RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Lottery has announced the winners of their annual Thank a Teacher Art Contest!
The winners, whose artwork will be featured on thousands of thank you notes sent to teachers across the state are:
Sarah Saravanan, a 1st grader at McNair Lower Elementary School in Fairfax County
Karmare Brownlee, an 8th grader at Tabb Middle School in York County
Andrew Gibson, a senior at Gretna High School in Pittsylvania County
The Virginia Lottery joined a video chat with each student and their teachers, classmates and school administrators to surprise them.
Normally, this surprise would happen with a special assembly at the winners' respective schools, but -- with the pandemic -- this is the second year the Virginia Lottery said they had to get creative with these surprises.
The winners were each presented with a $150 Visa gift card, and their schools will receive $1,000 from the Virginia Lottery and a $1,000 credit from The Supply Room for their art departments.
Virginians are encouraged to send digital thank-you notes featuring the winning artwork to deserving educators from April 1 through National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 3 – 7).
Notes can be sent from the Lottery’s Thank a Teacher website, www.thankateacherva.com. Each note contains a unique code that the teacher can enter for a chance to win a Virginia vacation and supplies for his or her school, courtesy of The Supply Room.
