Adventure is Out There
By Aly Quiroz-Perez, Program Associate
“Adventure is out there!” is a phrase from the beloved Pixar movie Up.
PVF believes that students deserve to experience adventure early on in their academic careers. Due to continued cuts to school budgets, teachers have an increasingly difficult time taking their students out on adventures. With little to no funding for excursions, students miss out on opportunities to experience the real world with guidance from their hardworking teachers.
This is where PVF steps in to help K-5 teachers go above and beyond for their students by providing $1,000 grants to cover field trip expenses.
Field trips are crucial to the personal and academic development of students. These are opportunities for students to exercise their critical thinking skills, learn to be more empathetic, and strengthen their ability to work in teams. Field trips are also valuable in that they expose children to new careers, help them gain knowledge and culture, and allow them to explore outside their neighborhoods. In addition to this, field trips are a welcome break from the routine of the classroom and make learning fun!
Here is a look at what teachers have written to us about the impact of the Excursion Grant Program on their students:
“Thank you very much for the $1,000 donation to help make our trip to the California Academy of Sciences such a wonderful success. Your donation made it possible for us to get a bus to take our 3 Kindergarten classes to San Francisco. Most of these children had never been to see this fantastic resource. There is no greater joy for a Kindergartner than to see ‘the real thing’!” – Larry Goity, Taft Community School
“Thank you for the generous Excursion Grant allowing us to take our Fourth Graders to the Mission San Juan Bautista and San Juan Bautista State Park. This experience made a huge impact on our Fourth Graders’ educational experience. Being able to visit the Mission and San Juan Bautista State Park embedded our state’s rich history into our students’ lives. Exploring the Mission and historical buildings for themselves, helped our students better understand what it was like to live in that era in a way that just cannot be achieved in the classroom alone. The generosity of your foundation helped to make California’s history come alive in a fun and meaningful way. What an absolute gift. Thank you!” – Shannon Cody, Clifford School
“This was our third year going to Sacramento, thanks to Philanthropic Ventures Foundation and The Geballe Family! It is always so awesome to see my students engaged and come alive when they experience what they’ve learned in our classroom! For months, we learned about California history – the Gold Rush, Transcontinental Railroad, and the Capitol. We also discussed what it was like to live in the 1800s and go to school. My students were so excited that we’d actually get to experience going to school in the 1800s and see some artifacts from a long time ago! Also for most, it was their first time on the Amtrak!” – Juli Chang, Ocean Shore School
It is always a joy to hear from teachers about how students return to class inspired and happy after their adventures. We are proud to do our part to support local schools.
