school winner of the Virginia Lottery Thank a Teacher
Art Contest.
The Virginia Lottery is preparing to thank teachers in an artistic way, thanks to some talented young artists. A Radford City Public Schools student is being honored as one of three winners of the eighth annual Virginia Lottery Thank a Teacher Art Contest.
Avalyn Church, a fifth grader at Belle Heth Elementary School, won in the contest’s elementary school category. After receiving nearly 600 entries, the Virginia Lottery selected three winners from the elementary, middle and high school levels to have their artwork featured on thank-you notes that will be distributed to thousands of teachers across the Commonwealth during National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5 – 9, 2025).
Thank a Teacher is a statewide campaign organized by the Virginia Lottery in partnership with The Supply Room, IGT, and NeoPollard Interactive. Over the years, through this campaign, Virginians have sent more than 400,000 thank-you notes, and 16 deserving teachers have been awarded fabulous prizes from the lottery and its partners.
In a surprise presentation at Belle Heth on Tuesday, Mar. 25, Avalyn was awarded a $200 gift card, and the school received a $2,000 credit from The Supply Room for its art department. “The lottery is proud to be in Radford to recognize Avalyn’s creativity and talent,” said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones. “Her art will be used to thank thousands of public school teachers throughout Virginia this Teacher Appreciation Week. Teachers and students are at the core of the Lottery’s role to support K-12 public education, and the Art Contest is a unique opportunity to recognize them by giving back to the winning schools art departments, thanks to our partners at The Supply Room.”
The Thank a Teacher Art Contest winners were selected by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, including representatives of Virginia’s arts community and contest partners. The judges were: Peggy Wood, executive secretary, Virginia Art Education Association; Gina Patterson, executive director, Virginia School Board Association; and Wade Whitehead, 2011 Virginia Lottery Super Teacher (executive director, Teachers of Promise Institute and a Roanoke County teacher). Radford City Public Schools received nearly $2.5 million in lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year.