VIDEO: Banning High Students Win National Contest To Raise Funds For Rebuilding Haitian Schools

Students at Banning High School have been announced as winners of a national social media contest to raise awareness and funds for rebuilding schools in Haiti.

The "this is not a shirt" contest was sponsored by footwear and sporting goods manufacturer adidas.

Banning High students' winning efforts, including a rap video titled "Vacation to Haiti," prompted judges to select Banning High over several schools from Los Angeles and New York, contest officials said.

Banning High officials found out their students won Tuesday and surprise was still rippling through campus Wednesday.

About 100 Banning High students took part in the "this is not a shirt" contest, said Natalie Crine, Banning High's associated student body and activities director.

"I don't think I could be more proud," Crine said. "These kids really worked hard at it. It was cool because they got to work on things they are already passionate about - sports, music, video - and they did it for a good cause.

"By the end of the program they were really excited to be helping other kids in Haiti," Crine said.

An adidas representative approached Crine Feb. 1 and gave her five shirts for the contest. The challenge was for students to wear the shirts, create a photo or video while wearing the shirts, and upload them to a web site for sharing, Crine said.

Crine bought 10 more shirts and adidas gave Banning High 25 more shirts after they saw "Vacation to Haiti."

Banning High students made a total of 61 uploads to a contest web site, Crine said. They raised $610 for their school and $610 for Haiti, Crine said. Nationally, the contest raised $4,990 for Haiti, contest officials said.

"There were several schools in both the New York and Los Angeles markets that truly showed their dedication to this program," contest officials said.

"After making a difficult decision on a close contest, we would like to recognize Banning High School’s efforts in California. Their overall enthusiasm, creativity, and compassion for Haiti really came through in the threads that they posted."

As winners of the contest, Banning High will host a concert performed by hip-hop artists "New Boyz", adidas officials said.

The date of the concert is to be determined, said Paul Jackiewicz of adidas - Sport Performance Public Relations in New York. Adidas officials were trying to confirm it with the school this week, Jackiewicz said via email.