Panda Cares

Stepping up in a crisis.

“Our founders, Andrew and Peggy Cherng, have a long-standing relationship with

Huntington Hospital,” says Winnie Chan, director of Panda Charitable Foundation at Panda Restaurant Group. In fact, the

Cherngs’ involvement in our work goes back two decades. The couple have made generous personal contributions, and

Panda Cares (the philanthropic arm of

Panda Express) has also provided outstanding support.

The Cherngs have a special focus on pediatric and emergency care services. We are also deeply grateful for a recent contribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), made through Panda Cares’ COVID-19 Community Care Fund.

“Huntington Hospital is such an important institution in the San Gabriel Valley,” Winnie says, “and we highly respect the work the hospital staff and leaders do for our shared community. Panda Cares was created to support our community’s needs,” she adds, “and we shift focus from health and education of underserved youth to relief efforts, when natural disasters or crises occur.”

With the onset of the current pandemic, Panda Cares created its COVID-19 Community Care Fund — donating more than 5 million pieces of PPE to local hospitals and delivering more than 60,000 meals for healthcare workers, to date. Panda Cares and the Cherngs have also donated $6.45 million to support research related to treating patients infected with the virus and to nonprofits that help families who are experiencing food insecurity. To expand their impact still further, Andrew and Peggy Cherng provided a personal matching grant, and Panda Express restaurants have also invited their customers to contribute to the fund.

The COVID-19 Community Care Fund, Winnie notes, is just one way to make a difference while saying ‘thank you’ to healthcare workers, including those at Huntington Hospital. “The whole Panda family,” she says, “is deeply grateful for the long hours, care and compassion these caregivers demonstrate every day to save lives and protect all of us. Their grit and resilience inspire all of us to do what we can do to provide for our community. We are stronger together.”