The Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program granted $1 million to Arizona teachers this week.
The program was created in 2016 after the Fiesta Bowl organization saw many teachers spending their own money to enhance their classroom experience.
Teachers apply for the grants, worth $2,500 each, explaining what they'd do with the money if they win.
One of the winners this year was Camelback High School English teacher Ms. Danielle Smith.
She teaches a Native American studies course at the school. It's only the second year the course has been in the district.
She applied for the grant to buy a library of books written by Indigenous authors for her classroom so her students can read them, but also take them home to share with their families too. Many of her students in the course are Native American.
"There's just a wealth of Native American authors and stories and I just want them to read, read about themselves because, historically, they haven't been able to," Ms. Smith said. "I work with some amazing colleagues around the district, and we've created this really fabulous curriculum in order to bring knowledge to our Native American students to show them that we recognize them, we see them, we know that they're still here."
Students like Quinn Elkriver.
"It means so much because it's like having those books and having her as a teacher really brings out the best of us and it really brings out our voice and it really helps me know more about how many Indigenous authors there are," Elkriver said.
Four hundred Arizona educators total this year won the grants, all with different wishes behind them.
"We know that teachers, they know their classrooms the best, they know their students the best, they know what's missing, and so when we see these wishes...they come in all shapes and sizes," said Fiesta Bowl Senior Director of Community Relations Kristina Chumpol.
While the wishes may be different, the reason why these teachers apply for them is all the same.
"I hope it will let the students know that they are worth it," said Ms. Smith. "They're worth every penny."