Las Vegas Sands announced on Tuesday a contribution $150,000 to the LGBTQ+ Center of Las Vegas for a workforce training and employment program designed to support unhoused and housing-insecure youth through the organization’s Espresso Yourself Café program.
Funding will enable the LGBTQ+ Center to provide work experience and transferable job skills to 20 young adults ages 18-24 through development of the Espresso Yourself Café mobile coffee truck. The program will provide them with pathways to sustainable employment, income stability and permanent housing.
“With Sands’ continued and valued partnership, we are creating meaningful opportunities for vulnerable youth to build confidence, develop job skills and gain real-world work experience,” LGBTQ+ Center CEO John Waldron said in a statement. “This program reflects what The Center is all about – providing a safe and welcoming space where people can grow, thrive and reach their full potential.”
The LGBTQ+ Center initially launched the Espresso Yourself Café as a permanent location in its main facility last year and has received strong participant engagement. The organization is extending the program to community locations through the mobile coffee truck while combining employment opportunities and job training for vulnerable youth.
Sands and the LGBTQ+ Center began working together through Sands Cares in 2021, when the company contributed to the expansion of the Arlene Cooper Community Health Center. Since then, Sands has continued Sands Cares investments that have enabled the LGBTQ+ Center to expand its health care resources, make improvements to its core facility and sustain its administrative office.
Sands also hosted the LGBTQ+ Center in the Sands Cares Accelerator from 2023-2025, enabling the organization to expand and develop marketing and communications capabilities through the exclusive three-year capacity-building program. Sands and the LGBTQ+ Center recently celebrated the nonprofit’s Sands Cares Accelerator graduation and three-year accomplishments, which included increased media and social media visibility, recognition as a thought leader in community-based care, and greater national awareness.
“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,” said Sands Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Corporate Affairs Ron Reese. “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. We think this program will have great return for The Center and the youth who participate.”
The LGBTQ+ Center has been part of the Las Vegas Valley for 30 years and provides a safe, non-judgmental environment for life-enriching programs, wellness services, events, education and support for people who identify as LGBTQ+ and allies of the community. As the hub for an array of resources, the center operates two clinics that deliver physical and mental health care, offers a variety of community service programs, and serves as a leading advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
The Sands Cares partnership with the LGBTQ+ Center aligns with Sands’ priorities on nonprofit partner advancement, workforce development, hardship relief and support for organizations serving diverse communities.
