Hoboken HoLa Students Could Win $10G in Contest

Scotties, a leader in the tissue industry is pleased to announce the top 12 entries in their “Trees Rock” Video Contest. Fourth grader, Ryan Crealese of HoLa Dual Language Charter School is one of the finalists eligible to win a large cash prize plus funding for a project to beautify their school or community.  Kids who entered the contest were required to create a video up to 3 minutes on the importance of trees -- to themselves, their school, and their community.

Students were encouraged to be as creative as possible in their entries – for example, by creating a poem, a play, a speech, a song, or a dance. After rigorous scrutiny by a panel of judges, entries from around the country were narrowed down to the 12 most compelling in the categories of clarity of message, relativity to the theme, and creativity.

“Once we start building, I want it to be better than the last time,” says Crealese. He along with his fellow classmates lost their garden area during Hurricane Sandy. What once brought these students so much joy will need to be completely gutted and rebuilt due to sewage and oil brought in by the flood water.“Where will the butterflies go?” Crealese asks. If they win, the school would use the money to repair the vegetable garden and the surrounding trees.

Winners will be chosen by voters across America who can watch the top videos and vote for their favorite from January 15^th through February 15^th on www.scottiestreesrock.com. 

The Grand Prize Winner will receive $5,000 for themselves, a trip to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park and an electronic tablet. Their school will receive $10,000 to use towards a sustainable project, such as Tree Plantings, Outdoor Classrooms, Playgrounds, Athletic Fields, Gardens and Greenhouses.  

Scotties is committed to being a sustainable company with their 3-to-1 promise. This means, that for every one tree they use, they plant three in its place. Over the last 50 years, J.D. Irving, Scotties’ parent company has planted 850 million trees in North America.