Grant submissions for the seventh annual Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers are now being accepted

The program provides $2,500 awards to 400 teachers across the state for a total of $1 million in donations, according to a press release.

Applications are now open for all teachers in Arizona K-12 public and charter schools through 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30. Teachers can fill out the online application at www.WishesForTeachers.org, detailing the teacher's school or classroom need.

"Providing teachers with much-needed financial assistance to purchase additional classroom resources or enable educational and developmental programs is a way to say, 'Thank you.' It is inspiring to see how teachers leverage our grants to deliver meaningful experiences and benefit their students and their schools," stated Randal Norton, chair of the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors, in the release.

Palo Verde joins as new title partner for the Wishes for Teachers program after engaging with Fiesta Bowl Charities on previous community impact initiatives.

"All of us have a story about a teacher who really impacted us and made us fall in love with a subject that may chart the course for the rest of our lives," stated  Kory Raftery, external affairs manager at Palo Verde. "We want to make sure that teachers have the resources they need to make maximum impact for years to come."

The Fiesta Bowl organization saw that many teachers spent their own money to enhance their classroom experiences. As a result, the organization developed a program to aid teachers in that effort. In 2016, the Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program was launched.

In its six years, Wishes for Teachers has awarded $4.7 million to 1,200 Arizona teachers, affecting more than 500,000 students across the state.

During a virtual and in-person Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers Draft Day presented by SRP in early November, local community leaders and celebrities will select teachers at random and personally notify each of the 400 teachers who will receive a grant.

Past wishes have included new computers for classrooms, special education sensory and manipulative materials, vision testing and glasses for students, robotics, classroom makeovers, laundry machines and more.