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.

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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 25^th 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.

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