"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Seniors Will Receive More Meals

Dorothy Stufflebeam, site manager for the SAC Nutrition Program, receives a $2,500 surprise donation from Cherokee Casino Tahlequah. The donation will help senior citizens living in Sequoyah, Adair and Cherokee counties receive hot and cold meals.Dorothy Stufflebeam, site manager for the SAC Nutrition Program, receives a $2,500 surprise donation from Cherokee Casino Tahlequah. The donation will help senior citizens living in Sequoyah, Adair and Cherokee counties receive hot and cold meals.

Tahlequah, OK - Local senior citizens will now receive more meals with the help of Cherokee Casino Tahlequah. Casino employees surprised volunteers at the Tahlequah Nutrition Center with a $2,500 sponsorship for the SAC (Sequoyah, Adair and Cherokee County) Nutrition Program.

The $2,500 donation was given as part of the casino’s ongoing “Anything Can Happen” promotion.

“Providing fresh meals to senior citizens who would otherwise do without is a priceless act of kindness by the many volunteers who work at the senior center. We are grateful to be able to help the generous people with SAC Nutrition continue their efforts and deliver even more meals to our neighbors in need,” said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Entertainment, which operates Cherokee Casinos and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.

In July, the SAC Nutrition Program provided more than 12,000 hot and cold meals to senior citizens living in Sequoyah, Adair and Cherokee counties. The program is funded entirely from donations.

“I was absolutely shocked to receive the donation. The casino employees came in during bingo, and I thought to myself, ‘Lord, have I won the lottery?’ But I didn’t buy a ticket, and then they started explaining who they were, and I saw the big check. It was such a wonderful gift. I’ve never been more surprised in my life,” said Dorothy Stufflebeam, site manager for the SAC Nutrition Program.

“This donation will really help pick up the slack from people who are unable to donate right now.”

Since the beginning of June, Cherokee Casinos and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa have supported community volunteerism with more than $89,000 in donations to other local nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations such as Volunteer Central of Greater Tulsa, the Oklahoma Officer Down Foundation, the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa, Tulsa Zoo Friends, the Oklahoma Firefighters’ Burn Camp, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Rogers County, the Resonance Center for Women, the OK-TF1 Canine Search Team, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and the Roland Police Department.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment operates seven casinos located in Tulsa, West Siloam Springs, Tahlequah, Fort Gibson, Roland, Sallisaw and Claremore, and employs more than 3,400 people in northeastern Oklahoma.

Cherokee Casino Tahlequah is located on State Highway 62 four miles south of Tahlequah, Okla. For more information, visit Cherokee Star Rewards or call 918-207-3600