Arvest to award 157 teachers with $500

Arvest Bank will award 157 teachers at state-funded schools across its four-state footprint a gift of $500 for its fifth annual “We Love Teachers” campaign.

A live teacher nomination form will be available on Arvest Bank’s Facebook page starting Monday through Oct. 11.

The bank’s footprint goes across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

According to an Arvest Bank news release, the decision to award $78,500 in gifts to individual teachers was made not only out of respect and appreciation for the work teachers do, but as a sign of support at a time when they face exceptional challenges. The gift money is to be used for classroom needs.

“This year especially, Arvest wants to acknowledge and reward the amazing work teachers are doing every day to give our kids a great education,” Franklin Bass, community market president for Arvest Bank in Hot Springs, said in the release. “Hot Springs teachers are some of the most diligent, hardworking people in our community, and we at Arvest hope this program makes them feel appreciated and valued.”

To nominate a teacher, the

release reads, look for an Arvest Bank Facebook post about the contest during the week of Oct. 5-11, then select the link in the post to complete a nomination form. More contest rules and details are available on Arvest’s

Facebook page.

“In the four-year history of the ‘ We Love Teachers’ campaign, Arvest has awarded a total of $167,000 to more than 330 teachers,” the release states.

For the 2019 awards, three

Garland County teachers received a $ 500 gift from the campaign: Pam Loy at Lakeside PreK, KaChera Felts at Cutter Morning Star Elementary and Steve Campbell at Fountain Lake.