Virginia Lottery launches Thank a Teacher Art Contest
Richmond, Va. – Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist.” Building on that sentiment, the Virginia Lottery, in partnership with The Supply Room, is excited to launch its seventh annual Thank a Teacher Art Contest. All K-12 students enrolled in Virginia’s public schools are encouraged to create artwork and enter it into the contest for the chance to have the artwork appear on thank-you notes that will be distributed to thousands of teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week in May.
Open through November 13, 2023, the art contest will accept submissions online at thankateacherva.com. Winners will be selected at three levels: elementary, middle and high school. The school that each winner attends will receive $1,000 from The Supply Room and $1,000 from the Virginia Lottery. The winning artists will receive a $200 Visa® gift card in addition to having the winning original artwork featured on thank-you notes distributed across Virginia.
Last year, the Lottery surprised the three student winners: Leah Salzberg, a 5th grader at Brownsville Elementary School in Albemarle County; Allie Beatley, a 7th grader at Grafton Middle School in York County; and Vaidehi Murthy, a 10th grader at Deep Run High School in Henrico County. Their artwork was shared on more than 68,000 digital and printed thank-you notes as part of the 2022 Thank a Teacher campaign.
Thank a Teacher is a statewide campaign organized by the Virginia Lottery in partnership with The Supply Room. Each year, these partners encourage students, parents and the general public to send thank-you notes to Virginia’s public school teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week. To date, Virginians have sent more than 200,000 thank-you notes. Those notes each include a unique web code that teachers can use to enter for a chance to win a Virginia-themed vacation and other prizes.
Entries for the art contest will be judged by a blue-ribbon panel of various members of the arts community in Virginia, and winning designs will be revealed in March. For more information about the Thank a Teacher Art Contest eligibility requirements, design criteria, prize structure and submission guidelines, visit thankateacherva.com.
All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 public education in Virginia. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Lottery raised more than $867 million in profits, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.
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