Crayola Launches a Nationwide Contest to Honor the Best Teachers

By Brigitt Earley July 3, 2018

Teachers do so much for our kids: They patiently help them work through math problems, they help work through issues with bullying, they see kids onto the school bus at the end of the day, they use their own money to buy supplies for their classrooms, and conduct countless other acts that go unnoticed.

Crayola wants to recognize all that hard work—and not just on Teacher appreciation day. To show the best teachers in the United States how invaluable they are, the company is launching a nationwide contest. For the “Thank a Teacher Contest,” the brand is encouraging families to create handmade thank-you notes for teachers and upload them at crayola.com/thankateacher for a chance to win over $20,000 in prizes for their family, teacher, and school.

Submissions will be accepted from July 1 through August 25, 2018, and will be judged on four factors: creativity, originality, inspiration, and intelligibility. Crayola will select 10 finalists to each win:

$10,000 classroom makeover for the teacher
One-year supply of Crayola products for the school
$1,000 scholarship for the student

$1,000 gift card for both the teacher and school
Free CreatEd seminar for the school

One of the 10 finalists will win a grand prize of their thank-you note featured on a box of Crayola crayons before the holiday gifting season.

A weekly sweepstakes will run concurrently with the contest, offering entrants a chance to win $500 gift cards for themselves and their teachers.

"A colorful, handwritten thank-you note is one of the most creative ways you can show your appreciation to a teacher who has touched your life," said Smith Holland, President and CEO of Crayola. "We're excited to continue to celebrate and thank teachers across the country for all the work they do each day. We know that America is excited for the opportunity and we can't wait to see all the heartfelt and inspiring thank-you notes we receive for teachers."