"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Tulsa Area Nonprofits Receive Surprise Turkeys

***"Salvation Army staff works with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa and Cherokee Nation employees to unload 1,000 frozen turkeys that the casino donated to the organization on Tuesday."***

NE OKLAHOMA - Northeastern Oklahomans in need will have more food on their plates this holiday. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa gave away nearly 3,000 frozen turkeys to multiple nonprofit organizations in Tulsa, and throughout northeastern Oklahoma, to help fill the agencies’ kitchens and pantries for hungry Oklahomans.

Two of the day’s donations came as a surprise to the nonprofits’ staffs, including a 1,000 turkey donation to the Salvation Army, the largest turkey donation ever received by the Tulsa Metro Area Command. Tulsa Boy’s Home was also the recipient of a surprise donation of 100 turkeys.

“Each year we provide our employees the option to take a turkey home or donate it to those in need,” said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Entertainment, which operates Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa and Cherokee Casinos. “It’s a tough time for many families, and our employees responded very generously by choosing to donate more turkeys than ever to our neighbors.”

“The average family that we serve is 3 to 4 people, so these 1,000 turkeys will feed around 4,000 people. We are grateful to accept it,” said Arletta Robinson, executive director of the Salvation Army Center of Hope.

The Salvation Army serves more than 5,000 families in the Tulsa metro area each year, and many nonprofit agencies have expressed an increased need for donations this year.

“What a generous donation this is. The timing is perfect. We are truly grateful for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino,” said Michael Conway, executive director of Tulsa Boy’s Home. “These turkeys will go a long way for us in feeding the boys.

“The donation comes directly off of our bottom line. This is food we do not have to purchase,” explained Conway.

Other organizations that received donations include Iron Gate, Meals on Wheels Tulsa Metro Chapter, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and Cherokee Nation food distribution centers, among others.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa and Cherokee Casinos have distributed employee-donated turkeys for the last six years.

The surprise donations are part of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa’s Anything Can Happen community support initiative. This year, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa and Cherokee Casinos have supported community nonprofit and municipal agencies with more than $1 million in donations, of which nearly $100,000 has been a part of the Anything Can Happen initiative.