WASHINGTON — The Virginia Lottery wants to add a personal touch to the thank-you cards it sends to educators across the state during National Teacher Appreciation Week by giving students an opportunity to design them.
The lottery’s Thank a Teacher campaign is adding an online art contest for K-12 Virginia public school students. Students can submit their artwork from Jan. 2 to Feb. 2. with permission from a guardian.
Three winners will see their artwork featured on the thank-you cards: “one from elementary school, one from middle school and one from high school,” said Jennifer Mullen with the Virginia Lottery.
Winners will also each receive a $150 gift card and $1,000 for their schools’ art department.
The thank-you cards will be distributed to teachers statewide from May 7 to 11.
This is the Thank a Teacher Program’s third year. During the first two years, Virginians distributed more than 70,000 thank-you notes to teachers throughout the state.
“We are always, at the Virginia Lottery, looking for ways to help Virginians make the connection between the Virginia Lottery and our support of public education. All of our proceeds support public education,” Mullen said. “Each year it’s roughly a half-billion dollars that we turn over to Virginia’s K-12 schools.”
Since 1999 all Virginia Lottery proceeds — more than $8 billion, according to Mullen — have been designated for public education in the state of Virginia, Mullen said.
Mullen said the Thank a Teacher campaign is organized by the Virginia Lottery in partnership with Virginia PTA and Virginia Tourism Corporation.
During National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7 to 11) students, parents and the general public are encouraged to send the thank-you cards to public school teachers in Virginia.
