Making A Difference – HealthCare Partners Medical Group
The flu has been going around this season, and it’s important to stay vaccinated to insure that all of us stay healthy. Unfortunately, many valley residents are without health insurance and cannot afford this simple treatment. That’s where HealthCare Partners Medical Group is stepping in.
A leading physician-run group that provides primary, specialty and urgent care services in Southern Nevada, HealthCare Partners donated a supply of flu vaccine this past January to Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada (VMSN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to treating uninsured patients who do not qualify for government assistance programs. The donated vaccines are expected to have a significant impact for VMSN, which manages approximately 6,000 patient visits each year. “With all signs pointing to a severe flu season in Southern Nevada, HealthCare Partners recognizes the importance of providing vaccines to community members in need,” said Dr. Amir Bacchus, chief medical officer of HealthCare Partners Medical Group. “Preventative medicine is a top priority for HealthCare Partners, and we have a responsibility to keep people healthy, regardless of whether they visit our company’s clinics.”
With the wellness of the community in mind, insured or otherwise, HealthCare Partners Medical Group has taken that extra step to help keep all Southern Nevada residents healthy and happy, proving that if a small group of people care enough then all of us can heal a little bit together.
For more information on HealthCare Partners Medical Group, visit www.hcpnv.com.
Making A Difference – Jersey Boys and Eiffel Tower Restaurant
Members of our armed forces and their families depend on many important services to help provide comfort, care and social support. The Service to Armed Forces program of Red Cross of Southern Nevada has been doing just that, and thanks to the recent “Oh What a Night” event held at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas, the charitable organization received over $10,000 in donations with a helping hand from the cast of the local hit stage show Jersey Boys.
On February 6th, Jersey Boys cast members Graham Fenton, Deven May, Jeff Leibow and Rob Marnell joined acclaimed Chef Joho for an exclusive cooking demonstration, preparing a selection of delectable treats and specialty cocktails. Following the demonstration, guests traveled to the dining room to join the other attendees, engaging in conversation with the show’s cast, the renowned chef and American Red Cross representatives. A silent auction featured donations from Paris Las Vegas, Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Jersey Boys and much more.
Vegas may be big on celebrity, but charity groups such as the American Red Cross provide an opportunity for big names and ordinary citizens to come together and do some good. With kind hearts on hand and a dazzling culinary flair on display, “Oh What a Night” provided a night of fantastic entertainment and helped give the members of our military a new sense of hope.
For more information on Red Cross of Southern Nevada, visit www.redcrosslasvegas.org.
Making A Difference – ThinkFirst Nevada, Land Rover & Ricardo Laguna
With injury being the leading cause of death among children and teens, it’s more important than ever to promote safety for our local youth. ThinkFirst Nevada aims to do just that by providing programs to help inspire kids to make safe choices. ThinkFirst recently teamed up with Land Rover for just such an educational endeavor, aided by professional BMX rider Ricardo Laguna.
Throughout his incredible career, Laguna has won much recognition and numerous accolades, taking part in the X-Games, the Dew Action Sports Tour, Gravity Games, BMX Masters and many other rigorous competitions. At a special event held at Land Rover Las Vegas on January 12th, kids got the chance to meet Laguna and receive a free helmet from ThinkFirst. Laguna and friends also took time to put on a BMX demonstration for everyone, much to the delight of the crowd. Other entertainment on site included an energetic performance from a crew of breakdancers with Jay R Beatbox, while tasty bites were provided by the Spot to Eat food tuck.
Everyone will agree that it’s always a good thing when kids stay active, but never at the expense of well being. Thanks to initiatives such as the ones promoted by ThinkFirst Nevada, along with the help of Land Rover and Ricardo Laguna, local young people can stay active all the time while still making sure they are aware of personal vulnerability and the importance of safety.
For more information on ThinkFirst Nevada, visit www.thinkfirstnevada.org.
Making a Difference – Park Place Infiniti
For over forty years, HELP of Southern Nevada has provided programs and services to the local community that assist the poor, the homeless, and all those in crisis throughout the area. To show their support, employees of Park Place Infiniti recently adopted two families from HELP and collected enough donations for them to fill an Infiniti G convertible.
