Photo by Jelena Gerga
Eight area nonprofits benefit from MGM Resorts employee and guest-driven Community Grants Program
Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts (“Empire City”) donated $102,000 to eight local nonprofit organizations through multiple grant funding opportunities. Grants were distributed to organizations providing services in the core MGM Resorts philanthropy areas. These areas include food insecurity programs that provide access to nutritious meals, educational programs that support academic success, workforce development initiatives providing educational and training programs to prepare individuals for sustainable career opportunities and a new initiative this year, the homelessness initiative, to support organizations making an impact in combating homelessness in our surrounding communities.
“Our company, employees and guests alike strongly believe in giving back to our communities,” said Ed Domingo, Vice President and General Manager at Empire City. “All eight grant recipients provide crucial resources and programming to Bronx and Westchester residents and we’re incredibly proud to support their efforts.”
This year’s grant recipients include Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York (“Catholic Charities”) which received $10,000 tofund a mobile food pantry targeting area food deserts, Yonkers Family YMCA which will utilize their $10,000 grant to expand their hot meals programs, and Feeding Westchester which also received $10,000 to expand their food recovery initiatives. All organizations fight food insecurity in the City of Yonkers and throughout Westchester County. United Way of Westchester & Putnam (UWWP) received two grants to support education initiatives. Their Education United Program and Summer Learning Program received a $10,000 grant to provide educational materials such as backpacks, school supplies and nutrition education to low-income and academically at-risk youth and families in Yonkers and Mount Vernon. UWWP received a second grant of $12,000 to launch a new program that focuses on youth violence prevention and mental health awareness.
In the area of workforce development, a grant directed to Greyston Foundation of $10,000 will support their Workforce Education and Training Program, which provides occupational courses designed to place individuals in permanent jobs within high-demand sectors. A second $10,000 grant was awarded to Catholic Charities to support their workforce development programs in Yonkers. An additional $10,000 workforce development grant was awarded to VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a nonprofit provider of free services for visually impaired individuals and their families.
“VISIONS is thrilled to be selected as a grant recipient,” said Nancy D. Miller, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired Executive Director/CEO. “The casino’s support enables blind youth to achieve their work readiness and employment goals. They’re helping increase the number of working blind people above the current 40% employment rate for blind job seekers, compared to nearly double the number who are sighted and working. Thank you Empire City Casino for making such a major difference in the lives of blind New Yorkers.”
Through a new initiative, guests had the opportunity to direct change from winning vouchers to the MGM Resorts Foundation to fund grants for local non-profits focused on homelessness efforts. BronxWorks received a $10,000 grant to support workforce development programs focused on currently unhoused individuals. The Guidance Center of Westchester, which helps individuals find permanent housing, received a $10,000 grant which will support furnishing apartments for individuals receiving services in their programs.
Empire City supports non-profit organizations that provide direct services towards residents in the local communities in which it operates, as well as where its employees reside. To learn more, please visit Community Engagement – Empire City Casino.
