Quinta Brunson is ending the year on a high note. The Abbott Elementary creator is giving back to her hometown of Philadelphia with a newly announced fund for field trips.
The Quinta Brunson Field Trip Fund launched early December, and it’s dedicated to getting rid of cost barriers to field trips and out-of-classroom experiences for over 117,000 students in the city’s traditional, district-run public schools.
“Field trips were some of the most memorable parts of my own education growing up in Philadelphia,” Brunson, who grew up in West Philly, revealed while announcing the news. “They opened my world, sparked my creativity, and helped me imagine a future beyond what I saw every day. Going somewhere new shows you that the world is bigger and more exciting than you believe, and it can shape what you come to see as achievable.”
Her writing, producing, and acting in Abbott Elementary continue to inspire on and off the screen. The TV show is inspired by her favorite sixth-grade teacher, and it continues to be like a love letter to teachers and kids in the city. In real life, Brunson has continued giving back to her hometown, and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker even honored Brunson with a key to the city in May.
“What Quinta Brunson, our esteemed alum of the School District of Philadelphia, is doing is helping to eliminate all the barriers that impact whether our children can go on field trips. Field trips extend the learning inside of the classroom to outside of the classroom, and vice versa,” Dr. Tony B. Watlington Sr., Philly’s superintendent of schools, said in a recent interview.
Philadelphia has almost 200 museums and national landmarks, in addition to more than 100 national parks, venues, and more, throughout the city. With Brunson’s fresh fund, many students (and their parents) will soon be able to explore without worrying about fees of any kind.
“I remember when I first met Mayor Cherelle Parker,” Watlington continued. “She said, ‘Imagine a school district, a big city school district like Philadelphia, where one day we can get to a place where kids graduate with three things: a diploma, prepared for college or career; a driver’s license; and a passport. It made me think about the power of us opening this big old world out there.”
The fund is accepting contributions online.