VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/149203
VEGAS INC C OV E R STO RY VOLUNTEERS, From page 1 By giving back to their community, they're helping shape the future Charlie Mootz has a simple reason for staying active in Boy Scouts after his children grew up. He wants to shape the future of his community. "Scouting helps make leaders of the future," said Mootz, who has worked with the Boy Scouts of Southern Nevada since 2007 and been a merit badge counselor since 2008. When he's not Scouting, Mootz co-owns and manages six local Dunkin' Donut stores. "It's a lot of work, but one of the things that's great about it is that it gives me flexibility to work with the Scouts," Mootz said. As a merit badge counselor, Mootz helps Scouts earn patches in more than 130 disciplines, such as fire building, archery, business and citizenship. "When my stores had to go before planning commissions for approval, I had Scouts with LEILA NAVID Mentor: Charlie Mootz poses with Boy Scouts James Swanson, 11, and Donald Swanson, 17, inside the Henderson Dunkin' Donuts franchise he owns. Mootz helps Scouts earn patches in dozens of disciplines, including business and citizenship. COURTESY SWEET TREAT: Children wait for snow cones from Kona Ice Las Vegas, which donates much of its profits to charity. Evan Louie came to Las Vegas to make a difference. The 37-year-old entrepreneur was living in San Francisco when he lost his wife, Cheryl, to brain cancer. She was 34 when she died in 2008, leaving behind a 1-year-old daughter. The loss spurred Louie to seek out a way to give back to the community. He chose to settle in Las Vegas because he had family here. He found his opportunity in Kona Ice Las Vegas. Part of a national franchise that includes 400 trucks in 42 states, Kona Ice sells snow cones out of tropically designed vehicles that frequent community events, little league games and carnivals. The trucks typically offer 10 dairy-free flavors of cones and are equipped to serve up to 500 people an hour. Kona Ice donates a large portion of its profits to schools, sports leagues and nonprofit groups. The company has raised $11 million nationally since it was founded in 2007. 16 20130812_VI01_F.indd 16 me so that they could see and understand the government process," he said. Mootz has served as an assistant scoutmaster, committee chairman and committee member for the Boy Scouts of Southern Nevada's Troop 420 for six years. He also is a committee member for the Sporting Clay Shoot, the troop's largest fundraiser. Scouts keep score during the a clay pigeon shoot at the Desert Hills Shooting Club and learn skills to earn shotgun shooting merit badges. The most recent shoot in April raised $125,000. Mootz uses the fundraiser to teach Scouts about planning and hard work. He also helps them develop their own fundraisers selling doughnuts from his stores. The troop of 40 boys participates in a community service project every month. Vicki Robinson doesn't have a lot of time or money. As an assistant hotel manager at Planet Hollywood, the 41-year-old Reno native often works long shifts, sometimes clocking in 12 hours a day. But that doesn't stop her from volunteering. It's an addiction, she said. "Some people drink," Robinson said. "I volunteer." While most workers use time off from their jobs to relax or play, Robinson heads to charity events. She donates blood, collects shoes for the needy, donates to charities such as Opportunity Village and takes part in the South Point's Polar Plunge every February. She volunteers several times a month. ROBINSON Robinson also keeps a jar on her desk, which she uses to collect loose change she and her coworkers find around Planet Hollywood. Robinson donated the jar's most recent contents – $44 – to Safe Nest, a charity for battered women. Though she now volunteers through Caesars Entertainment's Hero program, which has organized more than 100,000 hours of community service by its employees over the past year, Robinson said her philanthropic roots started during childhood. Robinson's mother volunteered regularly in her neighborhood. "I got it from my mom," Robinson said. "It's just awesome that now I can help kids. They really pull at my heartstrings." In just a year of operation, Louie's four trucks – he owns two in Las Vegas, one in Henderson and one in Pahrump – have raised more than $4 million for local schools and groups. He has entered into more than 500 partnerships with family entertainment centers, chambers of commerce, retail strip malls and sports leagues. "I do this in tribute to my late wife," Louie said. | 12 AUGUST 2013 | 8/8/13 2:11:33 PM