Sands China supports communities through hard times

As a leading integrated resort developer in one of the world’s tourism hotspots, Sands China strongly believes in the power of community – upholding the company’s unique approach in delivering a full array of offerings that address the needs of society.

Committed to giving back to the local community, the company has always prioritized working with different sectors to be responsive to the different needs of people from all walks of life.

Macau has been facing extraordinary challenges for nearly two years now due to the adverse effects of the pandemic, yet, Sands China has barely missed a beat in supporting the community during the most trying times.

The company has also made sure that its series of services and support initiatives are an answer to the government’s call to support society. 

To fully utilize and make use of its resources, Sands China has a strong team of volunteers who have given continual support to the company’s community partners.

Back in August 2009, Sands China founded the Sands Cares Ambassador programme, and became the first integrated resort operator to establish a volunteer team in Macau. To better cope with the expansion of the company’s volunteer service and the growth of its volunteer team, a Sands Cares Ambassador Working Committee was set up in 2020, aiming to organise more community activities with the overall goal of serving more people in the community.

After over a decade, membership in the programme now surpasses 3,300 volunteers from across all Sands China properties – Sands Macao, The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, The Londoner Macao and The Parisian Macao. 

Together, the empowered team members have contributed more than 130,000 hours of voluntary community service since the programme’s founding, having organised and participated in 500 community events to date.

Through this unique programme, team members have been giving up their free time to work tirelessly to help others, particularly society’s more vulnerable groups. 

The programme also gives Sands China team members a platform for serving the local community by organising community activities and initiatives that work toward creating a better Macau.

Sands China has cooperated with 520 non-profitable associations and private institutions to date, and by doing so, the company believes it can make an impact on society that will further promote social harmony. Sands Cares Ambassadors have organized and participated in a wide array of volunteer activities with these entities, such as helping distribute nearly 850 food hampers to disadvantaged families with the Macau Holy House of Mercy’s Welfare Shop over nine consecutive years; assembling a total of 300,000 hygiene kits for Clean the World over eight consecutive years; packing and distributing typhoon emergency kits with the Macau Red Cross for three years; and supporting the Caritas Macau Charity Bazaar every year for eleven years. 

Throughout the years, Sands China has delivered warmth and care to those who are in need and helped them integrate into society – not just in Macau but also in the mainland. 

Spreading warmth by utilising company resources

With its commitment to corporate social responsibility, Sands China has utilized the resources of its integrated resorts to organise a wide array of events and initiatives for team members to deliver care and warmth to the local community. For instance, Sands Cares Ambassadors hosted local disadvantaged groups at The Londoner Macao and at the teamLab SuperNature Macao interactive art space, aiming to promote family health and social inclusion. The company provided platforms for social enterprises to run booths featuring food, beverages and creative products at the Sands Shopping Carnival in both 2020 and 2021, creating an opportunity for the organizations’ restaurants to gain exposure in the local commercial market and to create job opportunities for their members.

Combating poverty in Congjiang 

For the last three years, Sands China has procured a variety of agricultural goods from Congjiang county in Guizhou province, including mandarin oranges, chili sauce, mineral water, oranges, rice, mushrooms, and preserved meat.

The purchases are part of the company’s ongoing product procurement support measures in mainland China, which began in 2018.

Sands China was the first integrated resort operator in Macau to purchase goods from Congjiang to help drive the local economy and the development of people’s livelihood.

“Sands China is pleased to learn that under the leadership of the Macau SAR government and the Liaison Office, Congjiang’s poverty alleviation work has benefited from the concerted effort of all sectors of society and achieved significant results,” said Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd. 

And in September 2019, Sands China completed its installation of 560 solar-powered street lamps that it donated to five Congjiang villages, with the six-month project requiring MOP 1.6 million to accomplish.

Participation in NAT drives 

The COVID-19 outbreaks of August and September led to a city-wide mass testing, resulting in a demand for public manpower. Sands China saw it as its duty to assist in the nucleic acid test (NAT) drives by providing The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo as a testing site.

This was to ensure that it could assist the government to respond quickly to the unprecedented health crisis.

At the testing station, over 2,400 Sands China team members, including Sands Cares Ambassadors, took shifts around the clock, offering 24-hour onsite assistance for a total of five days to those getting tested during the two consecutive testing drives in late September and early October. 

Team members also volunteered to assist with the operation of the testing station at the Tap Seac Multi-sport Pavilion, and offered support to those needing special assistance, including seniors, pregnant women, those with children and infants, and people with disabilities there and at the Cotai Expo testing stations. 

At its peak, there were 28 testing booths in operation at The Venetian Macao’s station – including four dedicated lanes for community members needing special assistance. Around 65,000 tests were conducted at Cotai Expo during the two NAT drives.

4,000 rooms provided as “medical observation hotel”

Sands China remains committed to playing its part in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

In support of the government’s anti-pandemic efforts, Sands China provided a total of 4,000 rooms at the Sheraton Grand Macao at the peak of the “medical observation hotel” initiative. Since March 2020, Sheraton Grand Macao has been utilized as a medical observation hotel seven times. 

Pre-typhoon support to the community

In early October, Sands China donated 8,000 personal hygiene items to Caritas Macau to offer urgent support to its temporary shelter service at Vui Ieng Service Centre and Colégio Mateus Ricci, as Macau was threatened by tropical cyclone Kompasu. 

The kits included body wash sets, toothbrushes, toothpaste and towels, providing immediate assistance to Macau locals who reside in mainland China, foreign workers, and other people with temporary accommodation needs.

As the typhoon approached the city, Sands China also proactively reached out to NGOs and arranged parking for rehabilitation vehicles at its properties to prevent potential damage to the vehicles.