ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The New York Lottery today presented a $5,000 prize check to officials and students of the Rochester City School District’s School of the Arts in recognition of the District’s second-place finish in the Lottery’s New York Sings Facebook contest aimed at building public awareness of the Lottery’s mission to raise revenue for public K – 12 education statewide.

The RCSD was the sole winner of a $5,000 cash prize for its video submission featuring the District’s renowned Concert Choir singing its rendition of the popular song “Thank You For Being A Friend” as written by Andrew Gold and used in the Lottery’s recent mission marketing campaign. The rules of the social media contest stipulate that monies won in the contest must be used to support the school’s music education program.

The RCSD School of the Arts’ submission was selected by Lottery contest staff as one of four video finalists from among the more than 240 submissions received statewide. Videos of the finalists singing “Thank You For Being A Friend” were posted on the Lottery’s Facebook page where Lottery fans were asked to vote on their favorite. The School of the Arts’ submission received 9,934 votes of the nearly 42,000 votes that were cast.

The social media promotion was a key element in a recent Lottery marketing campaign that reminded New Yorkers of the Lottery’s core mission of providing aid for education across the state. The campaign helped build awareness of the Lottery’s mission by expressing appreciation for the role everyday New Yorkers play in helping to generate billions in Lottery Aid To Education annually through the purchase of Lottery tickets.

Other schools to win prizes in the New York Sings Facebook contest include Union Springs Central School District in Cayuga County which won the $10,000 top-prize for its entry that garnered close to 23,000 votes, and the Frederick Douglas Academy in Harlem that won a $2,500 cash prize for its submission that garnered 9,140 votes.

New York Lottery Acting Director Gardner Gurney said the social media event was a great success that accomplished its goal of reaching out to a broader mix of New Yorkers to help make the connection between the Lottery and its mission for education.

Director Gurney said, “I applaud the school pride, dedication and professionalism shown in each of the submissions we received, which made the final selection a tough process for our Facebook fans. On behalf of the 350 men and women of the New York Lottery, our 17,000 retail licensees statewide and the tens of millions of New Yorkers buying Lottery tickets every day, I’d like to say thank you to all those who participated in this contest and acknowledge the role we all play every day in helping New York’s Lottery raise much-needed revenue for education.”

Since 1967, the New York Lottery has contributed more than $48 billion in aid to education in New York State. In fiscal year 2012-2013, the Lottery contributed $3.04 billion to local school districts, including $161,462,177.02 to school districts throughout Monroe County. 

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery. The Lottery’s contribution represents 15 percent of total state education aid to local school districts. 

New York Lottery revenue is distributed to local school districts by the same statutory formula used to distribute other state aid to education.  It takes into account both a school district’s size and its income level; larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of Lottery school funding.

About the New York State Gaming Commission

The New York State Gaming Commission regulates all aspects of gaming and gambling activity in the state, including horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering, class III Indian gaming, video lottery terminal facilities at race tracks, the state lottery and charitable gaming.