Home Virginia Lottery offers Thank a Teacher Art Contest for K-12 public school students
Virginia News

Virginia Lottery offers Thank a Teacher Art Contest for K-12 public school students

Rebecca Barnabi
Courtesy of The Virginia Lottery.

Pablo Picasso once said: “Every child is an artist.” Building on that sentiment, the Virginia Lottery launches its eighth annual Thank a Teacher Art Contest.

In partnership with The Supply Room, 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 their artwork appear on thank-you notes that will be distributed to thousands of teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week in May 2025.

Students are encouraged to create art that expresses their gratitude for Virginia’s public school teachers. The Lottery will accept submissions online through Monday, February 3, 2025. One winner will be selected at each level: elementary, middle and high school. The school that each winner attends will receive $2,000 from The Supply Room. 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: Sadie Clark, a 5th grader at Mountain View Elementary School in Roanoke; Maria Rose Sajan, a 7th grader at Grafton Middle School in York County; and Helen Hou, a senior at Albemarle High School in Albemarle County. Their artwork was shared on more than 130,000 digital and printed thank-you notes as part of the 2024 Thank a Teacher campaign.

Following the announcement of the art contest winners, students, parents and the general public are encouraged to send thank-you notes to Virginia’s public school teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week. To date, Virginians have sent more than 500,000 thank-you notes. Each note includes a unique web code that teachers can use to enter for a chance to win $2,500 in supplies from The Supply Room and $2,500 in cash from the Virginia Lottery and its partners IGT and NPi.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. In fiscal year 2024, the Lottery raised more than $934 million for K-12 education, 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.

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.

Latest News

jd vance
Politics, U.S. & World News

Group of Democrat state AGs tell JD Vance: ‘No one is above the law’

virginia state capitol
Politics, Virginia News

Virginia Democrats pushing abortion, gay marriage, voting rights measures

Virginia Democrats have pushed through bills on abortion, gay marriage and voting rights that will be centerpiece issues in the 2025 state elections.

Baseball, Sports

UVA Baseball: #2 ‘Hoos open with 5-4 loss in 11 innings to Michigan

Second-ranked Virginia rallied twice from two-run deficits, but Michigan scored the game-winning run on a walkoff error by first baseman Antonio Perrotta in the 11th in a 5-4 win on Friday in the opening game of the Puerto Rico Challenge. The ‘Hoos (0-1) fell behind early, with UM getting to opening-day starter Jay Woolfolk for...

smores campfire outdoor burning
Virginia News

Virginia outdoor burning law kicks in Saturday; restrictions in place from midnight to 4 p.m.

flooded bridge
Local News, Virginia News

Weekend update: Freezing rain, flooding possible in portions of Virginia

virginia tech mike young acc tournament
Basketball, Football, Sports

Analysis: Virginia Tech might be stuck with Mike Young, because of money

jim londos
Pro Wrestling, Sports

Virginia author tells the life story of legendary wrestling champ Jim Londos