But 600 sales executives with consumer products giant Unilever left a big chunk of change and the results of some hard work to benefit the Southern Nevada community.

The Unilever executives donated a half of a day during their sales retreat to do community service work for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas, Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

In total the sales staffers donated about 3,500 hours of work and the company donated about $200,000 in cash to the organizations.

In addition, they provided materials to make picnic tables, benches, bookshelves, and about 20 computers to the Boys & Girls Clubs.

About 100 executives worked on two Habitat for Humanity houses in Las Vegas; 300 executives worked at five area Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas clubs building a playground at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas Boulder City Unit while painting, landscaping and installing bookshelves at four other clubs; and another 200 executives went to work cleaning up the shoreline of Lake Mead, restoring hiking paths and constructing picnic tables and benches.

"We don't just give money, we also work together to see what we can do," said Laura McCafferty, manager of community relations at Unilever. "It's part of being a responsible corporate citizen."

She said the projects were part of the company's mission to enhance the communities in which its customers live. The company sells such personal care and food products as Axe deodorant, Caress soaps, Lipton teas and Skippy peanut butter.

"We globally say we have a vital mission, which is to help people feel good, look good and get more out of life," McCafferty said. "(It's a) three-pronged philanthropic strategy contributing to a sustained environment, enhancing the quality of life and building stronger communities. This effort goes right into enhancing communities."

The company also works with the parent organizations of the local groups in its national philanthropic efforts.

Local leaders for Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Clubs and Lake Mead National Recreation Area said Unilever's efforts were unique.

Angela Quinn, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas which runs 12 area clubs, said many companies want to donate time and money to charitable causes, but she said they don't always give what is needed. She said Unilever approached their philanthropic efforts with a collaborative attitude, unlike some companies.

"Everybody wants to do something for the clubs," she said. "We get a lot of inquiries. What we find with a lot of corporations is they contact us and say, 'Here's what we're going to do.' The approach Unilever (took) was, 'This is what we want to do but you tell us what you need.' It was a true collaboration."

She said Unilever officials wanted to donate the computers but the Boys & Girls Clubs also needed additional infrastructure to make use of them.

"They (Unilever) said, 'We want to do something to raise the technology for (your) clubs,"' Quinn said. "We said, 'Guys, we drive all of our technology from a centralized area. I don't have the infrastructure to rig up and control the services.' Unilever's response was what do you need? Unilever, with their donation they sent a team of their software people to set the systems up for us. They're increasing our ability to serve kids better."

John Shucavage of Unilever places flowers in a new planter as he and others from the company build a playground for the Boulder City Boys and Girls Club. Photo by Sam Morris

Quinn added that the Boys & Girls Clubs has strong partnerships with other companies that operate locally like Cox Communications. But she said it's not often that a company will come in from out of town seeking to do community service on the scale Unilever did.

She said the 12 Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas clubs serve more than 10,000 youngsters throughout the Las Vegas Valley. The organization has an annual budget of about $6.8 million.

Unilever wasn't the only company that donated materials and services to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas Boulder City unit. Las Vegas-based SH Architecture donated about $20,000 in architectural work in developing the playground and a basketball court.

Guy Amato, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas, said few visiting companies stop to donate their time, but some do. He said that nationally and locally Habitat for Humanity has benefited from an outpouring of support in its efforts to assist in the Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

The group relies heavily on volunteer labor, which supplements the work that would-be home owners do to earn the home through what Amato calls sweat equity. He said the organization not only benefits from donated funds but also from volunteer labor and volunteer services such as pro bono legal service. He said the group has benefited from partnerships with professionals in the community who offer the group free professional services.

"We did have to divert some money that we would have normally received here back to the Katrina effort, but what we received from the community has been really good for us," Amato said.

He said the organization has a three-year goal of building 60 homes, despite the fact that it has taken the group 14 years to build 54 Southern Nevada homes. He said he believes it will be possible because of the level of commitment the business community and others have to the organization.

"We are embarking on a campaign to build 60 homes in three years, and I believe we'll be able to build 60 homes," he said.

Nancy Bernard, volunteer program manager for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, said the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, is unique among the Unilever aid recipients in that it is a government agency. She said Unilever donated about $5,000 in this most recent philanthropic effort.

Quinn said local companies make their decisions more critically than before. She also said the pool of local companies that make significant contributions to charities has gotten smaller with the consolidation of the gaming industry.

She said that development has forced charities to be more sophisticated in the way they solicit companies for donations and they also are held more accountable in reaching their goals.

"We're coming of age as far as philanthropy is concerned," Quinn said.

Alana Roberts covers courts and labor relations for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached by e-mail at alanar@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4059.