*Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will fund a $600,000 cooling upgrade for the auditorium at Northeast High School through his foundation. It is the largest gift the Jalen Hurts Foundation has made to date, according to 6abc. The project will bring air conditioning to a space that currently falls short on cooling.
The donation builds on a 2024 gift of $200,000 that put more than 300 air conditioners in 10 Philadelphia schools. Hurts’ Keep It Cool initiative adds $5,000 to school cooling efforts for each touchdown he scores.
Some Philadelphia schools have canceled classes because their buildings lacked air conditioning. Hurts, a Texas native, learned about the problem roughly three years ago from a news report.
“Growing up in the South, I was very blown away about school being canceled not for snow, but for lack of AC,” Hurts said.
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Superintendent Tony Watlington said 118 district schools had no air conditioning when Hurts first became involved. That number has since fallen to 52, but the problem persists. Before the district can cool some older buildings, it must complete expensive electrical and infrastructure upgrades.
The Northeast upgrade alone will not cool every school that needs it. Hurts has a simple goal for the number of schools still without air conditioning. “Let’s get it to zero,” he said.
Hurts’ parents were educators. He revealed the surprise donation to more than 1000 students, teachers, and staff at Northeast on Sept. 15. The superstar athlete told Northeast students he understands how much support can mean while young people work toward their goals. Watch his remarks in the clip below.
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