As principal Gary McCoombs said Friday, Cottrell F. Hoxsie Elementary School has had some good fortune lately.

First-grader Sofiah Kidd recently won a Feinstein Junior Scholar Golden Ticket, which consists of a $5,000 grant for her school and a $500 donation to a charity of her choice. She picked Special Olympics Rhode Island.

This is the second Golden Ticket a Hoxsie student has won in the past two years alone, according to McCoombs. Jhovanny Almonte won it last year.

“We are so lucky here at Hoxsie School,” McCoombs said.

McCoombs, as well as Special Olympics Rhode Island CEO Ed Pacheco, gave the news to other students in an assembly with Hoxsie’s first graders in the all-purpose room.

Kidd, who prepared a speech, said that it was a friend’s experience with the organization that inspired her to select Special Olympics.

“I chose the Special Olympics because my friend Eric played softball [with a Special Olympics team],” she said.

In addition to the money, Kidd received a package from Alan Shawn Feinstein consisting of a letter, collectable cards featuring astronauts on the moon- including one of himself, which he signed, two tickets for the Roger Williams Park Zoo, a coin with a face on Mars and a Junior Scholar sweatshirt.

According to Feinstein Foundation Program Director Christopher Costa, the Golden Ticket program started in the 2020-21 school year, and has continued since then in large part due to a positive reception. Five Golden Ticket numbers are called on WPRI- Channel 12’s Monday broadcasts at 4:30, though Costa said not all of them are claimed.

Pacheco said he first heard about Kidd’s donation three weeks ago in an email from the school. He would present Kidd with a gift as well- a citation from Special Olympics.

“There’s 4,000 athletes throughout Rhode Island that participate in Special Olympics, and because of you, they get to look forward to participating in all of the sports and programs, because of the generosity you’ve shown the organization today,” Pacheco told Kidd. “The Special Olympics community is forever grateful for your generous support to advance our mission. You inspire us.”

Last year, McCoombs used Hoxsie’s portion of the winnings to buy a book vending machine, where students can buy books using tokens they receive for good deeds. This year, he’s looking at beautification upgrades for the school’s all-purpose room, replacing an old, beige curtain to the stage with a new one in the school’s color of blue.

Pacheco said Special Olympics would use the money to pay for equipment, game officials, uniforms and facility rentals. He also emphasized that donations like Kidd’s ensure that participants in Special Olympics events do not have to pay anything to participate.

Special Olympics Rhode Island and Hoxsie will continue to work together in the near future as well, as Hoxsie is among the first elementary schools in the state to start a Unified Basketball team, which allows students with learning disabilities to represent their school in athletic events with the team.

The Hoxsie team will be playing a game against Park Elementary- another of those schools- in the near future.