for people in need."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nevada had the nation's fastest-growing population from 2017 to 2019, with AAPIs constituting the fastest-growing minority population during that time. ACDC correlates this tremendous population growth to an exponential need for services, especially during the pandemic and as more AAPIs have become targets for discrimination and hate crimes.

ACDC has been an advocate for protecting the wellbeing of the AAPI community in Southern Nevada since 2015, and its critical response efforts have greatly intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization has distributed food to more than 1,500 local families, administered hundreds of flu shots at drive-up clinics and provided rental assistance for people facing eviction.

"ACDC plays a critical role in Southern Nevada as the primary advocate for ensuring AAPI voices are heard, critical needs are met and the community's wellbeing is promoted and protected," said Ron Reese, Sands senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs. "We are making this investment during AAPI Heritage Month to help this community overcome the specific hardships and discriminatory behavior associated with the pandemic and for the long-term health of the community. We encourage our corporate peers and the public to follow our donation with whatever amount they can commit to make this campaign a success."

Community members who wish to donate to the capital campaign can take advantage of the last days of "Give In May," a nationwide effort in honor of AAPI Heritage Month to support the work of AAPI nonprofits that provide vital services to vulnerable people. To donate to ACDC through the "Give In May" fundraising platform, visit https://www.giveinmay.org/organization/Asian-Community-Development-Council.

Sands' partnership with ACDC represents its ongoing commitment to removing systemic barriers to advancement for minority groups. In response to the race-related events impacting the African-American community over this past year and the increase in hate crimes against AAPIs associated with the pandemic, Sands has accelerated its support to community organizations serving all minority groups. The ACDC funding commitment builds on Sands' $400,000 investment in community diversity organizations announced at the end of 2020.

About Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS)
Las Vegas Sands is the world's preeminent developer and operator of world-class Integrated Resorts. We deliver unrivaled economic benefits to the communities in which we operate.

Sands created the meetings, incentives, convention and exhibition (MICE)-based Integrated Resort. Our industry-leading Integrated Resorts provide substantial contributions to our host communities including growth in leisure and business tourism, sustained job creation and ongoing financial opportunities for local small and medium-sized businesses.

Our properties include The Venetian Resort and Sands Expo in Las Vegas, and the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd., we have developed the largest portfolio of properties on the Cotai Strip in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Plaza and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, The Londoner Macao and The Parisian Macao, as well as the Sands Macao on the Macao Peninsula.

Sands is dedicated to being a good corporate citizen, anchored by the core tenets of serving people, planet and communities. We deliver a great working environment for our team members worldwide, drive social impact through the Sands Cares community engagement and charitable giving program and lead in environmental performance through the award-winning Sands ECO360 global sustainability program. To learn more, please visit www.sands.com.

About the Asian Community Development Council
The Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) is a nonprofit and non-partisan organization of volunteers dedicated to building, connecting, and educating the Asian American Pacific Islander community in Nevada. ACDC was officially chartered in 2015. The mission of ACDC is to improve the general well-being and education of the Asian American Pacific Islander and other ethnic communities in Nevada. Among the services ACDC offers includes: voter education, health insurance enrollment assistance, citizenship application assistance, vaccination clinics (Influenza and COVID-19), food distribution, College Readiness Bootcamp, and GraduAsian.