Sands Cares Ambassadors Help Pack and Distribute Sanitation and Emergency Kits for 800 Households in Low-lying Areas

Joint initiative with Macau Red Cross for second consecutive year

(Macao, June 4, 2020) – Sands Cares Ambassadors recently helped pack sanitation and emergency typhoon response kits at the Macau Red Cross headquarters, and are distributing them through local community service centres to 800 households in Macao’s low-lying areas during the first half of June.

This is the second consecutive year that Sands China has partnered with the humanitarian organisation to help support the needs of the Macao community amid the fight against COVID-19 and enhance the community’s precautionary measures ahead of typhoon season.

From May 27 to June 4, around 100 Sands Cares Ambassadors assembled a total of 800 kits for distribution to residents living in the low-lying areas of Praia do Manduco, Ilha Verde and Zona Norte through six local community associations: Caritas Macau Fountain of Love and Joy Integrated Family Service Center, Lok Chon Centre of the General Union of Neighborhood Associations of Macau, Fai Chi Kei Family and Community Integrated Service Center of Macao Federation of Trade Unions, North District Family Service Centre of the Women's General Association of Macau, Youth Community Centre of YMCA of Macau, and Sheng Kung Hui Macau Social Services Coordination Office. The areas served were selected according to the Macao SAR government’s emergency response plan.

This year, the kits were customised to also contain relief items donated by Sands China to support the community’s fight against the coronavirus. The kits were funded using the remaining amount of Sands China’s MOP 280,000 donation to the Macau Red Cross last year, which was raised in February 2019 during Sands China’s team member talent competition, Start Your Show. The relief items were purchased as part of Sands China’s MOP 5 million COVID-19 relief fund.

Each kit contains a variety of anti-pandemic and emergency items inside a multi-functional waterproof bag, including facemasks, medical gloves, hand sanitiser gel, disinfectant liquid, a radio, flashlight, first aid pack, bottled water, biscuits and an emergency response leaflet – provided by the government.

Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd., said: “Sands China considers it our responsibility to assist the Macao community, especially in times of need and challenge. We need to team up to overcome adversity. This initiative is an important effort that serves a dual purpose: supporting the local community with resources in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus and preparing the community for typhoon season. Our thanks once again go to the Macau Red Cross for their collaboration and to the Social Welfare Bureau for their coordination and support in providing guidance on selecting the areas served.”

Owen Wong, deputy director of Disaster Relief Affairs for Macau Red Cross, said: “Relief and disaster preparedness is a key area of focus for us. After Typhoon Hato hit Macao in 2017, our community's disaster preparedness became a priority task. In recent years, the Macau Red Cross and local corporations, such as Sands China, have been working together to better prepare the community for typhoon season. This year, we incorporated the concept of epidemic prevention awareness on top of disaster prevention and have launched a two-in-one kit encompassing both disaster and epidemic prevention, in the hope of providing timely support to people in need.”

The Sands Cares Ambassador programme was established in August 2009 to give Sands China team members an outlet for serving the local community by organising community activities and initiatives that work toward creating a better Macao. With membership of more than 3,300 volunteers from across all Sands China properties – Sands^® Macao, The Venetian^® Macao, The Plaza^® Macao, Sands^® Cotai Central and The Parisian Macao – the Sands Cares Ambassadors have contributed more than 110,000 hours of voluntary community service since the programme’s founding.

The Sands Cares Ambassador programme is part of Sands Cares, the global corporate citizenship programme of parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp.