Sands China shows care for community

Sands Macao Celebrates 20 Years in Macao

A five-part series on the growth of Sands China since 2004

As the city’s first international integrated tourism and leisure enterprise, Sands China has been rooted in Macao for 20 years now, since the opening of Sands Macao in 2004. After introducing Las Vegas Sands’ successful integrated resort model to Macao – combining entertainment, retail, MICE, food & beverage, and accommodation all under one roof – the company continues to invest and actively contribute to the development of Macao into a world centre of tourism and leisure.

Sands China is committed to giving back to the local community that it calls home and has spared no effort in fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. Rain or shine, the company is committed to helping local disadvantaged groups. Upholding the mission of Sands Cares, the global corporate citizenship program of parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp., Sands China has worked with 520 local organisations and civic associations to actively carry out charitable work through financial aid, community assistance and collaboration, and donation of supplies, benefitting those in need in the city.

3,300 ambassadors eagerly serve the community

Sands China launched the Sands Cares Ambassador Program in August 2009, making itself the first integrated resort operator in Macao to establish a volunteer team. The program aims to provide team members with a platform to serve the local community through organising various community activities and engaging in volunteer services, thereby conveying love and care to local disadvantaged groups, and helping to establish a harmonious and inclusive community. With the constant growth of the volunteer team and expansion of its volunteer services, Sands China established the Sands Cares Ambassadors Working Committee in 2020 to organise a wider variety of community activities more efficiently and to help more people in need. More than 3,300 team members are Sands Cares Ambassadors, with the program having organised over 650 voluntary activities for them, totalling over 310,000 volunteer service hours to date.

Aiding the community to recover after disasters

In the beginning of 2020, the world fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to strictly following the pandemic prevention measures of the Macao SAR government, Sands China actively allocated resources to various pandemic relief efforts, including continuously encouraging team members and their families to voluntarily get vaccinated; donating essential supplies to the local community; and offering the Sheraton Grand Macao and The Parisian Macao as medical observation hotels. Furthermore, the company fully supported the government’s city-wide nucleic acid testing drives during critical times of the pandemic. From the onset of the pandemic in 2020 to late 2022, Sands China team members supported local pandemic relief with a total of 7.5 million service hours.

Community outreach volunteer service

Sands Cares Ambassadors actively volunteered to organise and participate in a variety of community events and services, bringing care and warmth to disadvantaged groups. The company’s signature events include a Spring Cleaning that has happened for 15 consecutive years. Around 200 Sands Cares Ambassadors and the company’s senior management team bring Chinese New Year gift packs to live-alone elderly each year. The volunteers also provide haircutting services and simple maintenance work. In addition, the team members from the company’s facilities department helped any elderly in need to replace their light bulbs – getting them ready to celebrate the new year with a refreshed home.

Sharing resources and promoting an inclusive community

In addition to outreach activities, Sands China leverages its world-class tourism facilities and resources so that under-represented groups can enjoy incredible experiences at the company’s integrated resorts, giving back to the community. The company has tailored a variety of diverse activities to meet the needs of different groups in order to offer them a unique and enjoyable journey. 

Nurturing new talent rich with potential

Young adults are the future of Macao. With this belief in mind, Sands China actively leverages its resources to nurture local art and sports talent by providing them exchange opportunities where they get to learn and interact with industry insiders when the company brings arts and sports events to the city.

At last year’s Janoska Ensemble Macao 2023 performance, Sands China organised a masterclass for 18 young Macao and Hong Kong music enthusiasts. They were privileged to receive guidance from the ensemble, who generously shared their expertise and insights after listening to the participants’ performances. The interactive masterclass also featured an up-close display of the collective improvisation for which Janoska Ensemble is well-known, creating an immersive and collaborative experience.

Another similar event was Sands Golf Day in October 2023. Sands China invited four renowned professional golfers – Minjee Lee, Lydia Ko, Minwoo Lee, and Collin Morikawa – to lead a skills challenge with 16 young local golfers aged 7-15 from the Macau Junior Golf Association. The event offered the youth a unique platform for interaction, inspiration, and mentorship with the professional golfers. With such events, Sands China hopes to help youth realise their full potential and contribute to Macao’s rich sporting legacy.

What the NGOs say

“The Gift Pack Community Sharing Programme supported by Sands China aims to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in the meaningful work of making gift packs. It allows them to contribute to helping others and themselves, while enhancing their self-confidence and sense of fulfillment. Sands China also helped deliver the completed gift packs to underprivileged children, allowing more people to experience care and warmth from society. We sincerely thank Sands China for its long-term support and contributions to the Macau community, providing substantial assistance and care to vulnerable groups.”

Jennifer Chau, Director of Fuhong Society of Macau

“Sands China has been committed to caring for the community and assisting the underprivileged. The Healthy Athletes Programme, a collaboration between Macau Special Olympics and Sands China, has entered its ninth year. It aims to improve the health issues of intellectually disabled individuals and alleviate the caregiving pressure on parents. The programme perfectly reflects Sands China’s desire to invest more corporate social responsibility efforts in the Macau community, enriching the community’s health needs for intellectually disabled individuals.”

Hetzer Siu, National Director of Macau Special Olympics

“One of the most memorable moments was during Typhoon Hato when Sands China assisted by timely transporting patients in need of kidney dialysis to the hospital, ensuring their safety. During the pandemic, Sands China distributed food to vulnerable groups, providing support and assistance to those in need. Caritas Macau sincerely thanks Sands China for its support and contributions over the past 20 years. With the support of Sands China, Caritas Macau has been able to carry out more projects across various sectors of society, providing care and assistance to vulnerable groups.”

Paul Pun, Secretary-General of Caritas Macau