The holiday donation drive was part of the Circle of Excellence program, an employee led program dedicated to raising money for worthwhile local charities. HELP provided the dealership with a list of presents that each family needed, and Park Place Infiniti employees secured every item listed, often going above and beyond what was asked for. Employees also put together individual stockings with each child’s name and filled them with stocking stuffers. A convertible on the showroom floor quickly overflowed with all of the presents collected, totaling more than $2,000 in merchandise, along with gift cards to local grocery stores for each family.
“Park Place Dealerships has a proud history of being active community partners,” said Park Place Infiniti GM Stephen James. “Circle of Excellence allows employees to select the charities that they want to support and coordinate the projects so everyone can be involved.” Shawntelle Adler, a member of the finance department and coordinator of the holiday drive, added, “It was important to us to get every child what they wanted and be sure they had plenty of gifts to open.”
For more information on HELP of Southern Nevada, visit www.helpsonv.org.
Making a Difference – Henderson Professional Fire Fighters & Henderson Fire Fighters Benevolent Association
House fires can have a devastating effect on the lives of anyone who suffers through them. Henderson Professional Fire Fighters and the Henderson Fire Fighters Benevolent Association (HFBA) helped out those displaced from their homes by donating $2,000 on January 4th to the Southern Nevada Chapter of American Red Cross’s “Fire Hurts… Red Cross Helps” campaign.
A joint effort by the American Red Cross and Professional Fire Fighters of Nevada, the campaign hopes to raise $300,000 in order to help fund emergency assistance programs with all the money raised staying right here in Southern Nevada to help benefit local families. On average, the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross responds to a residential fire at least once a day with volunteers on call to respond twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Thanks to contributions and donations from citizens across Southern Nevada, the Red Cross continues to provide its assistance as an outright gift to the local population, ensuring that families in need across the region have someone to turn to when times are desperate.
“In our service to the community, we respond to fires that often not only impact individual families but numerous displaced residents,” says Dan Pentkowski, president of the Henderson Professional Fire Fighters. “It is important to support the American Red Cross because they provide desperately needed assistance. We are proud to assist the Red Cross in this campaign.”
For more information on the Henderson Professional Fire Fighters, visit www.hendersonfirefighters.com.
Making a Difference – WestStar Credit Union
We all know that a simple smile can help make a dreary day seem brighter and lift the spirits of those around us, but one local organization proved that something as simple as a smile truly can change the world. On January 4th, WestStar Credit Union made a $16,000 donation to Opportunity Village to mark the culmination of their 2012 charity campaign A Mile of Smiles.
Beginning in August of 2012, WestStar sent teams of volunteers to local venues such as Fremont Street, UNLV, local malls, Las Vegas Wrangler hockey games and more to capture pictures of people’s smiles, while others uploaded their own grins to the online gallery set up by WestStar. For each smile collected, WestStar dedicated one dollar to Opportunity Village, which has been helping improve the lives of the intellectually disabled in our community since 1954. WestStar’s CEO Rick Schmidt, Vice President of Business Development Mona Joseph, and Marketing Manager Kerry Cook presented the donation to Dawn Newburg, Resource Development Director for Opportunity Village.
Programs such as A Mile of Smiles help to remind those of us in Southern Nevada that a smile is contagious and goes a long way toward making the world a better place. WestStar Credit Union has proved that many times over by turning smiles into a new ray of hope for everyone at Opportunity Village and being an inspiration to everyone in the community.
For more information on A Mile of Smiles and to view photos, visit www.amileofsmiles.org.
Making a Difference – Black Rock Solar
Since 1990, The Shade Tree has been providing shelter and assistance to homeless and abused women, children and their pets. Local nonprofit Black Rock Solar is helping them continue their mission of protecting those in need by building a new solar array for the shelter, dedicated this past November. The array is designed to help offset The Shade Tree’s utility bill, lowering overhead and freeing up funds for essential community services.
Black Rock Solar conducted multiple rounds of fundraising for the renewable energy project and helped The Shade Tree secure a rebate from NV Energy’s RenewableGenerations program. The nonprofit built a new carport and installed solar panels on two separate buildings for the thirty-four kilowatt array, all at no cost to the shelter. Groupon Grassroots featured the project as one of its Earth Day fundraising campaigns, bringing in $2,500 to help complete the endeavor, while other individual donors contributed funds for paint and asphalt work. The Shade Tree has not been the only recipient of Black Rock’s generosity, either. The bighearted group has also built fifty photovoltaic arrays at low or no cost for schools, other nonprofits, Native American tribes and community groups throughout the state.
