Cherokee Nation Donates to County Boys & Girls Club

Shown with a $195,000 donation to area Boys & Girls Clubs are, from the left, District 12 Tribal Councilor Dick Lay, District 9 Tribal Councilor Curtis Snell, At-large Tribal Councilor Jack Baker, Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr., District 8 Tribal Councilor Shawn Crittenden, Deputy Speaker of the Council Victoria Vazquez, Speaker of the Council Joe Byrd, District 13 Tribal Councilor Buel Anglen, District 10 Tribal Councilor Harley Buzzard, District 14 Tribal Councilor Keith Austin, and At-large Tribal Councilor Wanda Hatfield.

The Cherokee Nation recently donated $195,000 to eight Boys & Girls Club programs in northeastern Oklahoma, including $20,789.10 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sequoyah County.

The Sequoyah County clubs have a total enrollment of 1,746, the Cherokee Nation press release reports.

Other clubs receiving donations are:

-Bartlesville, $5,299.09, with a 1,021 enrollment

-Delaware County, $14,348.49, with a 746 enrollment

-Chelsea, $7,363.84, with a 402 enrollment

-Nowata, $18,098.18, with a 912 enrollment

-Tahlequah, $80,666.98, with a 4,194 enrollment

-Green Country-Pryor, $4,591.71, with a 376 enrollment, and

-Adair County, 1,751/$43,835.58, with a 1,751 enrollment.

Funding is based on the number of Native American students in each program. In total, the eight area programs serve more than 11,000 students, with nearly 60 percent being Native American.

Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation Secretary of State, said, “Investing in the Boys & Girls Club is a collaboration that benefits Cherokee Nation’s most precious resource, our youth. We proudly support the work of local clubs within our communities because it benefits kids, families, local schools and overall community health. This is an opportunity to provide mentors and create positive, lifelong influences for Cherokees. Our youth deserve everything we can do for them, so they can fully grow into their God-given potential.”

Since 2008, the Cherokee Nation has given more than $2 million to help Boys & Girls Club programs in the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction. The clubs develop character and leadership skills among both Cherokee and non-Cherokee students alike, providing activities for children after school and in the summer.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America serves more than 4 million youth in the United States and on military bases around the world.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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