Fiesta Bowl Grants $1.25M to Arizona Teachers
In its annual tradition to support and celebrate Arizona’s educators, Fiesta Bowl Charities has granted 500 teachers a total of $1.25 million during the Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers Draft Day presented by SRP. Each teacher will receive a $2,500 grant to provide resources in the classroom such as new technology, art supplies, classroom libraries, sensory materials, musical instruments and much more.
Now in its eighth year, the program has increased giving by 25 percent, marking a total of $7 million since its start. The funding will positively impact more than 220,000 students across 73 cities and towns statewide, with 368 different schools receiving grant awards.
This season’s 500 granted wishes will fulfill requests from teachers and provide resources such as new reading materials, classroom makeovers, educational events and much more.
“Educating the next generation is a responsibility shared by our entire community and spearheaded by our teachers and other educational professionals. We are thrilled to provide needed funding to Arizona’s teachers and educators,” said Fiesta Bowl executive director and CEO Erik Moses.
The teachers were notified of their grant win through phone and video calls from Fiesta Bowl Committee members and local celebrities at the Draft Day event.
“Education is huge for us and we’re so proud to be a part of Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers, a program that goes out into the community and takes our values into the classrooms. The teachers who apply are looking at getting these children the tools they need to succeed, and we’re really humbled to be a part of it,” said Kory Raftery, external affairs manager at Palo Verde.
Established in 2016, the Fiesta Bowl Wishes for Teachers initiative grants classroom wishes to Arizona teachers in K-12 public and charter schools, who often spend their own money on classroom materials and activities. Recipients of the grants are invited to attend the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, where they are honored on the field in a halftime presentation, and to march in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade.
For more behind this Frontdoor, go to fiestabowl.org.
