Local schools win big in national Lots2Give video contest | Community Spirit

A national video contest is over, and 37 schools across the country will start the school year with a little extra cash. When Big Lots announced the winners of the 2012 Lots2Give video contest, two local schools were on that list of 37 winners.

C.A. Furr Elementary in Concord and Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Kannapolis will each receive a check for $2,000. There will be a ceremonial in-store check presentation for each school on Saturday at 10am. The presentation for C.A. Furr Elementary will be held at the Big Lots store on Highway 29 South in Concord and the presentation for Woodrow Wilson will be held at the Big Lots on South Cannon Boulevard in Kannapolis.

A total of 179 schools competed for a piece of the $120,000 cash prize. This was the fifth annual Lots2Give video contest. Felton Elementary School in Lennox, California took home the grand prize of $20,000.

Big Lots asked participating schools to submit a short video and brief essay explaining why their school is in need of financial support. Then America voted for their favorite video online.

More than 413,000 votes were cast to determine the 37 winners, which include one $20,000 grand prize, two $10,000 first place prizes, four $5,000 second place prizes, and 30 third place prizes of $2,000 each.

Along with the Lots2Give video contest, Big Lots collected in-store donations to help the 250 schools enrolled in the Lots2Give program.  Big Lots customers were invited to make $1 or $5 donations at participating stores with 100% of the money collected split between the participating schools

In the Charlotte area, the following six schools were also participants in the Lots2Give program:

• Floyd D. Johnson Technology Center, York, SC
• Jackson Park Elementary School, Kannapolis, NC
• Jefferson Elementary School, York, SC
• Northwest Cabarrus High School, Concord, NC
• York Intermediate School, York, SC

In conjunction with the Lots2Give program, Big Lots stores across the country will acknowledge the tremendous efforts of educators by hosting its Teacher Appreciation Day event on Saturday, August 11. All educators with a valid school identification card will receive 10% off their entire purchase.

All 37 winning videos can be viewed here.