Academic Support for All Ages: How the Afterschool Centers Are Meeting Students’ Needs
At school, Ayanna tries her best to sit still at her desk and focus, but the urge to fidget and move about is strong. Inside the Panda Cares Center of Hope at her Boys & Girls Club, however, Ayanna has an easier time concentrating on her assignments thanks to special chairs that allow her to wiggle as she completes her homework alongside her friends.
Ayanna is not alone in her experience, and it just goes to show how an environment—intentionally designed to meet kids and teens where they are—can inspire academic excellence.
Since 2022, thanks to the support of Panda Express associates and guests, nearly 70 Panda Cares Centers of Hope have enhanced Boys & Girls Clubs across the country with these types of unique educational atmospheres where kids can learn, play and thrive. These multi-functional safe spaces for youth are styled with cozy, colorful furnishings and facilities which invite Club members to aim high, express themselves and ignite a passion for learning. Club members are also supported by Club staff, who offer homework help, STEM activities and other Boys & Girls Clubs programming that spark joy, learning and social-emotional growth every day.
Most importantly, Panda Cares Centers of Hope serve as homes away from home where every kid can feel accepted and included across all ages and grade levels.
Finding Ayanna’s Happy Place After School
The open and inviting lime green and purple room never fails to make Ayanna smile as she enters the Panda Cares Center of Hope at her local Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. When she’s not greeting newcomers, playing pool or shooting hoops in her Club’s basketball league, Ayanna is doing her elementary school homework, joining in interactive math activities or practicing positive affirmations in the mirror with her friends at the Center of Hope.
“I like doing math and counting,” said Ayanna. “The new room has tables that I get to write my math homework out on with markers!”
In this special space, Ayanna has made amazing strides while building self-confidence with social-emotional learning activities and daily routines at the Club to support her academic goals. To expand upon her success outside of the Center of Hope, Club staff also partner with caregivers and teachers to help create nurturing environments at home and school where Ayanna can develop essential skills like empathy, emotional intelligence, and teamwork.
“We shared some of our routines and practices with Ayanna’s teachers at school and they’ve also noticed some positive changes. The chairs and tables inside the Center of Hope have especially helped her improve both academically and socially,” says Greater Dallas Boys & Girls Club Director Audrey Robinson. “I’ve seen her come out of her shell and be able to focus more. Her attention span has increased and there’s been so much growth and improvement in her behaviors and responses to challenging situations. She truly is a Club kid, and we make sure Ayanna, and her peers have great experiences where they feel completely included.”
Growing Aldo’s Skills for Higher Learning Success
From sports and recreation to arts and crafts, to community leadership — every moment spent at the Club is an opportunity for self-discovery and success.
High-yield learning activities like these are available at every Center of Hope through Project Learn — a youth-centered approach to education made possible by Panda Cares’ partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. When the first Center of Hope was established in 2022 at Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, Club member Aldo experienced first-hand the difference this positive, youth-affirming space made in his grades.
“I have Wi-Fi at home, but I don’t have a computer or desktop,” said Aldo. “The laptops, desktops and Wi-Fi at the Center of Hope allow me to get homework and projects done. I can do research and look up words I don’t understand. And I can go to staff members for help. Last year, I was more of a C-student but this year I’ve gotten only A’s and B’s.”
The brightly hued spaces at the Center of Hope offer comfortable furnishings and a quiet safe place for youth where Aldo can zero in on his schoolwork. There’s also plenty of areas for Aldo to participate in some of his favorite Club activities like jewelry-making, robotics and BGCA’s premier youth leadership development program, Youth of the Year.
“There was this time where we built a robot,” Aldo said. “We learned how to use coding to make the robot move in a specific direction. At first, I struggled with understanding how to create the code. But the more practice I had, the better I understood it and had lots of fun learning.” Experiences like these have helped Aldo develop a toolbox of essential skills, from strategic planning and problem solving to essay composition and facilitating discussions among his peers. He’s even learning to use graphic design tools like Canva to create marketing materials for social events at his Club.
“I’ve learned how to plan things before doing them,” Aldo said. “I helped plan events on Fridays like our Valentine’s Day hangout, movie nights and board game nights. I created flyers for these activities and promoted them on my social media accounts. I now feel much more confident in doing marketing and promotion like this in the future.”
“Aldo has always been a good student and he likes learning,” said the Chicago Boys & Girls Club Director Edgar Abarca. “But seventh and eighth grade homework can be a bit more difficult. In those grades, kids need to have access to Wi-Fi and laptops and opportunities to practice new skills. Since opening the Center of Hope, I’ve noticed Aldo being more excited to do his homework. He’s really come to understand his own confidence in his capabilities.”
Aldo is looking forward to building on the skills he’s acquired from the Center of Hope into high school and beyond, and he’s not the only one.
Supporting Samantha’s College Preparation with Personal Mentors
When Samantha began attending Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast in California, she was a shy high school student with an important goal — growing her efforts to distribute food to those in her community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As she got more involved in her Club, she came to recognize it as a quiet, safe place where she could complete her homework, grow her social circle and even conduct video teleconferences with her academic advisors.
“The support I received from my mentors, and everyone really pushed me to grow and take on new challenges,” said Samantha. The Club provided her with opportunities to get to know new people and access resources that empowered her in preparing for college.
“I received one-on-one mentorship with a person who was assigned to our school site,” said Samantha. “I was able to talk to them about school and have a counseling experience. It was really helpful. I also received a lot of support in my college search, and I learned how to apply for colleges and complete the FAFSA.”
Additionally, the Club’s youth mentoring program exposed Samantha to internships and externships as well as practical career skills to apply throughout her professional journey.
“I’m super excited to be able to accomplish my goals in continuing my higher education,” said Samantha. “This is a new chapter in my life that’s going to bring new opportunities and connections.”
Now that Samantha is headed to college, she’s thrilled that younger kids at the Club will receive a new space where they can meet their academic goals, too.
“The Center of Hope is an amazing resource at the Club for kids to gain exposure to mental health resources and coping tools to express themselves, their feelings and what they’re thinking,” Samantha said. “I love that this resource is available for them here outside of school.”
Supporting Young People’s Academic Success for Years to Come
No matter which Center of Hope Club kids walk into, each one offers them the same learning, character development and career access opportunities to reach their full potential. These spaces also make sure Club members feel safe, supported and inspired to embrace fun and academically beneficial programs outside of school.
Looking ahead, Panda Cares and Boys & Girls Clubs of America are excited to enhance young people’s academic success by opening 35 Centers of Hope annually over the next 10 years, giving 350 Boys & Girls Clubs and over 20,000 youth spaces to call their own and advance their journey to brighter futures. Panda Cares support is also helping to scale Project Learn, the learning strategy that unites each Center of Hope and fosters learning, character development and, ultimately, career access. Rooted in social-emotional development, Project Learn is based on research which revealed that students perform better in school when they spend their non-school hours engaged in fun and academically beneficial activities.
The Panda Cares Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Panda Express, has united with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to promote academic achievement among kids and teens nationwide. Driven by a global community of associates, Panda Cares has raised more than $329 million and dedicated numerous volunteer hours to enhance the well-being and education of more than 15 million young people. Learn more about Panda Cares’ and Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s partnership here.
