Mt. Ellis Academy requests support from Facebook users
If you have a Facebook account, you've no doubt heard about Mt. Ellis Academy's campaign to garner votes in the "Kohl's Cares for Kids" school grant contest. The 20 schools that receive the most votes by Friday, September 3, will each receive $500,000 from Kohl's, a department store that urges shoppers to "expect great things." Mt. Ellis Academy is indeed expecting great things. It desperately needs the Kohl's grant to replace an outdated and very expensive sewer system. Failure to replace the system could result in the school shutting down.
Any Facebook user can vote. Each Facebook acount holder can submit a total of 20 votes, and can designate up to 5 votes for any one school. Mt. Ellis students, leaders and alumni have been soliciting votes since the contest began, with the school reaching the 13th position at one point, but falling back to the 23rd position as of this week—with only two days to go.
At this point, Mt. Ellis is the only Adventist school in a position to potentially earn one of the Kohl's Cares grants. Calls for support have gone out across the denomination, with announcements made in churches and schools around the globe asking Facebook users everywhere to support Mt. Ellis's bid to make the top 20.
Larry Blackmer, vice president of the North American Division, sent out an e-mail plea. "Just think, you can help raise 1/2 million dollars with 3 minutes of your time," he wrote. "This is real money that will make a major difference on [the Mt. Ellis] campus. Won't you take a few minutes [to] vote if you have not and to contact your friends and family and ask them to vote as well.... wouldn't it [be] great to be able to say this Sabbath that we pulled together and were an Adventist family that helped this school?"
3ABN sent out a similar special request to viewers, "Please, please let's pull together and help these schools." (Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle, Washington, is in the top 100.)
ASI's stated mission is to support the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which includes Adventist education. If you're on Facebook and would like to cast your 5 votes for Mt. Ellis Academy or Upper Columbia Academy, visit the Mt. Ellis-Kohl's Cares link and follow the voting directions on that web page.