Philadelphia, PA. Swoop, the mascot, was especially busy on October 26, flying from Northeast Philadelphia to Feltonville.

Philadelphia high school students held pep rallies and younger children made get-well cards on Monday for Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who will miss the rest of the season with blood clots in both lungs, after an incident on Oct. 4, when an opponent’s cleat struck his calf in a game against the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles expect a full recovery, but for now, Hurts can not play.  

Students thanked the player for his generous support of their school and hoped to cheer up the beloved Philadelphia football player. The School District of Philadelphia called it «Sending Love to QB1 Day.» Tributes at Northeast High School, Clara Barton School, Feltonville Intermediate School, and Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences arrived hours before the Eagles hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.

At Northeast High on Cottman Avenue, students formed a giant «QB1» on the athletic field, a message written in the sky. They chanted «Go, Jalen, go!» In September, Hurts gave the school $600,000 for a new HVAC system, the largest gift his foundation has made, barely a month before he was injured.

In Feltonville, at Clara Barton Elementary, a kindergarten-through-second-grade school, first graders sounded out «Get well soon» and «Thank you, Mr. Hurts,» filling get well cards with hearts, rainbows, and footballs. Principal Colleen Bowen, blinking back tears, said “Barton once relied on a few temporary cooling units that kept breaking down, and the heat often sent children home early”. In 2024, Barton was among 10 schools that shared more than 300 air conditioning units bought with a $200,000 gift from Hurts.

Faces lit up in Barton classrooms as Swoop approached each child who joyfully showed their work. A teacher wiped a tear from her cheek as she praised the children for their wonderful efforts. The love reached his hometown, too. When the cards were completed, Swoop proudly picked them up like a trophy and delivered them to Jalen. The Channelview School District declared Monday «Jalen Hurts Day,» and his mother, Pamela, a teacher there, posted a video of the pile of get-well cards her students made. «I’m going to read every last one of them,» she said.

«The children were excited to show love and appreciation for Jalen in a citywide celebration because he has done so much for our school community and our city,» said Dennis Smith, Barton’s vice principal. Several families told him they were happy to be part of it.

Hurts, who grew up in Channelview, Texas, has said he was stunned to learn that Philadelphia schools closed «not for snow, but for lack of AC.» The number of district schools without air conditioning has since dropped from 118 to 52. His foundation describes its work as a way to give back to communities that became a home away from home.

Back at Northeast, Asher Coles, 17, said students had been asking how to give back since the news broke. «Through thick and thin, he’s our QB1,» he said, «and we will always support him.»