“Organizations like The Shade Tree add extraordinary value to their communities,” said Patrick McCully, Executive Director of Black Rock Solar. “We are honored to be able to help them continue their mission, and grateful to all those who contributed to making this project a reality.”
For more information on The Shade Tree, visit www.theshadetree.org.
Making a Difference – Nevada Women’s Philanthropy (NWP)
Goodwill of Southern Nevada is just one of many organizations that provide services to the community in need, but like many similar groups, they often depend on outside donations for help. Thanks to a generous gift from Nevada Women’s Philanthropy (NWP), our local Goodwill chapter has been able to initiate a program that will help veterans and their spouses find jobs.
Nevada Women’s Philanthropy elected to award its $350,000 2012 grant to Goodwill of Southern Nevada, which used the funds to launch its Veteran Integration Program. The grant helped pay for the program’s start up costs, which included hiring three full time career specialists with military backgrounds who understand the unique challenges faced by veterans and their spouses when entering the work force. Approximately 400 veterans will be served through the program’s initial launch. A $30,000 NWP Founders Gift was also awarded to the year’s runner-up, Helping Hands of Vegas Valley and James Seastrand Helping Hands of North Las Vegas. In the past, NWP has awarded grants to Salvation Army of Southern Nevada, the Rape Crisis Center, Roundy Elementary School, the Public Education Foundation and others.
“We can’t think of a better way to honor those who served our country than to help them find work,” said Steve Chartrand, president & CEO of Goodwill of Southern Nevada. “Helping someone find a job is truly life changing, and we are grateful to Nevada Women’s Philanthropy for providing seed funding to develop this much needed program.”
For more information on NWP, visit www.nevadawomensphilantropy.org.
Making a Difference – Crazy Pita & The Josh Stevens Foundation
Josh Stevens lost his life in a tragic accident just before his thirteenth birthday, but his spirit and desire to do good for others lives on through the Josh Stevens Foundation, which seeks to continue his legacy of taking time to be kind. Local restaurant Crazy Pita is just one of many organizations who have helped contribute toward spreading Josh’s message of kindness.
Crazy Pita was one of Josh’s favorite places to eat, so it’s fitting that the restaurant would help honor his message of being kind with a special fundraising initiative. As part of a yearly tradition, the restaurant donates proceeds from the sale of Josh’s favorite pita (the Kefta) on a chosen day to the Josh Stevens Foundation. This year’s event, held this past October 14th, was a huge success in spreading kindness to all who attended. Crazy Pita helps support many other local organizations through sponsorships, fundraisers and donations with a strong focus on cancer research, education, youth sports and community projects.
“An enormous thank you goes out to everyone who attended or helped in any way to put today’s event together,” said Drew Stevens, Josh’s father and founder of the Josh Stevens Foundation. “We wouldn’t be able to put on an event to celebrate Josh without the love and support from all of you who believe in our mission of carrying out random acts of genuine kindness.”
For more information on the Josh Stevens Foundation, visit www.joshstevensfoundation.org.
Making a Difference – Station Casinos
Many elementary schools depend on volunteers and outside assistance to help improve the quality of education in the classroom and provide needed resources to teachers and students. Thanks to a community initiative known as Smart Start, Station Casinos has been doing its part to make education a priority and improve the learning environment for local students.
On October 5th, the executive team at Boulder Station presented the students of Laura Dearing Elementary School with seventy-five backpacks loaded with supplies, along with a monetary donation of $3,000. The gifts were made possible through the generous contributions of Boulder Station’s benevolent team members, who have been working with Laura Dearing Elementary as their partner school in the Smart Start program. This initiative has helped Station Casinos assist eleven high need elementary schools throughout the valley get the help they need to enhance the quality of education and has raised over $2.4 million for Las Vegas area schools.
Education is one of the most important resources we provide to our children to help prepare them for a better future, but without much needed supplies and resources, many will lack the basics they need to achieve. Thanks to Station Casinos and their Smart Start initiative, local schools will be able to continue offering the best education possible to the youth of tomorrow.
For more information on Smart Start, contact your local Station Casinos property.
