Las Vegas Sands Donates $150K to Train Housing-Insecure LGBTQ+ Youth

Posted on: June 18, 2026, 12:22h. 

Last updated on: June 18, 2026, 12:22h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Vegas Myths Busted.
  • Las Vegas Sands (LVS) recently donated $150,000 to fund a mobile coffee truck job initiative
  • The grant empowers housing-insecure LGBTQ+ youth with paid, transferable workforce development skills
  • While operating strictly in Asia, LVS still maintains its corporate headquarters in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has awarded $150,000 to the LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas to expand a workforce development initiative aimed at helping housing‑insecure young adults gain job experience and long‑term economic stability.

Since selling the Venetian Las Vegas for $6.25 billion in February 2022, Las Vegas Sands pivoted its focus entirely to Asia. It now owns and operates the Venetian Macao, shown, as well as Sands Macao, the Londoner Macao, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, the Parisian Macao, and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. (Image: Shutterstock)

The grant, from the company’s Sands Cares community-engagement program, will create a mobile coffee truck operated by 20 program participants ages 18-24, who will earned paid work experience as they get trained in transferable job skills ranging from customer service and food‑service operations to basic business management.

The LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas has operated for more than 30 years, offering health care, counseling, community programming, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ residents and allies. Its two on‑site clinics provide physical and mental‑health services, while its youth and adult programs serve as a lifeline for thousands of community members each year.

“We’re entering a new phase in our work with the Center and embarking on an area that’s very much aligned with our company’s global focus on workforce development and providing economic empowerment through job skills and employment opportunities,” Ron Reese, senior VP of global communications and corporate affairs for Las Vegas Sands, said in a statement.

The LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas launched a brick-and-mortar version of Espresso Yourself as a small coffee counter inside its main facility in 2025. The concept quickly became one of the organization’s most successful engagement tools for youth experiencing homelessness or unstable housing. (Image: Instagram/@thecenterlv)

“We’ve also been dedicated to the issue of youth homelessness in Las Vegas, so the opportunity to provide support for unhoused and housing-insecure youth was another strong connection with our priorities,” Reese’s statement continued.

Las Vegas Sands and the Center have maintained a close partnership since 2021, when Sands Cares contributed to the expansion of the Arlene Cooper Community Health Center. Subsequent support has helped the Center upgrade its facility, strengthen administrative operations, and broaden its health‑care and community‑service offerings.

From 2023 to 2025, the Center also participated in the Sands Cares Accelerator, a three‑year capacity‑building program designed to help nonprofits scale their communications, visibility, and long‑term sustainability. During that period, the Center significantly increased its media presence and established itself as a regional leader in LGBTQ+ community health and advocacy.

Still Active in Las Vegas

Since selling the Venetian Las Vegas for $6.25 billion in February 2022 to VICI Properties and Apollo Global Management, Las Vegas Sands — despite its name — has pivoted its business focus entirely to Asia.

The corporate headquarters of Las Vegas Sands in Las Vegas. (Image: Google Street View)

The public company now owns and operates the Venetian Macao, as well as Sands Macao, the Londoner Macao, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, the Parisian Macao, and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

However, LVS still maintains its corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, where co-founder and majority shareholder (~58.2%) Dr. Miriam Adelson, still resides and remains active in the community.

She and her family have also owned and operated the Las Vegas Review-Journal since December 2015, when late LVS founder, chair and CEO Sheldon Adelson purchased Nevada’s largest newspaper for $140 million from Gatehouse Media.