The legacy youth organization alongside the
philanthropic foundation of Panda Express will open 15 new Panda
Cares Centers of Hope in Texas Boys & Girls Clubs by year end,
serving 12,000 young people collectively.
As conversations around student achievement and chronic
absenteeism continue across the country, Boys & Girls Clubs of
America and the Panda Cares Foundation are expanding efforts to
bring safe and inspiring learning spaces to kids and teens across
Texas. In partnership since 2020, six Boys & Girls Clubs across
the state will be granted a Center of Hope this year, adding to the
nine spaces that have already opened for Texas youth.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240723813918/en/
Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the
Panda Cares Foundation are expanding efforts to bring safe and
inspiring learning spaces to kids and teens across Texas. (Photo:
Business Wire)
Intentionally designed to provide young people with the
resources and support they need to develop and improve their
academic skills while out of school, Panda Cares Centers of Hope
are created within Boys & Girls Clubs to foster high yield
learning and enrichment that encourages character building, brings
more joy to academics and ultimately increases access to
opportunities beyond high school. This joint initiative has already
supported nearly 10,000 kids across Texas and aims to improve the
learning experiences of over 12,000 total kids by the end of the
year.
According to a 2023 Texas STAAR Assessment of grades three
through eight, 55% of students reported falling below grade level
in mathematics, while 46% fell below in English. To achieve the
Center’s goals to support youth academics, each Center of Hope
located inside Boys & Girls Clubs engages in Project Learn - an
evidence-informed holistic strategy Boys & Girls Clubs of
America has developed to support youth-centered learning. The
strategy reinforces and enhances what young people learn during the
school day through things like homework help and high yield
learning activities, while creating experiences that invite them to
fall in love with their academic journey.
Since 2020 Panda Cares has funded more than $30M to provide
nearly 2,000 Boys & Girls Clubs with grants to support academic
success programming and the Project Learn strategy.
“Ensuring young people are equipped to succeed academically is
one of the key ways Boys & Girls Clubs support youth in
realizing their full potential,” said Jim Clark, President &
CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “Each time one of our Clubs
opens a Panda Cares Center of Hope, it creates new opportunities
for young people to discover the fun and enjoyment in learning,
while also benefiting from a relationship-centered program model
that is proving to support strong academic outcomes.”
Since the inception of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and
Panda Cares partnership in 2019, the organizations have imagined
the concept of Panda Cares Centers of Hope, leading to the
first-ever opening in 2022. To-date, 15 Boys & Girls Clubs
across Texas have received renovations for multi-purpose learning
spaces, including the four Panda Cares Centers of Hope that are
opening in the second half of this year.
With a $45,000 grant from Panda Cares, each Center of Hope comes
to life through a room refresh, as well as the adoption or
enhancement of policies, programs and professional development to
ensure the greatest success for young people.
Texas Club sites with a Panda Cares Center of Hope include:
- Boys & Girls Club of Polk County – Opening late 2024
- Main Branch – Opening late 2024
- The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Waxahachie –
Opening late 2024
- Woody Hall Unit – Opening September 2024
- Woodson Boys Club – Opened July 2024
- Travis Petty Unit – Opened May 2024
- Boys & Girls Club of Grand Prairie – Opened January
2024
- Boys & Girls Club of Pharr (Main Unit) – Opened December
2023
- Nicholas & Louella Martin Branch – Opened December
2023
- Harry Nigro Unit – Opened November 2023
- Highland Hills (Rayburn Unit) – Opened August 2023
- Halff Park Club – Opened January 2023
- Sheth Family Campus (Home Club) – Opened December 2022
- John & Cissy Havard Club – Opened December 2022
- Navarro County Club (Corsicana Unit) – Opened December
2022
In honor of each Grand Opening, Boys & Girls Club staff
members organize a ribbon cutting ceremony to introduce the
academic space to the community. The celebration also includes
Panda Express volunteers, food donations and fun giveaways for
kids, parents and local community members.
“This is a year of milestones for Panda Cares!” said David Wang,
Zone Vice President of Operations, Panda Express. “We are so proud
to expand our reach across the state of Texas with Boys & Girls
Clubs of America, while also celebrating the 25th anniversary of
our foundation. The opening of these locations aligns directly with
our commitment to further enhance academic success resources for
Boys & Girls Club members across the country and we are
thrilled that our Panda Express teams will have more touch points
within these special communities.”
This year, Panda Cares is also proud to establish the Panda
Cares Scholarship Program at Boys & Girls Clubs of America,
providing vital annual funding to 200 junior and senior Club
members in support of their continued education and pursuit of a
great future after they leave high school. The 2024 total
commitment from Panda Cares of more than $11.6M is to support the
200 scholarships, 42 Centers of Hope, 700 Project Learn grants, and
enhancing academic programming for Boys & Girls Club youth
across the country.
To learn more about the partnership between Boys & Girls
Clubs of America and Panda Express, visit www.bgca.com.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America
(BGCA.org) has provided a safe place for kids and teens to
learn and grow. Clubs offer caring adult mentors, fun and
friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily
basis during critical non-school hours. Boys & Girls Clubs
programming promotes academic success, good character and
leadership, and healthy lifestyles. Over 5,400 Clubs serve more
than 3 million young people through Club membership and community
outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on
Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in
BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations
worldwide. The national headquarters is located in Atlanta. Learn
more about Boys & Girls Clubs of America on Facebook and
X.
About Panda Express®
On a mission to inspire better lives, Panda Express® is the
largest Asian dining concept in the US. Family-owned and operated
since 1983 by Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Andrew and Peggy Cherng,
Panda Express is best known as a trailblazer for creating a wide
variety of industry-first recipes, including its best seller the
Original Orange Chicken® and award-winning Honey Walnut Shrimp,
which have defined the category of authentic American Chinese
cuisine. Each dish at Panda Express is thoughtfully crafted with
quality ingredients and inspired by bold Chinese flavors and
culinary principles. The restaurant brand has more than 2,500
locations and has introduced American Chinese cuisine to 11
international countries.Powered by a global family of associates,
Panda Cares®, Panda's philanthropic arm, has raised more than $375
million and has dedicated countless volunteer hours in bettering
the health and education for over 15 million youth, as well as
supporting communities in need since 1999. In 2021, Panda Express
established the Panda CommUnity Fund — a five-year, $10 million
community investment and response program that supports immediate
and sustainable solutions from national and local organizations to
uplift diverse groups, including people of color and other
marginalized communities. For more information about Panda, visit
pandaexpress.com, or find us on Facebook, Instagram, X and Tik
Tok.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240723813918/en/
Eliza Lynch Boys & Girls Clubs of America elynch@bgca.org,
203-522-7010