New Panda Cares Center of Hope Music Therapy Room opens at Children’s Hospital—Midlands
Music therapy program helps children and families cope with unfamiliarity of hospital environment
Prisma Health Midlands Foundation is proud to announce the opening of the Panda Cares® Center of Hope Music Therapy Room in Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Midlands, made possible by Panda Express® associates and guests, whose generosity help change kids’ health, change the future.
Panda Express has raised more than $116,000 for Children’s Hospital programs and services since 2014.
The Panda Cares Center of Hope Music Therapy Room promotes healing and well-being by providing a dedicated space that uses music to help address the physical and emotional needs of patients and families to reduce anxiety and provide comfort during treatment and hospital stays.
“Music therapy is an important component of the psychosocial care that we provide at Children’s Hospital,” said Christy Fink, manager, Child Life and Special Programs. “Our board-certified music therapists are trained to provide interventions that enable children to use music as a modality for expression and emotional regulation while promoting physical well-being and resiliency. The support from the Panda Cares gift helps fund a space for our children to be immersed in a music rich environment that we know promotes both physical and emotional healing. This space, along with the instruments and audiovisual equipment, will enable us to help children cope with being hospitalized and channel their angst into something positive and productive.”
“We are proud to partner with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to bring the vision of the Panda Cares® Center of Hope to life and are humbled to be part of the healing journey for the families and kids at these hospitals,” said Dr. Peggy Cherng, co-founder and co-CEO of Panda Restaurant Group. “Children are our future, and through this partnership and curriculum designed to give children the strength to thrive, we will bring smiles and hope to communities nationwide.”
Panda Cares® Centers of Hope across the country are made possible by donations from Panda Express® associates and guests. Funds raised in-store and online at Panda Express benefit each store’s local community. Following a multimillion-dollar commitment to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) to fund Panda Cares® Centers of Hope, Panda and CMN Hospitals have debuted Center of Hope locations at several hospitals in the U.S. from California and Texas to Hawaii and Washington D.C.
Since 2007, Panda Express and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals have partnered together to change kids’ health, change the future. To date, Panda has raised $200M for hospitals affiliated with CMN Hospitals, including Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Midlands.
About Prisma Health Midlands Foundation: Prisma Health Midlands Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, engages community partners to enhance health care for patients and families served by Prisma Health in the Midlands. For more information, visit PrismaHealthMidlandsFoundation.org.
About Panda Express®
Panda Express, the largest Asian dining concept in the US, is a family-owned and operated restaurant brand founded in 1983 by Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Andrew and Peggy Cherng. Driven by a mission to inspire better lives, Panda Express is recognized as a trailblazer in American Chinese cuisine. The company has pioneered iconic dishes like The Original Orange Chicken® and award-winning Honey Walnut Shrimp, creating a variety of industry-first recipes. Each dish at Panda Express is thoughtfully crafted with quality ingredients and inspired by authentic Chinese flavors and culinary principles. With over 2,500 locations across the country and a presence in 11 international countries, Panda Express continues to share American Chinese cuisine with the world.
Powered by a global family of associates, Panda Cares®, Panda’s philanthropic arm, has raised more than $415 million and has dedicated countless volunteer hours in bettering the health and education for over 16 million youth, as well as supporting communities in need since 1999. In 2021, Panda Express established the Panda CommUnity Fund™ — a five-year, $10 million community investment and response program that supports immediate and sustainable solutions from national and local organizations to uplift diverse groups, including people of color and other marginalized communities. For more information about Panda, visit pandaexpress.com, or find us on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok.
About Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals was founded more than 40 years ago with the vision to Change Kids’ Health, Change the Future. We’ve raised over $9 billion for 170 children’s hospitals by empowering and engaging with local communities and businesses – and we’re not done yet. All donations benefit local member hospitals to fund what’s needed most, like critical life-saving treatments and healthcare services, innovative research, vital pediatric medical equipment, child life services that put kids’ and families’ minds at ease during difficult hospital stays, and financial assistance for families who could not otherwise afford these health services.
Together, we can change kids’ health. Together, we can change the future. To learn about Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and your local member children’s hospital, visit cmnhospitals.org.