Panda Cares Center of Hope serves Hartley & Ruth Barker Boys & Girls branch
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
In partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Panda Express presented the ribbon cutting for its newest Panda Cares Center of Hope — taking place at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale’s Hartley & Ruth Barker Branch.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Panda Express are proud to bring a Panda Cares Center of Hope to south Scottsdale. The opening of this Center of Hope, representatives of the Boys & Girls Clubs say, aligns directly with Panda Express’ commitment to fostering academic success among Boys & Girls Clubs members across the country.
Panda Cares Center of Hope is a newly renovated space within the club designed to deliver more joy, education, and critical social-emotional development to local communities, Boys & Girls officials report.
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 learning.
“Our Panda Cares Center of Hope was formerly a multi-use space on the youth side of the club,” said Lyric Naquin of the Boys and Girls Clubs.
“It has been beautifully transformed and now features new collaborative modular tables, seating, laptops, a quiet reading corner, and a large format TV allowing this room to meet the ways children learn, engage, and grow today.”
The Hartley & Ruth Barker Branch sees nearly 200 youth each day. As part of Project Learn, Club members will have access to the room as a quiet, fresh place to complete their homework and get help from adult mentors. The room will also be utilized for fun hands-on activities that feel more like play than learning guided by Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale youth development professionals.
“Families rely on our Clubs for the support their children need to be successful in school and to broaden their learning. The Panda Cares Center of Hope will be where that happens,” Ms. Naquin said.