Month: August 2023

DENTON, Texas, August 10, 2023 /3BL/ – The Carton Council of North America today announced the launch of its new podcast series, “Road to Recycling,” showcasing the journey to grow food and beverage carton recycling and the partnerships made along the way.

“Collaboration creates results, and it is a cornerstone of the Carton Council strategy,” said Larine Urbina, vice president of communications for the Carton Council. “Road to Recycling celebrates the power of collaboration through the lens of carton recycling, focusing on the many relationships that have been pivotal in our success. The podcast will often include broader recycling success stories, recognizing that strides made in one area often benefit recycling as a whole.”

Produced to be no more than 25 minutes, each “Road to Recycling” episode is designed to be stand-alone and experienced independently. Together, they aim to reinforce the Carton Council’s collaborative approach, while also sharing tips and best practices that will hopefully inspire others.

“Progress comes when you work with others throughout the entire recycling value chain who share your commitment,” said Urbina. “It is our hope that ‘Road to Recycling’ will provide others with useful ideas and insights.“

The first episode, which shares the origin story of how Emmet County Recycling in Michigan started accepting cartons, is available now in video and audio format. The episode features Lindsey Walker, recycling outreach, market development and commercial accounts for Emmet County Recycling and Jason Pelz, vice president of recycling projects for the Carton Council. They discuss the value, benefit and ease of accepting cartons. Walker shares best practices and insights into how they have helped create a culture of recycling in Emmet County. A video tour of the materials recovery facility (MRF) is also available.

To allow for the curation of meaningful content and fresh perspectives, the series aims to release around four episodes each year and will be available at RecycleCartons.com and on popular podcast platforms. The second episode, expected to come out this fall, will focus on how carton recycling is helping one school district get closer to reaching its Zero Waste goals.

If you are interested in being a guest or have an idea for future “Road to Recycling” episode, reach out to carton.recycling@hkstrategies.com.

 

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ABOUT THE CARTON COUNCIL 

The Carton Council is composed of four leading carton manufacturers, Elopak, Pactiv Evergreen, SIG, and Tetra Pak. Formed in 2009, the Carton Council works to deliver long-term collaborative solutions to divert valuable cartons from the landfill. Through a united effort, the Carton Council is committed to building a sustainable infrastructure for carton recycling nationwide and works toward their continual goal of adding access to carton recycling throughout the U.S. For more information, visit RecycleCartons.com.

ABOUT FOOD AND BEVERAGE CARTONS

Food and beverage cartons are fiber-based packages that contain some of the highest quality fiber available in the recycling steam. There are two types of cartons: aseptic and gable top. Aseptic cartons are shelf-stable and are often used to store products like broth, soups, juices or milk for long periods without the need for preservatives or refrigeration. Gable top cartons require refrigeration and are often considered the traditional milk carton. When recycled, cartons can have a second life as paper products, such as paper towels, toilet paper, paper cups and office and writing paper. Additionally, cartons play a vital role in a growing manufacturing industry where they are used to make sustainable building materials.

Media contact:

Anthony Johnson

(628) 255-2810

International Olympic Committee news

As World Refugee Day focuses the world’s attention on the plight of the millions of displaced people around the world, the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) is working to ensure that, when those who have experienced crisis access sport, they do so in a safe and supportive environment. The ORF was founded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2017.

Since late 2022, the ORF has been running a pilot initiative aimed at enhancing the foundational psychosocial skills of coaches, players, administrators and anyone involved in sports environments. The training draws on the principles and packaging of psychological first aid, adapted to sports contexts and scenarios, and trauma-informed sports coaching. At the same time, mental health professionals have been engaged to raise awareness of the evidence base on sport and the benefits for mental health and psychosocial well-being outcomes, and to encourage these professionals to consider the opportunities for linkages with the sports sector in their respective contexts.

