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After challenging year, local teachers win money for classrooms from Arizona Cardinals, SRP

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Posted at 6:42 AM, Jan 13, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-28 13:53:59-05

The Arizona Cardinals didn't make it to the playoffs this year, but they did score 49 touchdowns this season, earning local teachers some money for their classrooms.

Touchdowns for Teachers is a program by SRP and the Arizona Cardinals. Teachers entered their information online, and every time the Cardinals scored, two teachers were chosen to receive a $500 grant.

Overall, 98 Arizona teachers received money through the program, according to SRP. One of them is Nicholas Miritello, a teacher at Desert Ridge High School in Gilbert.

"It feels like the lottery, you put it in and you forget about it and one day you get an email," Miritello said. "It was on the right day too, it was kind of a rough day, so it was like, just the perfect moment. I was ecstatic."

Maggie Witt, a kindergarten teacher at Legacy Traditional School in Chandler also won $500. She says in March, she began teaching her students online which was especially challenging. Most of her students are now back inside the classroom. But she says, like many, some are going through emotional times.

She says with the money she will be able to add to her lesson plan and purchase some resources like books and stuffed animals that can specifically help them cope.

"They come with a lot of books that talk about emotional wellbeing, conflict resolution, growth, mindset, stress, grief, loss," Witt said. "Lots of things that we're dealing with right now with the pandemic."

SRP says they have another grant opportunity that teachers can apply for from now until the end of February. For more information, click here.