Casino Donates $80K to Help Groups Over Holidays

has given charitable donations to eight organizations in San Bruno and throughout San Mateo County over the last month, the casino said today.

In all, the casino, which also runs a charitable foundation, gave $80,000 to organizations to help them assist needy families over the holidays.

“We know that times are tough economically for many families and it is especially heightened during the holiday season,” Artichoke Joe's owner Dennis Sammut said in a news release. “The majority of organizations we are supporting this year have been organizations we have supported for many years because of their work with needy families. This has been a difficult year for our business also, but we believe in the work of these groups and wanted to step up once again and support what they do for the needy and less fortunate.”

Artichoke Joe's made donations to the following organizations:

• $25,000 to the Janet Pomeroy Center for the Disabled, which provides recreational, vocational and educational opportunities for people with disabilities serving clients from the Peninsula and San Francisco;
• $10,000 to the to purchase new science equipment for the schools in San Bruno;
• $6,000 to the Toys for Tots program that serves needy children and families in San Bruno;
• $10,000 to Samaritan House of San Mateo County for their Toys for Tots program, which also serves needy families and children throughout all of San Mateo County;
• $5,000 to the San Bruno Lions Charity Food Drive, which provides meals to needy families in San Bruno during the holiday season;
• $10,000 to the Service League of San Mateo County, which provides assistance to the families of inmates and rehabilitation assistance for those recently released from jail in order to prevent recidivism;
• $5,000 to the USO organization at San Francisco International Airport, which assists soldiers and their families as they travel to and from their military assignments;
• $500 to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Activities League, which provides toys to needy children from throughout San Mateo County.