Thousands of Virginia educators received a thankyou note in the Virginia Lottery’s Thank a Teacher campaign.
Sarah Gordon, a seventh grade science teacher at Northumberland Middle School (NMS), received a lot more. She won $2,500 courtesy of the Virginia Lottery and its partners, IGT and Neo-Pollard Interactive. NMS also will receive $2,500 in supplies from The Supply Room.
According to a Virginia Lottery press release, Gordon’s name was randomly selected in the prize drawing from nearly 25,000 entries submitted by teachers who entered a special code from their thank-you notes. The Virginia Lottery and its partners gathered Wednesday, May 21, to surprise Gordon with the good news on the last day of school before summer vacation.
The 10th iteration of the award-winning Thank a Teacher campaign was held in conjunction with National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5-9.
Over 210,000 thank-you notes were sent to Virginia K-12 public school teachers by their students, parents or other Virginians. The notes, which could be hard-copy or electronic, each had one of three pieces of artwork designed by Virginia elementary, middle and high school students who won the Thank a Teacher Art Contest.
When teachers received their thank-you notes, they could use a web code on the note to enter for a chance to win the grand prize.
The Thank a Teacher campaign is an initiative to celebrate those teachers whose hard work and inspiration have made a difference in so many lives. Over the last 10 years, the program has recognized 22 educators throughout the state.
All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 public education in Virginia. Northumberland County Public Schools received more than $677,000 in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year.
In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery generated more than $934 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10% of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget.