Pretend City Children’s Museum is proud to spotlight 84VIKINGS4GOOD — a philanthropy group boldly committed to leveling the playing field for children across the country — for their recent grant to underwrite Title 1 field trips. The gift expands critical access for students from low-income schools, ensuring that every child, no matter their zip code, can experience the power of hands-on learning and imagination.
The partnership began the moment 84VIKINGS4GOOD toured Pretend City. “After my initial tour, I knew 84VIKINGS4GOOD would be a super fit for Pretend City,” shared Co-Founder & Director, Susan Goodridge. “Our mission is all about leveling the playing field across the country. One of the ways we move our mission forward is by targeting organizations that support children facing educational inequities. Pretend City does this by providing field trips for Title 1 schools.”
For 84VIKINGS4GOOD, the alignment was immediate and deeply values-driven. Their philanthropy group actively seek out community-based strategies that not only serve youth but surround them with family and community support — a core philosophy they saw embedded into Pretend City’s programming. “Their programs are geared toward the entire family and the community-at-large,” Goodridge affirmed.
While their foundation supports a wide range of educational equity efforts nationwide, Pretend City’s Title 1 field trips were — without hesitation — a top priority. “Title 1 field trips,” Goodridge emphasized simply, when asked what she most loves to support. “The clarity of focus is intentional. 84VIKINGS4GOOD invests in removing barriers — in this case transportation, program cost, and access to early learning enrichment — before they compound into lifelong opportunity gaps.”
What most impressed Goodridge was not only what Pretend City does, but how it shows up. “The team and their belief that everything is possible,” she said when asked what she wished more people knew. That mindset, she observed, is what makes Pretend City not just a place, but a force — one willing to lean into possibility, inclusion, and joyful dignity for every child.
Goodridge offered a closing reflection that says everything: “What a wonderful and uplifting environment for children to learn, explore, and play!”
Pretend City is deeply grateful to 84VIKINGS4GOOD for their partnership. Because of their generosity, thousands more children will walk through our doors not as guests — but as future leaders, inventors, artists, and citizens in the making.
Thank you, 84VIKINGS4GOOD, for believing that access should never depend on circumstance — and for helping us make that belief real.
