Four Winds Casino employees are used to seeing joyful celebrations when lucky patrons hit the jackpot from time to time, but the sheer looks of gratitude they’re getting this week thanks to their generosity are on a whole other level, often far more rewarding in every regard.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ Four Winds Casinos launched today their donation of 1,000 baskets of food to those in need across Michigan’s Great Southwest and Northwest Indiana. Employees at Four Winds Casinos, in cooperation with several local organizations, began delivering the baskets today, including 330 baskets in South Bend distributed to families through the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. Each basket includes a turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn and a pumpkin bread roll.
Organizations participating in the basket delivery include the following:
- Food Bank of Northern Indiana in South Bend
- Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in Dowagiac
- Decatur Human Services in Decatur
- Methodist Church in Hartford
- Child & Family Services of Southwest Michigan in Benton Harbor
- Marcellus Food Bank in Marcellus
Frank Freedman, who serves as Chief Operating Officer of Four Winds Casinos says, “We’re deeply aware that hunger is something faced every day by kids, seniors and families in our region. It’s particularly challenging during the holidays. He adds, “It’s why we’re honored to work with these community agencies whose mission is to fight and eliminate hunger.”
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ sovereignty was reaffirmed under legislation signed into law by President Clinton in September of 1994.
The Pokagon Band is dedicated to providing community development initiatives such as housing, education, family services, medical care and cultural preservation for its approximately 5,000 citizens. The Pokagon Band’s ten-county service area includes four counties in Southwestern Michigan and six in Northern Indiana. Its main administrative offices are located in Dowagiac, with a satellite office in South Bend.
Four Winds New Buffalo, located at 11111 Wilson Road in New Buffalo…Four Winds Hartford, located at 68600 Red Arrow Highway in Hartford…Four Winds Dowagiac, located at 58700 M-51 South in Dowagiac…and Four Winds South Bend, located at 3000 Prairie Road in South Bend, are owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
Four Winds New Buffalo offers 130,000 square feet of gaming with more than 2,600 slot machines, 50 table games, five restaurants, entertainment bars, retail venues, a pool, and a 415-room hotel, making it the premier gaming resort in the Midwest. Four Winds Hartford features more than 550 slot machines, nine table games, a 74-seat restaurant, and a 15-seat bar. Four Winds Dowagiac features 400 slot machines, seven table games and one restaurant. Four Winds South Bend will have 55,000 square feet of gaming space, 1,800 Class II slot machines, five restaurants, three bars, a player’s lounge and a retail outlet.
