
Panda Cares Foundation


Dear Community Partners -
We are so excited about this grant award - thank you, Panda Cares Foundation/Panda Express!
Bakersfield, CA (December 12, 2024) – The Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County have been selected to receive a $160,000 Panda Cares Project Learn (Academic Success) Grant to drive academic success for youth at 12 local Boys & Girls Clubs. This opportunity is made possible through the Panda Cares Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Panda Express.
Selected traditional and school-based Boys & Girls Club sites:


Project Learn reinforces the academic enrichment and school engagement of young people during the time they spend at the Club.
Students do much better in school when they spend their non-school hours engaged in fun, but academically beneficial, activities. Through Project Learn, Club staff use all the areas and programs in the Club to create opportunities for these high-yield learning activities, including leisure reading, writing activities, discussions with knowledgeable adults, helping others, homework help, tutoring and games that develop young people’s cognitive skills. Project Learn also emphasizes parent involvement as well as collaboration between Club and school professionals.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County awarded $160,000 from Panda Cares Foundation/Panda Express
to support academic success at local Boys & Girls Clubs
Not all youth have access to quality education, so Panda Cares partners with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to create opportunities for kids and teens to learn, lead, and thrive, focusing on increasing the quality of academic success programming in Clubs. This partnership empowers thousands of kids and teens at Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide to excel in school and build their character and leadership. Since 2020, Panda Cares has committed more than $42 million to enhance academic programming, support Project Learn, and establish Panda Cares Centers of Hope in Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide.
E. L. Jack and Monica Armstrong Youth Center
Stockdale Boys & Girls Club
Colonel Nichols Club
Evergreen Club
Voorhies Elementary
Mt. Vernon Elementary
Stella Hills Elementary
Horace Mann Elementary
Frank West Elementary
McKinley Elementary
Thorner Elementary
North Beardsley Elementary