Sands Cares Gets in the Holiday Spirit with KLUC Toy Drive and Santa Run

Sands Cares Season of Giving was especially meaningful this year as Team Members from The Venetian and The Palazzo got together for the Santa Run and the KLUC Toy Drive.

Team Members volunteered their time at the Santa Run, benefitting Opportunity Village, in Downtown Las Vegas in December.  A total of 1,988 runners from the properties, the largest team for the third straight year, joined 10,000 participants in the 5k race.  The race raises funds to support the organization’s various programs and services for individuals with disabilities.

“The Santa Run is just an awesome experience,” Ross Hubbard, The Venetian and The Palazzo Safety and Engineering Coordinator, said.  “My daughter and I have participated the past two years and we plan to continue in the years to come.  I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me to work for a company that gives back so much to the community.  The experiences that I have shared with my daughter through these volunteer events are priceless.  As a parent, it provides me the opportunity to teach my daughter about giving back and never taking anything for granted.”

For the 18th annual KLUC Toy Drive, volunteers from The Venetian and The Palazzo donated toys, gift cards and bikes.  The event was held for 12 straight days, 24 hours per day as Chet Buchannon, morning DJ for KLUC, sat atop a scaffold encouraging the community to come out and donate.  All donations benefit HELP of Southern Nevada, which helps local families provide gifts to their children during the holidays.

“We had so much going on this year, so we weren’t sure exactly what we would be able to in regards to volunteering and donations,” Nina Khatami, IT Communications and Training Manager, said.  “We were able to take toys to the front of The Palazzo and load the semi-truck with other Team Members.  We donated toys the entire week and we helped organize the toys at the toy drive.  It was a great department effort.”

The Venetian and The Palazzo collected and donated two full semi-trucks of toys, including over 100 bikes and other toys for both boys and girls.  Our Team Members also donated $3,500 in gift cards and the company made a $10,000 donation on behalf of Sands Cares.  In total, Team Members volunteered 368 hours in just five days.  The IT department alone donated 11 bikes, 245 toys and 28 gift cards.

“I was there on the last day and it was so cool to see everyone rallying at the last minute,” Khatami said.  “It’s an awesome experience to see what the community was able to do.   Stephanie Stanton, who organizes this volunteer event for Team Members, is amazing!  She was there every single day.  It’s just a really great time and we as a department and company enjoyed it a lot.”