Update 2/4/19: Congratulations Indianapolis teachers – you won the Teacher Champion Challenge! Today, all team sports projects in Indianapolis will be fully funded by the DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation, and the rest of the $100,000 prize will go to a new 5X match in the city. Check out the final results on our leaderboard, and visit our help center to learn more about creating an eligible project.In cities across the country, excitement around the football playoffs is in the air. Twelve teams are getting ready to go head to head for the big trophy, and their fans are gearing up to cheer them along. This year, there’s a new way fans across the country can show their civic pride and support education along the way: Join the Teacher Champion Challenge.From today until the big game on 2/3, we’ll tally up every donation to classrooms in the cities participating in the playoffs. Then, to make sure big cities don’t have an unfair advantage, we’ll divide the total amount raised by the number of students in that area. The leaderboard will be updated regularly in January with the new rankings. Check out our help center for the full details and to learn which cities are participating.Supporting teachers and students is its own reward, of course. But at the end of the challenge, the DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation has a generous surprise planned: $100,000 in funding for team sports projects in the winning city.
To kick off the challenge, longtime DonorsChoose.org supporter and New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson visited a local classroom to talk to one amazing teacher. He read a story to the kids, saw the learning in action, and chatted about how donations have changed her classroom.
