Borgata is celebrating the reason for the season by giving back to Atlantic County and New Jersey charitable organizations. Borgata’s 12 Days of Giving honors the people and communities that make up the greater Atlantic City region by providing meaningful gifts, support, and donations to a wide variety of nonprofits and service groups. Additionally, Borgata will support front line workers in the region with a delicious meal prepared by the resort’s award-winning culinary team.
“We are delighted to give back this holiday season as we raise awareness for these wonderful non-profit organizations, whose missions are vitally important to our local community,” said Liza Costandino, Director of Communications for Borgata. “This year has presented unprecedented hardships for people throughout the region. We felt it was important to contribute to a variety of causes so we could extend our reach to impact more of the community.”
Starting Dec. 20, Borgata will partner with the following organizations to provide holiday cheer for community members in Southern New Jersey:
Garden State Equality:
● Donation: Borgata invested $5,000 to support the assistance Garden State Equality gives to transgender New Jersey residents seeking legal name changes. “Access to accurate identity documents is critical for trans people to fully participate in society. We’re so grateful to Borgata for their generous support of New Jersey’s trans community.” – Christian Fuscarino, Executive Director of Garden State Equality. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that almost one-third of transgender people who showed an identity document with a name or gender marker that conflicted with their perceived gender were harassed, denied benefits or services, discriminated against, or assaulted.
● About: Established in 2004, Garden State Equality (GSE) serves as the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in New Jersey and one of the most successful statewide civil rights organizations for the LGBTQ community in the nation. Their services include advocacy, policy work, and trainings. In collaboration with community partners, GSE has led efforts to ensure nondiscrimination for transgender people and gender nonconforming people in New Jersey; passed one of the most comprehensive anti-bullying laws in the country; ended sexual orientation and gender identity / expression change efforts in New Jersey (sometimes called conversion therapy); and brought marriage equality to the state. GSE’s current work is informed by racial, economic, and disability justice concerns, while working to address safe environments for youth as well as the improvement of health services to meet LGBTQ community needs. For more information about Garden State Equality, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.gardenstateequality.org.
Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City and MGM Resorts International Teen Center:
● Donation: In addition to a $5,000 donation supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City’s Holiday Heroes Giving Campaign, Borgata team members volunteered to wrap all gifts purchased off the Club’s Amazon Wishlistby the local community, as well as sewed 160 face masks for the Club’s students.
● About: The Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City (ACBGC) is a youth service organization that provides young people with life-enhancing programs, character development opportunities, and ongoing relationships with caring adult professionals. By collaborating with community partners like Borgata, engaging local and national industry to ensure their academic enrichment is aligned with career pathways and high priority occupation, as well as wrapping a framework of service around the whole family, ACBGC serves as the beacon of hope for Atlantic City families. For more information about The Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City and the MGM Resorts International Teen Center, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.acbgc.org.
CONTACT Cape-Atlantic:
● Donation: Borgata team members wrote 260 holiday cards for CONTACT participants, as well as provided four new cordless phones and one new laptop for CONTACT’s office so they may continue to serve the community in 2021.
● About: CONTACT Cape-Atlantic is a volunteer-driven agency that provides telephone reassurance and community support for the elderly and disabled. Volunteers serve the community with a daily free “check-in” phone call to elderly and disabled who are living alone, providing more than 72,000 reassurance calls a year. These calls allow more than 200 CONTACT participants each day to stay in their homes independently. For more information about CONTACT Cape-Atlantic, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.contactcapeatlantic.org.
Community FoodBank of New Jersey:
● Donation: Borgata donated 120 frozen turkeys as well as a pallet jack for the organization’s local warehouse. Due to the national coin shortage, Borgata gave its guests the option of dropping their receipts for less than $1.00 into a donation box benefitting the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Thanks to many of Borgata’s guests, the resort was able to donate $20,000 to the FoodBank this month. Since Sept. 17, our guests have donated $41,543.12 to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey’s Southern Branch.
● About: The Community FoodBank of New Jersey is the state’s largest anti-hunger and anti-poverty organization. Working together with volunteers, donors and their many partners, the FoodBank fills the emptiness caused by hunger with food, help, and hope. The FoodBank works to fight hunger and poverty in New Jersey by assisting those in need and seeking long-term solutions, and by engaging, educating, and empowering all sectors of society in the battle. For more information about the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.cfbnj.org.
