Cherokee Nation Enterprises (CNE) made a donation recently to ensure that many needy children within the Cherokee Nation will have Christmas gifts this season.

As in years past, CNE donated $20,000 to the Cherokee Nation Angel Tree. This is the fourth year CNE has donated $20,000, but the company and its employees have supported the Angel Tree for many years.

"This donation will ensure that over 900 children within the Cherokee Nation will have gifts to open Christmas morning," David Stewart, CNE chief executive officer, said. "On behalf of CNE and our dedicated employees, it makes me proud to help so many Cherokee families during this holiday season."

CNE employees also adopted 200 angels from the Cherokee Nation Angel Tree through an adoption tree located in Catoosa.

"We would not be able to complete the Angel Tree project without the donation and help from CNE," Shannon Chesser, Indian Child Welfare specialist and volunteer, said.

The Cherokee Nation Angel Tree sponsors in-need children identified through Indian Child Welfare, Sequoyah High School, the tribe's childcare center, as well as the Murrow Home in Muskogee.

"Sometimes we get scared we won't have enough for all the children, but we always do. We figure out a way to make it work," Chesser said.

Another essential part of the Angel Tree's success are community and employee volunteers who help with shopping and wrapping gifts, Hettie Charboneau, who manages the Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare Foster Care Program and supervises the Angel Tree, said.

Chesser and fellow Child Welfare Specialist Brandy Lemley organize the large amount of gifts that arrive at the Cherokee Nation complex in Tahlequah and make sure the "angels" get the gifts they requested.

"The girls really love to work on the Angel Tree. They stay late and work really hard," Charboneau said.

Applications for the Angel Tree are taken in October from throughout the Cherokee Nation's 14-county jurisdiction. Charboneau said she works with other area groups sponsoring Angel Trees to prevent duplicate applications. Income guidelines are also used to ensure the Angel Tree only helps needy families and children.

"Some children wouldn't get much at all for Christmas without the Angel Tree, and the children who aren't picked from the tree are helped by the money from CNE," she said.