BETTING ON MGM RESORTS COMMUNITY GRANTS
Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts 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, 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,” he said.
This year”™s grant recipients include Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York,Catholic Charities, which received $10,000 to fund a mobile food pantry targeting area food deserts; Yonkers Family YMCA, which will utilize its $10,000 grant to expand hot meals programs; and Feeding Westchester, which also received $10,000 will expand its 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, 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 its 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 its 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.
Through a new initiative, guests had the opportunity to direct change from winning vouchers to the MGM Resorts Foundation to fund grants for local nonprofits 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 to help support furnishing apartments for individuals receiving services in their programs.
Empire City supports nonprofit organizations that provide direct services toward residents in the local communities in which it operates, as well as where its employees reside.