Salemburg Elementary first grade teacher Amiee Pope reads a book to her students just prior to their release to the buses. Pope was one of 20 teachers who received on of the $50 gift cards given by the Clinton Walmart. (Billy Todd/Sampson Independent)

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Assistant store manager Ray Monk shakes hands with Salemburg Elementary principal Gerald Johnson with Clinton Walmart store manager, Jennifer Slack. Walmart presented 20 teachers at the school with $50 gift cards for use in their classrooms. (Billy Todd/Sampson Independent)

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No teacher left out was the theme of the Clinton Walmart as they were able to give only 20 gift cards to the teachers, so they gave each teacher a reusable Walmart bag with supplies for their classrooms. (Billy Todd/Sampson Independent)

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Bernita Faison, left, and Emma Williams, hold up their $50 gift cards from Walmart. The Clinton store chose Salemburg Elementary to honor this year and randomly passed out a total of 20 gift cards to the teachers. (Billy Todd/Sampson Independent)

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SALEMBURG — By random draw, 20 teachers at Salemburg Elementary received $50 reward gift cards from Clinton Walmart employees. The Clinton store employees selected the school to honor this year and did so Wednesday afternoon.

“We are proud to honor our community’s teachers, who give time and often their own money to ensure our students have everything they need to be successful throughout the school year,” stated Ray Monk, assistant store manager. “At Walmart, we are dedicated to supporting our nation’s teachers by providing them with the support and resources needed to continue educating the future leaders of our country.”

This is the fourth year Walmart has donated the gift cards to help teachers with the cost of classroom expenses.

As the 20 names were drawn from the cup, all the teachers celebrated their co-workers joy in receiving the cards. Not all the staff received the gift cards, but the Clinton Walmart employees had provided gift bags, with supplies for the classroom, for all teachers at the school.

Several of the teachers took the opportunity to express their appreciation to Walmart for the generous donations and gift bags.

“We are excited to be recognized by the Clinton Walmart. We appreciate Walmart’s recognition of the hard work and dedication our teachers put in each and every year. The gift cards will certainly be used by our staff as there seems to be never enough funds to help our children,” remarked principal Gerald Johnson.

The Teacher Rewards program is an extension of Walmart’s ongoing support of education initiatives that help students better prepare for their future. In 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation made a historic 2 billion dollar commitment to help end hunger in America, which includes support for backpack, summer and after-school feeding programs for kids. In 2011, Walmart and its Foundation donated more that $50 million to fund education programs across the country.

Emma Williams stated that she was excited to receive a gift card because she could use it to help a child that did not have a pencil get one or a student that might be hungry to get something to eat.

“It is fantastic that Walmart does something like this. It helps us cut down on what we have to spend from our own pockets in order to ensure our students have what they need to learn,” cited Williams.

Following the staff meeting, Walmart provided cake and soft drinks for the staff in celebration of the teachers at Salemburg.