Montclair Schools Vying To Win $500,000 Each! Cast Your Vote On Facebook Today!

Montclair did it before with the July 4th fireworks contest. Now, perhaps, the town's schools can win $500,000 for the program of their choice.

Kohl's Department Stores has announced a contest to give $500,000 to 20 schools each this year - for a total of $10 million - in recognition of the company's 10th anniversary of its Kohl's Cares philanthropic program that supports children's health and education.

In Montclair, several schools already have started vying for the money including Glenfield Middle School, Renaissance Middle School, Montclair High School, Bradford Elementary School, Edgemont Elementary School, Montclair Kimberley Academy, and Montclair Cooperative School.

Earlier this summer, many residents in Montclair joined together to participate in a challenge sponsored by Liberty Mutual. So many residents answered an online quiz that Montclair placed among the top 10 municipalities in responses to the contest and won $10,000, which helped fund the July 4th fireworks display at Yogi Berra Stadium.

The Kohl's contest works like this: In an effort to inspire students and school supporters to "dream big" about what their favorite K-12 school could do with $500,000 - whether it's starting an art program, creating a new computer lab, or saving a music program - Kohl's is asking you to visit Facebook.

Tell Kohl's by September 3, 2010 what your school could do with the funding, cast your votes, and get more information at www.facebook.com/kohls.

So far, it's slow going for most Montclair participants. Renaissance Middle School, for example, has five votes from the same child - but no ideas submitted. Montclair High School has 73 votes - but no ideas submitted.

"At Kohl's we are excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Kohl's Cares philanthropic program by giving back to the communities that we serve. As kids and parents think about the new school year, we want everyone to dream big about how half a million dollars could impact their favorite school," said Julie Gardner, Kohl's executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "We believe that when communities thrive so does business. We feel so strongly about this program and the positive affect it could have that we have made it the cornerstone of the company's Back-to-School campaign."

The $10 million donation comes from the Kohl's Cares cause merchandise program, which sells special merchandise, including plush toys and books, and donates 100 percent of the net profit to benefit children's health and education initiatives nationwide. Over the past 10 years, the Kohl's Cares cause merchandise program has raised more than $150 million for children's initiatives. This contest is the latest illustration of the company's commitment to kids.

During the contest, Kohl's Facebook fans, currently more than one million strong, can vote for public or private schools that serve K-12 students by visiting www.facebook.com/kohls. Fans can submit their ideas for what the school could do with half a million dollars.

A winning school must have a least one submission about how the funds might be used. Fans can also vote up to 20 times for their favorite elementary, middle, or high schools during this time, with a maximum of five votes for any individual school.

The top 20 vote-getting schools that meet contest criteria as outlined in the Official Rules and have school officials provide information on how the school will use the money to support educational programs or initiatives will win $500,000 each. Winning schools will be announced in late September.