NAMPA — The fastest five-minute fundraiser in Idaho took over the Ford Idaho Center on Monday as 94 schools competed in the Idaho Lottery's annual Scratch for Schools event.
Each school gets five minutes to scratch as many tickets as possible. And they get to keep all the winnings, which can be used to purchase things the school needs like library books, playground equipment or computer learning software.
The opportunity to win money for schools aside, the event is also a lot of fun for those who take part.
"It's a fun atmosphere, there's a lot of camaraderie that takes place, a lot of people like to dress up in fun outfits and have a really good time while they're out here doing this event," Idaho Lottery spokesman David Workman said. "It just shows the community spirit that takes place for this kind of event."
The fastest-scratching school was Juniper Hills School in Nampa, whose team scratched 251 tickets in the final round. It was also the top-winning school with $587.
A total of around $22,274 was awarded to schools during Monday's event.
Lottery officials say they have more schools registered to take part than ever before.
Another round of schools will compete on Wednesday at CenturyLink Arena in Boise.