The number of refugees and displaced people around the globe continues to surge. UNHCR recently announced that there were an estimated 110 million people who have been forced to flee their homes as a result of war, persecution, violence and human rights abuses. Forced displacement often results in stressful and traumatic experiences for those who have had to leave everything behind, all of which can negatively impact their ability to learn, cope and develop relationships. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than one in five people affected by conflict experience a mental health issue such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

At the same time, there is growing evidence of the positive role that sport and physical activity can play in supporting mental health and psychosocial well-being. In order for the full benefits of sport to be realised, it is important that sport and physical activity are applied correctly, particularly when working with people who have experienced serious stressors or trauma. Sports coaches and physical education teachers must be sensitive to the experiences of refugees and displaced people, to ensure that physical activities effectively support mental health and counter feelings of stigma and discrimination.

Sport as an access point to support

In an effort to counter this ever-growing need for mental health support, the ORF has identified the unique position that coaches and physical activity facilitators are in to offer safe, supportive and healing-centred sports activities. As displaced people begin to settle in their host countries, many find their way to local sports clubs and sports facilities, which can serve as an entry point to other mental health and psychosocial support services they may need.

Dr Leslie Snider, a member of the ORF Think Tank who worked with the ORF in developing and delivering the pilot programme, said: “the benefits of combining mental health and psychosocial support and sport are many. For one, sport is an important access point to reach young people who may need support, but might not know about or be comfortable accessing mental health services. Sport is something young people recognise and want to participate in, and so they are more likely to engage without the fear of stigma. Second, sport offered by trained coaches offers the opportunity for adult mentorship that can bring protection, stability and positive role-modelling for young people. Third, sport affords young people the chance to participate in activities that benefit not only their physical health, but also their mental health, relationships and building of life skills like cooperation and fair play.”

Working in partnership to deliver at scale

Working closely with partners like the Moldovan National Olympic Committee, the Polish Ministry of Sport and the WHO, the ORF has facilitated training for 65 sports coaches and physical education teachers, and 25 mental health professionals.

Initially trialled in Paris, the initiative is now being rolled out in Moldova and Poland, which have seen a large influx of displaced people from neighbouring Ukraine. While the initiative remains in its infancy, the pilot phase has demonstrated significant potential to scale. From the 35 sports coaches and physical education teachers trained in Poland, they have trained a further 510 professionals, who deliver sport to more than 50,000 young people – demonstrating the potential for a fully developed programme to reach a very large number of people.

Dr Snider added: “It was surprising to see the transformation of mental health professionals, who did not consider sport as something they could use in their work, wholeheartedly embracing it as important and impactful. Also surprising was how thirsty coaches were in all of the countries where we delivered the training for information about mental health, and how they can appropriately work with and support young people in their role as coaches.”

Going forward, the ORF will work in partnership with other organisations to ensure that the delivery of this model – which combines sports education and coaching with foundational psychosocial skills – reaches displaced people at scale.

Published by Las Vegas Sands on July 18, 2023

LAS VEGAS, 2023 /3BL/ – Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) announced it has contributed $300,000 to its long-time partner Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY), bringing the company’s total contributions to the fight to end youth homelessness with NPHY to more than $2.3 million since 2014.

The multi-faceted engagement is fueling NPHY’s work in three areas: assisting the nonprofit in providing immediate relief to youth in crisis, helping create lasting solutions that build NPHY’s capacity to address youth homelessness, and powering The Movement to End Youth Homelessness as co-presenter of the Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit and through support for NPHY’s ongoing advocacy efforts.

Specifically, funding in the areas of immediate relief and lasting solutions is targeting the social and emotional well-being of youth experiencing homelessness with direct support for classes and activities at the NPHY Drop-In Center as well as in-house and contracted mental health services. Sands’ investment in these areas recognizes the vital need to address the impact of the situations NPHY’s clients face, build self-esteem and confidence, and put youth on a course not just to survive, but to thrive.

