BILLINGS– Some Yellowstone County youth are getting a boost with learning and homework help outside of school.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County has built a learning center at their Bair Family Clubhouse through a $45,000 grant from Panda Express’ nonprofit foundation, Panda Cares.
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The center is one of more than 150 Panda Cares Centers of Hope nationwide. The center will provide students with space for homework help, experiments, reading and outside-of-school lessons.
“We were able to actually procure a smart board,” said Nick Enslow, the club’s vice president of culture and innovation. “We have… space set up to be able to do the messy, yucky science stuff that the kids get really excited about.”
Enslow told MTN the center’s purpose is to help students become ready for college and trade school and increase high school graduation rates.
“We see… in the areas that we are located that those rates are lower,” said Enslow. “We want to try and be better as a community.”
The county’s clubs president and CEO Brian Dennis has high hopes for the center.
“While we're not an education program, we want to make sure that the kids have opportunities to take advantage of the school day experience,” said Dennis. “The great improvements are going to give us some opportunity to help remove barriers.”
The center is a surprise for the students attending the club. They say what the new addition is has been a secret for the past few months.
MTN asked students to guess what the surprise is behind the center’s door.
“Probably new furniture, new flooring. They painted the walls,” said 7-year-old Callie.
“Maybe some balloons and windows,” said 6-year-old Dylan.
The club’s staff unveiled the center to the students Tuesday night and, of course, served them food from Panda Express.
