Summerlin Community Gift recipient announced

The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of the Summerlin master-planned community, made a $5,000 donation to the Assistance League of Las Vegas in recognition of the nonprofit organization being named recipient of the Summerlin Community Gift.

The program, in its second year, invites residents of the community to nominate organizations they believe to be deserving of the gift.

"We received dozens of nominations ... for an almost equal number of different nonprofit organizations in the Las Vegas Valley," Hughes Corp. executive Tom Warden said. "We were specifically looking for those organizations with proven track records for making a difference throughout our valley, particularly those outside of the Summerlin community.

"While the majority of the nominations were for organizations that provide critical services to at-risk segments of the population, nominations were also received for health and arts organizations as well as scholarship endowments."

All schools and nonprofit organizations within Summerlin were excluded from the program. A five-person advisory board comprised of school and business representatives from the master plan reviewed the nominations.

The Assistance League of Las Vegas, which assists women and children in need, was nominated by residents Jane Muller and Tina Morgan. Morgan is public relations chair of the organization and Muller is a board member.

"This is truly an unexpected gift, and it will go directly to our five philanthropic projects ...," Muller said

The projects are:

Operation School Bell, which provides clothing, shoes and backpacks for underprivileged children; Operation Hug, which supplies teddy bears for fire, police and emergency room departments for distribution to children who have been victimized; Kids on the Block, which sponsors puppet shows at elementary schools to encourage empathy and provide guidance in dealing with social, mental and physical disabilities; Assault Survivor Kits, which contain grooming and minimal necessities for distribution to Community Action Against Rape; and Road to Success, which provides clothing and career skills for individuals re-entering the work force.

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