Sands’ contribution also is assisting NPHY in addressing its youth clients’ immediate needs for food, hygiene items, clothing, transportation, health care and educational materials, while providing general support for NPHY’s emergency services touch points including the Safe Place program, the NPHY Drop-In Center, the Emergency Shelter program and ongoing youth outreach efforts. Integral to these operations is funding to support an additional staff person to enhance program delivery.

Finally, Sands and NPHY recently announced their continued partnership to co-present the Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit, which NPHY and Sands have hosted annually since 2017. Sands’ support is enabling NPHY to expand the Summit and The Movement to End Youth Homelessness statewide and continue holding advocacy trainings through The Movement Institute, which was launched at Summit 2022.

“For nearly 10 years, Sands has been one of our most committed partners, profoundly impacting the trajectory of our organization and enabling us to expand the care and advocacy we provide for our youth,” Arash Ghafoori, CEO of NPHY, said. “The 2023 partnership is reflective of our ongoing strategic planning with Sands and its commitment to deeply understanding the youth homelessness issue and what is needed to give youth in crisis a pathway to sustainable independence and a bright future.”

Youth homelessness remains a critical issue in Southern Nevada. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in 2022 roughly 12% of youth experiencing homelessness across the United States were residing in Nevada, with 81% concentrated in Southern Nevada. Homelessness risk factors have accelerated as the state of Nevada is facing an estimated shortage of more than 80,000 affordable rentals for extremely low-income tenants, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The first-ever standalone Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Needs Assessment, created through a community process driven by The Movement and the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care (CoC) in 2022, found that 5,125 youth ages 14 to 24 depended on emergency shelters, transitional housing or a combination of these solutions in 2021, an increase from 4,252 youth in 2020.

“Our commitment to ending youth homelessness in Southern Nevada is one of the cornerstones of our Sands Cares program in Las Vegas because of the tremendous need in our region – and because we greatly value and believe in the capability of NPHY to uplift young people facing these circumstances,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility initiatives at Sands. “Whether it’s delivering programs and services to youth in crisis, building ultimate solutions or leading The Movement to End Youth Homelessness, NPHY has a vision and model that we believe can drastically reduce the impact on young lives and the incidence of youth homelessness in our state.”

Sands’ support for youth homelessness falls under the global Sands Cares community engagement program’s priority on hardship relief. As part of the company’s hardship relief initiatives, Sands Cares provides resources to disadvantaged people and aids them in overcoming barriers to necessities such as food, housing and other critical resources.

To learn more about Sands Cares, visit https://www.sands.com/responsibility/communities/#our-program-sands-cares.

To support NPHY in the fight to end youth homelessness, visit https://nphy.org/.

About Sands (NYSE: LVS)

Sands is the world’s preeminent developer and operator of world-class integrated resorts. Our iconic properties drive valuable leisure and business tourism and deliver significant economic benefits, sustained job creation, financial opportunities for local businesses and community investment to help make our host regions ideal places to live, work and visit.

Sands’ portfolio of properties includes Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Sands Macao in Macao SAR, China, through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd.

Sands is dedicated to being a leader in corporate responsibility, anchored by the core tenets of serving people, planet and communities. Our ESG leadership has led to inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for World and North America. To learn more, visit www.sands.com.

About Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY)

NPHY is the most comprehensive service provider for the thousands of homeless youth in Southern Nevada, serving hundreds of youth through core programs and touching the lives of thousands more through outreach each year. NPHY’s programs stabilize homeless teens’ lives, meeting their immediate needs and providing a safe, supportive environment and a path to self-sufficiency. Through work with homeless youth, NPHY creates productive, healthy adults who contribute to society. Strengthening and complementing the high-quality direct services for homeless youth, NPHY is dedicated to advocating with and for the Las Vegas Valley’s homeless youth population and serves as a leader in systems-level efforts to eliminate homelessness among Nevada’s youth. For more information or to support our life-changing work for homeless youth, please visit www.nphy.org.

Contacts: 
Kristin Koca 
Sands 
702.923.9142 
Kristin.Koca@sands.com

Lanette Rivera 
Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth 
702.688.1013 
lanette@nphy.org