When teacher Nikki Bollerman entered the #WishForOthers contest, she had a simple wish: for each of her third-grade students to take home a book of their own. Not only was Nikki's wish granted, but she ended up winning the $150,000 grand prize. Rather than keep the money for herself, she did something absolutely incredible - she donated it back to the school to invest in the students' futures.
Nikki Bollerman, teacher at UP Academy Dorchester, congratulated by @marty_walsh on her $150k donation to her school. pic.twitter.com/GCXr13qyHW
— Northwind Strategies (@NorthwindStrat) December 22, 2014
According to WBUR, Boston's NPR station, Nikki entered the contest on a whim.
“My #WishForOthers is that my vivacious, loving third-grade scholars all took a book home with them over December break,” Nikki said.
Capitol One, the contest sponsor, funded her wish so that each student in Nikki's class got three books: "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul", "My Father's Dragon", and "Where the Wild Things Are".
Capitol One also awarded her the $150,000 grand prize. But she didn't keep the money. Instead, she donated it back to the school.
"I really made the wish for my students and I was blessed, lucky and thankful that Capital One gave me the opportunity," Nikki told ABC News. "Since I made the wish for my students I thought I would do something to make their lives better rather than spend it on myself."
"To me there was no other real option," she added.
Nikki is a teacher at UP Academy Dorchester, a Boston-area charter school.
Watch Capitol One's video of the book unveiling below:
(H/T NPR)