By: Mark Ammon, CodeGreen Leader at Harrah’s Reno, and Candice Stevens, HERO Chair at Harrah’s Reno
Harrah’s Reno’s HEROs are prepared for their biggest charity event of the year.
Last Monday Harrah’s Reno combined sustainability and community service when it brought the local community together for the annual Thanksgiving Dinner under the Tent. Nearly 1,200 homeless guests joined Harrah’s Reno under popup tents in the parking lot, where they were served dinner by our HERO volunteer team. Representatives from police and fire departments attended, giving everyone who had gathered together a warm welcome. In addition to a meal, each holiday guest received a hygiene-kit from Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Foundation’s partner Clean the World.
Guests join under the tent where 1,200 meals were served.
The event, which was first held in 2005, has quickly become the most popular volunteer service event among team members at Harrah’s Reno. We’ve found the event inspires appreciation and generosity among our team members as they realize the positive impact they can make in the community. We’re very pleased that we were able to serve 1,200 meals that included salad, pork, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls and pie, as well as hand out 900 hygiene kits.
The hygiene kits, which include soap, shampoo and other amenities, from Clean the World provide a valuable resource that will be useful after the event. Caesars Foundation has contributed $675,000 to Clean the World since 2010. In the past five years Caesars has collected nearly two million bars of soap that have been sanitized and recycled into hygiene kits and sent around the world to assist people in need.
Harrah’s Reno’s HEROs handed out 900 hygiene kits to guests.
Thanksgiving under the Tent is a memorable evening as team members get the joy of helping others, and our guests receive the love and kindness they deserve. We’re proud to host an event that exemplifies our code of commitment and its pledge to our employees, guests, communities and environment. In the future, we hope to grow this beyond Harrah’s by bringing in other casinos to serve meals during the entire week of Thanksgiving.
