SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan and Indiana and its Four Winds Casinos presented checks totaling $335,000 to 11 local organizations at a ceremony Wednesday at Four Winds South Bend. 

"This is where this funding that we're getting today, it becomes very helpful for our farm workers, especially giving back to those that are actually putting food on our plate. So that's just, it's a blessing both ways," said Jesusa Rivera, Senior Career Coach at Proteus Inc.

Recipient organizations:

• Beacon Children’s Hospital - $50,000 - Funds will support medical care for children.
• Bodwéwadmimwen Ėthë ték, Inc. - $50,000 - Funds will go toward Potawatomi language preservation programs.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County - $20,000 - Funds will support before and after school programs.
• Cultivate Food Rescue - $20,000 - Funds will provide meals and support the organization’s backpack program.
• Food Bank of Northern Indiana - $20,000 - Funds will support mobile food distributions.
• Logan Community Resources, Inc. - $50,000 - Funds will support programs and services for adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Proteus - $20,000 - Fund will support programs and services for agricultural workers.
• South Bend Community School Corporation - $50,000 - Funds will go toward the development of the St. Joseph County Regional Career Hub and its Ivy Academy Career Technical Education dual credit program.
• The Kwek Society - $20,000 - Funds will go toward supplying period products to Indigenous students and communities across North America.
• Unity Gardens - $10,000 - Funds will go toward expanding projects to support underserved populations who have less access to safe green space, fresh healthy food, and meaningful hands-on learning opportunities.
• YWCA of North Central Indiana - $25,000 - Funds will help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, empower women to build brighter futures, and teach skills to support self-sufficiency.

Founder and Executive Director of The Kwek Society Eva Marie Carney stated, "It's just fantastic to be here this year again. It's a major source of funding for us, and it's wonderful because I'm also a Potawatomi Indian, to have the support of native people like myself."