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Following the establishment of its inaugural Panda Cares Day in 2019, Panda Cares , the humanitarian arm of Panda Express , commemorates its anniversary on August 8 every year with an event of giving back.

In honor of the vacation this year, Panda partnered with star and kids’s supporter Dakota Fanning, to host a virtual storytime for children throughout the country at 8 Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals and 80 Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA) chapters. Dakota surprised the children with a video message filled with words of encouragement, followed by a dedicated reading of “All Are Welcome” by author Alexandra Penfold & illustrator Suzanne Kaufman. For more than 20 years, Panda Cares’ vision has been to empower youth to learn, lead and thrive for brighter futures through health and education, creating powerful learning pathways and focused care for the holistic well-being of kids nationwide.

BGCA drive-by parties and CMN Hospital check outs took place at 88 locations in which Panda hosted the virtual storytime today. As part of the events, the organizations received an overall of 88,000 books for the kids, targeted at establishing reading abilities, enhancing crucial thinking skills and widening perspectives. In addition, curated through its Panda Cub Club enrichment effort established earlier this year, Panda offered fun at-home activities to encourage learning through play. Both CMN Hospitals and BGCA are long time partners of Panda Cares and have enabled the structure to support countless children and households over the years.

“As a family business, we believe it is our responsibility to foster the spirit of kindness in our extended Panda family of guests and associates, and it has been an honor to witness everyone coming together to further our mission of inspiring better lives,” said Dr. Peggy Cherng, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Panda Express. “Panda Cares Day has a special place in our hearts for many reasons. The number 8 is the luckiest number in the Chinese culture, representing prosperity. The number is thought to bring good fortune in life, which is why we established Panda Cares Day on August 8—to share good fortune with the communities we serve.”

Following a commitment of $25 million to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to money Panda Cares Centers of Hope in 2019, Panda Cares unveils its 8th Center of Hope on Panda Cares Day 2020 at Lurie Children’s Healthcare facility in Chicago, Illinois, which is serendipitously commemorating its 8th anniversary this year.

To extend the festivities to its visitors, the American Chinese brand has arranged a virtual charity event on August 8, to continue to drive donations to support kids in underserved neighborhoods. When a guest places an order on the Panda Express mobile app or website using the promotion code ‘PandaCaresDay,’ Panda Express will contribute 28 percent of the pre-tax sales to their local CMN hospital.

Link to Article: https://www.drewreportsnews.com/2020/08/07/dakota-fanning-teams-up-with-panda-express-for-annual-panda-cares-day/