Covenant House New Jersey – Atlantic City Residential Crisis Center & Rights of Passage:
● Donation: On Christmas Eve, Borgata will donate 60 individual, pre-packaged meals prepared by the resort’s award-winning culinary team to be enjoyed by the young people currently living in the Atlantic City Covenant House. On this day, Borgata will further provide these 60 young people with new winter hats and jackets.
● About: Covenant House helps save the lives of homeless, runaway, and trafficked young people, offering housing and support services to those in need, transforming their lives and putting them on a path to independence. Their comprehensive program model builds a life-affirming bridge for young people by engaging youth on the street providing no-barrier, safe, short-term housing to meet their immediate needs, and longer-term transitional housing to assist those who are ready for more independent living. For more information about Covenant House New Jersey, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.covenanthousenj.org.
AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center:
● Donation: Borgata will donate 100 individual, pre-packaged meals prepared by the resort’s award-winning culinary team to be enjoyed by the overnight shift of first-responders at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center on Christmas Eve.
● About: AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s Atlantic City campus serves as the resort destination’s first hospital, founded in 1898. For more than a century, ARMC has remained a regional leader in acute care services. For more information, please visit www.atlanticare.org.
Humane Society of Atlantic County:
● Donation: Borgata will provide 250 pounds of dog and cat food, as well as toys and cleaning supplies.
● About: The Humane Society of Atlantic County is a private, non-profit organization that relies on supporter donations. Their mission is to curb pet over-population through their clinic’s spay and neuter programs, increase the number of animals adopted into loving homes through their shelter, provide a safe and caring environment for animals that are lost or strayed, and to serve as a resource for humane animal education within the community. For more information, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.humanesocietyac.org.
ARC of Atlantic County:
● Donation: Borgata will support The Arc and their mission this holiday with a donation of ten $100 grocery gift cards to support their clients to help them continue to live independently.
● About: The Arc of Atlantic County is a leading provider of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through direct services, advocacy, education, and prevention activities, The Arc works in partnership with individuals and their families to make choices possible about how and where they live, learn, play, and work. For more information about The Arc, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.thearcatlantic.org.
Adelaide’s Place, A Center for Women:
● Donation: Borgata volunteers crocheted 60 scarves for women in need, as well as donated 60 toiletry kits including items like soap, shaving cream, toothbrush/paste, makeup, nail clippers and polish, tissues, deodorant, shampoo and hand sanitizer, among other essentials.
● About: Adelaide’s Place helps homeless and disenfranchised women throughout the Atlantic City area by providing them with a secure and welcoming environment when they have nowhere to go during the day. The drop-in center provides women with access to social workers, linkages to health care, support to find temporary or permanent housing, but moreover, is a refuge for women and a hub of the community. Women may retreat to Adelaide’s Place for a nutritious snack, to engage in arts and crafts, wash their clothes, read a book or watch a movie, make phone calls, or just relax with others in similar situations. For more information about Adelaide’s Place, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.adelaidesplace.org.
Center for Family Services:
● Donation: Borgata donated 220 duffle bags for the Center’s “Duffle Bag Project,” providing luggage for children transitioning from emergency housing to their long-term home.
● About: The Center For Family Services is an innovative non-profit organization dedicated to improving lives. Each year,more than 300 children and teens find temporary safe housing at Center For Family Services. During their stay, children are provided with a stable foundation that allows them to heal, grow, and experience joy. Services help to instill confidence and self-worth, empowering youth to pave their path to a better life and brighter future. The Duffle Bag Project provides kids with a sensible means to transport their belongings as they transition to a caring home. For more information about the Center for Family Services, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.centerffs.org.
AMVETS Post 911:
● Donation: Borgata donated 60 kits for the Posts’ veteran members including winter hats, socks, and toiletry items like soap, shaving cream, toothbrush/paste, deodorant, and shampoo, among other essentials.
● About: American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 911’s mission is to serve our veterans, troops and their families, as well as their communities. For more information about AMVETS, or to learn how to get involved, please visit www.amvetpost911nj.com.
Team Member-driven Food Drive:
● Donation: Team members throughout Borgata’s various departments and venues are working throughout the holiday season to collect dry and canned food items for out-of-work Atlantic City employees. All items will be donated in the new year with assistance from the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.