Panda Restaurant Group Raises $813,000 for Non-Profits at 14th Annual Charity Golf Invitational

ROSEMEAD, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 17, 2012) - Panda Restaurant Group, parent company of Panda Express and the nation's leader in Asian quick-service restaurants, raised more than $813,000 at the 14^th Annual Panda Cares Charity Golf Invitational held Sept 13., benefiting Children's Hospital Los Angeles, City of Hope, "The Leader in Me" Program, Methodist Hospital in Arcadia and the Panda Charitable Foundation. Since the Panda Cares Charity Golf Invitational began in 1999, the event has raised more than $5.4 million for non-profit organizations. 

"The event was an overwhelming success, and through the help of our generous sponsors and business partners, a significant amount of money was raised for very worthy charitable causes," said Peggy Cherng, co-chairman of Panda Restaurant Group. "Panda Cares strives to promote a spirit of giving, and the significant funds raised this year are a testament that these needs are being heard and answered." 

More than 300 players participated in this year's tournament, which was held at Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms Resort in the City of Industry, Calif. The cost of the event was underwritten by Andrew and Peggy Cherng, co-founders of Panda Restaurant Group.

Panda Restaurant Group launched Panda Cares in 1999 as a company-wide community involvement initiative that provides food, funding and volunteer services to children's organizations, disaster relief, and other worthy causes. 

This year, the Panda Cares Charity Golf Invitational supported the following non-profit organizations:

• Children's Hospital Los Angeles - The hospital is dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of children and adolescents by integrating medical care, preventive services, medical education and research in an atmosphere of love, compassion and respect. To learn more, visit www.childrenshospitalla.org.
• Methodist Hospital - Based in Arcadia, Calif., the hospital provides healing services while caring for the patient as a whole person with emotional and spiritual dimensions as well as physical needs. More information is available at www.methodisthospital.org.
• City of Hope - An innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution, City of Hope is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases, guided by a compassionate patient-centered philosophy, supported by a national foundation of humanitarian philanthropy. Learn more at www.cityofhope.org.
• "The Leader in Me" Program - A school program that integrates timeless leadership principles with practical character and life skills relevant to today's challenges. By building self-confidence, interpersonal skills, elevating student achievement and reducing school-wide discipline problems, this program helps children to become leaders in their field of interest. Visit www.theleaderinme.org for more information. 

About Panda Restaurant Group
Founded in 1973, with 1,500 locations in 42 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico, the privately-held Panda Restaurant Group is the world's leader in Asian dining experiences. The successful chain of concepts includes Panda Express, Panda Inn and Hibachi-San. Panda Express is best known for its wide variety of original recipes including their famous Orange Chicken®, Beijing Beef™, SweetFire Chicken Breast®, Honey Walnut Shrimp™ and Shanghai Angus Steak™. For more information visit, www.pandaexpress.com, or become a fan on Facebook.  

About Panda Cares
Panda Cares is a community involvement program that was established by Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. in 1999 with the mission to bring hope to children in need. Panda Cares is committed to promoting the spirit of giving within Panda by directly serving the health, wellbeing and education needs of underserved children. Learn more at www.pandacares.org.