Boston teacher donates $150G prize to charter school

A Boston teacher got into the spirit of giving after donating a $150,000 prize she had won from an online contest to her school.

Nikki Bollerman, 26, won the contest around Thanksgiving when she casually entered the #WishForOthers campaign in which she spoke of her students at charter school Up Academy Dorchester, according to NPR.

"My #WishForOthers is that my vivacious, loving third-grade scholars all took a book home with them over December break," Bollerman recalled at Boston City Hall on Monday where she was thanked by city officials for her generous gift.

It was her wish that led contest sponsor Capital One to provide three books per student before awarding her one of the grand prizes worth $150,000. She quickly donated her winnings to UP Academy Dorchester -- a year-old public charter school that has shown significant turnarounds for its 700 students. The once failing school raised their standardized testing scores since becoming a charter facility.

“I want to thank Nikki for your kindness and your humility, and you are certainly a shining example of great things to the city of Boston,” Mayor Marty Walsh said. “We are grateful for your hard work and generosity. You have inspired lots of people with your selfless act.”

Bollerman was joined by some of her students on Monday who cheered her on.

“We’re Tigers, so what are our tiger values?” Bollerman asked her students, according to NPR.

“Teamwork, integrity, grit, engagement, respect,” the students responded.

“And what is a life lesson I tell you about grit?” she said.

“It means to work hard and never give up,” her students said.