Residents of northeastern Oklahoma in need will have more food on their table this coming holiday. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa gave away nearly three thousand frozen turkeys to numerous charitable groups in Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma on May 19th, 2010 to help fill the nonprofit groups' pantries for hungry residents.
Two of the donations that day came as a big surprise to the staffs of the nonprofit groups-including a one thousand turkey donation to the Salvation Army, the biggest turkey donation ever given by the Metro Area Command in Tulsa. Another recipient of a one hundred turkey donation was the Tulsa Boy's Home.
David Stewart, the CEO of Cherokee Nation Entertainment, which manages the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa and Cherokee casino facilities, said that every year, they provide their employees with the choice to take home a turkey or donate it to those individuals that need it.
Stewart said that it is a difficult time for a lot of families and their employees responded generously by deciding to donate the turkeys to their neighbors.
The executive director of the Salvation Army Center of Hope, Arletta Robinson, said that the average family that they feed is three to four individuals, so these one thousand turkeys donated by the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will help around four thousand individuals and they are very happy to accept it.
The Salvation Army serves more than five thousand families in the Tulsa metro area every year and many nonprofit organizations have expressed the need for an increased in donations this year. Michael Conway, the executive director of Tulsa Boy's Home, said that Hard Rock's generous donation comes at a perfect time.
Conway said that he is very grateful for the donation since it will help them feed a lot of boys. Other nonprofit groups that received the turkey donations include Meals on Wheels Tulsa Metro Chapter, Iron Gate, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation food distribution centers, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and others.
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa and Cherokee Casinos have distributed turkeys donated by employees for the last six years. The generous donations are part of the Anything Can Happen community support initiative of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa and Cherokee Casinos have supported nonprofit groups and municipal groups this year with more than one million dollars in donations, of which nearly $100,000 dollars has been a vital part of the Anything Can Happen initiative.
Date: 07/19/2010 14:24 PM
As Reported by: Davis Coulter