Bear Claw Casino staff hopes to help make a fellow employee's heartrending Christmas a little less difficult. The casino held a fundraiser November 28 for server Jasmine Tumulak and her family, as they journey to the Philippines to spend time with her father, who is very ill in hospital there. Employees and customers banded together over bannock in an effort to help alleviate the financial burden for the family of four.
“She's a dynamite girl,” says Bear Claw food and beverage manager, Sean Choo-Foo. “She's married, with two little boys. When she came to ask for a month's leave of absence to go to the Philippines because her dad is very, very sick in the hospital there, myself, my chefs, management and our staff wanted to help alleviate the cost a little bit.”
“We came up with 'Bannock Blueberry Surprise', which is a different way to prepare bannock, I guess. We sold it at the casino on November 28and made about $1,300. We put the fundraiser together pretty quickly on Facebook and with a few posters.”
“Jasmine's dad has been in the hospital for about a month, and he's still in the hospital. His condition is marginal,” says Choo-Foo. “Jasmine and her husband have had to each take a month off work and the cost of taking the whole family one-way is about $4,000. So you can imagine that both the emotional stress and the financial stress is huge.”
“We would like to thank everybody who did come out and braved the harsh weather for Jasmine and her family.”
To make a contribution to help Tumalak and her family, please call Sean Choo-Foo at: (306)-577-4577 Ext. 4263.
