Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kingsport opens new Panda Cares Center of Hope classroom

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Kingsport Boys & Girls Club hosted the grand opening for the Panda Cares Center of Hope Classroom on Wednesday.

The Panda Cares Foundation celebrated 25 years of supporting the Boys and Girls Club on Wednesday. The club celebrated a newly remodeled classroom with new furniture, carpet, updated technology, other materials and additional storage space. The remodel came after a $45,000 grant from the foundation.

The club held a grand opening ceremony so students could see its new modern look, learn about the club and hear from the Boys and Girls Club leadership staff. Panda Care representatives were also in attendance. The new classroom is called the “Center of Hope.”

“I think the name of the Center of Hope is really fitting because I think that’s exactly what this room provides for kids,” Jessica Poore, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kingsport, said. “A space that has furniture, their size, all the things that they can learn to take care of, STEM learning centers, media centers, all those things provided by the grant.”

Poore said the club likes to tailor curriculum specifically to the needs of their community.

“We know that science, technology, engineering and math are really big here in the Kingsport community, especially with other supporters like Eastman and some of our other partners. So I think it’s really, really important that our kids have access to science and in a fun way, like maybe outside of the traditional classroom so they have an opportunity to explore that. So the Panda team actually supplied us with some like cool little robotics things to add to this room too.”

Team members from local Panda Express interacted with the kids at the grand opening.

Delaney Clark, assistant manager at the Johnson City Panda Express, believes in providing a safe space for youth to further their education.

“I didn’t have anything like the Center of Hope, but I had a truly amazing community around me between church and school and just a bunch of amazing people that really cared about my education,” Clark said. “And that meant so much to me then, that I just really want to have kids who don’t have that in other places be able have that here.”

Clark said she is proud to be a part of a team that provides resources to kids.

“Growing up is really hard, and it’s really hard once you get out into the real world to find jobs and know where you’re going in college. So having these resources here and now getting to be in these communities really just helps form who you are and is so crucial in your development.”

Poore said the club wants to help kids prepare for college.

“Having this space where they can explore, they can learn, they can learn leadership skills, all of that’s really, really important,” Poore said. “And I just think that this huge space and now completely renovated just for our kids, will be perfect for them to do that.”

Poore thanks Panda Express for helping invest in the local youth.

“The restaurant is just a couple of miles up the road from us, and we’ve partnered with them on many occasions to help kids learn about Lunar New Year and a lot of other cool things like that,” Poore said.

The Panda Cares Center of Hope classroom at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kingsport is open to all age groups.

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