Books

This Teacher Gave $150k of Holiday Spirit

by Doyin Oyeniyi

A third-grade Boston teacher has just given her students the ultimate Christmas gift by donating $150,000 in grand prize money to her school. A few days before Thanksgiving, Nicole Bollerman, a teacher at UP Academy Dorchestor, decided to take part in Capital One’s #WishForOthers contest, a campaign that invites people to share their selfless holiday wishes via social media. With her students in mind, Bollerman submitted her wish. According to the school's website, Bollerman wanted to give her students the gift that keeps on giving: a book.

“My #wishforothers is that my voracious, adorable, hardworking, loving scholars all leave for their December break with a book in their hand,” wrote Nikki in her entry. “Their love for reading and life is contagious and I would love for them to have the gift of a book they love to read over break.”

Capital One selected Bollerman's wish and rewarded her students with three books of her choosing: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, My Father’s Dragon, and Where the Wild Things Are. She was later selected as one of the grand prize winners and rewarded with the $150,000 prize — a prize that she instantly donated to her school, a charter school that’s only in its second year.

“I never thought about keeping it for myself,” she told Adrian Walker at the Boston Globe. “I won it for the kids, and that’s where it’s going to go.”

The school hasn’t yet decided on where the grand prize money will go, but Bollerman hopes it’ll go into getting a computer lab for the students.

Doesn’t this restore your faith in humanity after reading about Justin Beiber’s new private jet? Watch Capitol One’s video of Bollerman unveiling her gift to her students and consider sharing your own #WishForOthers.

Image: Capital One Screengrab