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February 21, 2024
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2024
Panda Cares Center Of Hope!
Commitment to
Foster Academic
Success
In partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs
of America, Panda Express presented the
ribbon cutting for the newest Panda Cares
Center of Hope at the Clinton & Gloria
John Clubhouse on January 31st, 2024.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America and
Panda Express are proud to bring a Pan-
da Cares Center of Hope to Vancouver.
The opening of this Center of Hope aligns
directly with Panda Express’ commit-
ment to foster academic success among
Boys & Girls Clubs members across the
country. Panda Cares Center of Hope is
a newly renovated space within our Club
designed to deliver more joy, education,
and critical social-emotional development
to local communities. Project Learn, the
platform that unites each Center of Hope,
is a holistic strategy intended to reinforce
and enhance what youth learn during the
school day, while creating experiences
that invite them to fall in love with learn-
ing. Rooted in social-emotional develop-
ment, this program is based on research
showing that students do better in school
when they spend their non-school hours
engaged in fun and academically benefi-
cial activities. `
Photo courtesy of Panda Cares
Our Panda Cares Center of Hope was
designed to meet the needs of our Club
members and support them on their ac-
ademic journey. The renovated space
includes new furniture, a fresh coat of
paint (including a chalk board wall), a
calm reading corner, and a large touch
screen tablet to be used during our evi-
dence-based academic programming. The
new wall and ceiling panels help to absorb
sound and great a space more conducive
to learning. The Center of Hope will be a
special place for hundreds of Club mem-
bers for many years to come!
The Grand Opening Celebration was
an exciting event where Club staff, Panda
Express volunteers, community members,
and nearly 100 Club youth came together
to celebrate this accomplishment. Follow-
ing the ribbon cutting, attendees enjoyed
a photo booth and catered meal by Panda
Express, and all youth were able to take
home a SWAG bag filled with new books
and a small panda stuffed animal with an
Adoption Certificate.
In addition to the $45,000 in grant funds
to create the Center of Hope, Panda repre-
sentatives presented a $10,000 check to be
used as college scholarship funds for youth
at the Clinton & Gloria John Clubhouse.
This additional gift further exemplified
Panda Cares’ generosity and commitment
to supporting the academic success of
young people in our community.
Since 1999, Boys & Girls Clubs of
Southwest Washington (BGCSW) has
been providing a safe, positive environ-
ment for our community's most vulnera-
ble youth. We are one of the only agencies
in Clark County to offer daily, affordable
and accessible after-school and summer
youth development programs in the high-
est-need neighborhoods that have few, if
any, other youth services or facilities. Our
mission is to enable all young people, es-
pecially those who need us most, to realize
their full potential as productive, caring,
responsible citizens. Thousands of youth
have benefitted from the caring adult guid-
ance and rich variety of programs offered
by Clubs. Combined, our 8 sites serve an
average of 500 youth daily after school and
in our summer programs. True to our mis-
sion and purpose, Club members can par-
ticipate in year-round programs (school-
year and summer) for as little as $100, and
we never turn anyone away for inability
to pay. BGCSW relies on private philan-
thropy, in-kind partner contributions, and
government grants to cover the true cost
of operations. To learn more about Boys
& Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington’s
programs, please visit www.mybgc.org or
call 360-448-7089.
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