"New Year, New salary" $5,000 Teacher Contest
Kimberly Heiner
Kimberly Heiner was the first America's Heroes winner! Kimberly is a Kindergarten teacher from New Jersey, and the winner of the $5,000 "New Year, New Salary" Contest!
Kimberly had a few words that she wanted to add about her experiences with America's Heroes Contests! Take it away Kimberly!
"Hey there, friends! I’m Kim Heiner, a Kindergarten teacher and the very first winner of the America's Heroes New Year, New Salary Contest! I wanted to share a little insight into my experience in the hopes that maybe it will help one of YOU be the next lucky winner ;)
I'll start from the top and give you some background. One morning I was laying in bed mindlessly scrolling through Instagram looking for funny videos with my 7 year old son (we both share the same sense of humor) when I happened to stumble upon the page of a teacher who had a knack for storytelling and making the kind of content Nathan and I could spend hours laughing about. The more videos we watched, the more I thought, "let me give this guy a follow so I can have a laugh another day." I really didn't think much of it and just carried on with business as usual.
Months later, I saw an Instagram story from Tyler announcing a new contest he was launching. Curious, I looked into it and decided to sign up, even though I never imagined I’d have a chance. I’m not one to promote myself or ask for help, and I certainly don’t like answering the question, “Why do you deserve to win?” Teaching is such a rewarding but challenging job, and I felt every person who entered deserved to win.
As the days progressed, I slowly found myself sharing on social media, asking friends and family to vote for me. I began to feel a group of cheerleaders, my own mini support system, building around me and informing me proudly of each time they cast their vote in my favor. Each day, I made sure to share that link and share myself, as uncomfortable that tends to make me feel. I wanted to win—for my family, for my kids—because we were going through a tough financial time, and this contest felt like a beacon of hope.
If you’re thinking about entering, here’s my advice: go all in from the start. Don’t sell yourself short. Tell the world why you deserve to win because YOU DO. Reach out to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, students, and even your kids’ teachers. You’ll find that there are people cheering you on, some loudly, some quietly, but they’re there. That support was one of the most beautiful and surprising parts of this entire journey.
When Tyler called to tell me I had won, it felt surreal. It was a moment I’ll never forget—an emotional rollercoaster of happy tears and joyful screams!
Tyler Jackowski, thank you for creating this incredible contest to give back to teachers—the selfless, hardworking people who make such a difference in the world. Thank you for recognizing our worth and for helping us recognize it too. Throughout the contest, I saw how genuinely excited you were to encourage teachers to participate. You’ve been so down-to-earth, genuine, and caring for all of us in this profession.
So, friends, don’t hesitate—enter the next contest. You never know what might come from it! ;)"
"Spring into Salary" $5,000 Teacher Contest
Haylee Thiel
Haylee was the second winner of the "Spring Into Salary" $5,000 teacher contest! Here's what she told us about her experience in the contest!
"The Americas Heroes Contest was an opportunity for me as a teacher. I’ve been teaching since 2017 and have been a firm believer in “it takes a village” for every kid. What I’ve recently learned that teaching isn’t just being a village, but a village saying “yes”.
When this competition came about, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew my village would pull together to show support but I never imagined it would’ve taken me this far. This just goes to show that the village saying “yes” isn’t just for kids. What an incredible opportunity to be reminded how amazing the love in our village can do!"
"Best Summer Ever" Teacher Contest for $10,000 and an all-in
Kala Aukai
Kala is a teacher from Hawaii, and the first place winner of the "Best Summer Ever" Teacher contest! For first place, Kala won $10,000 and an all-inclusive trip to Cabo San Lucas! Here's what Kala had to say about his time in the contest:
"As an avid listener of the Teachers Off Duty Podcast, I was elated to hear about an opportunity for teachers to receive funding. Being a doctoral student and a middle school teacher, I have to budget to meet my tuition deadlines, especially because I have not been able to acquire scholarships or grants despite my efforts. With the America’s Heroes contest, I was looking forward to hopefully receiving the prize money so that I could finish my degree without the added stress of managing my tuition on top of my other financial responsibilities.
When the contest voting began, I just texted the link to my close family, friends, and colleagues. By the first few days, I was in eighth place, which made me feel like I could potentially win by only having a moderate size group of people voting. Although I asked my principal if I could promote the contest voting at my school, I was unable to do so because it was considered solicitation. That actually inspired me to promote myself more despite feeling uncomfortable since that was not natural to me. I decided to contact my entire phonebook, which included my high school and college classmates, former colleagues, and past acquaintances. Although I do not have a social media presence, the power of word of mouth was truly crazy because people were really spreading the word for me. While I was walking in my community, there were a handful of times when strangers would approach me and let me know that they were voting for me, which was insane. Overall, you can never discount your village because they will pull through and be dedicated to the cause.
I would highly encourage teachers to take a chance on entering the contest because you never know how many supporters you will have until you put yourself out there. This contest allowed me to reconnect with people whom I have not talked to for years because of the way that they came through for me by spreading the word and by being dedicated to voting daily. When you receive the contest voting updates every few days, do not feel defeated because I was barely at the top spot. Even if I felt down at times, my supporters are the ones who motivated me to stay consistent in my efforts. Through my dedication and my village’s support, I was able to be crowned the winner. This opportunity truly blessed me and assured me that even if I do not always feel it, I truly have a lot of people backing me. If you are doubting what you and your community can accomplish, don’t. I think that you will be surprised.
