Hebrew Academy of Tampa looking for votes in online contest

The primary election is over, but the Hebrew Academy of Tampa is seeking voters from the community in a nationwide competition that could bring the school $500,000.

The Kohl’s department store chain is giving away $10 million to schools as part of its 10th anniversary celebration of its charity, Kohl’s Cares. Each of the top 20 vote-getting schools will get $500,000.

In early August the Hebrew Academy was ranked 54th in votes and was the only Tampa Bay area school in the top 100. By Aug. 26, the academy had moved up 13 spots to 41st.

Hebrew Academy needs a lot of votes to land in the top 20. The school has about 17,000 votes compared to the top vote getting school, the Silverstein Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, NY, which has more than 80,000 votes and the school in 20th place, which has about 64,000 votes.

Still, Hebrew Academy leaders are proud of how much support their small school has garnered and are uring the community to continue to vote for the school. Hebrew Academy has created a webpage, www.voteforha. com to make the voting process easier.

To vote in the Kohl’s Care Kids $10M Giveback contest you need a Facebook account. Participants are allowed to cast up to five votes for one school. Voters may also make suggestions on how the money should be spent. A common suggestion by the parents on the Kohl’s Care Facebook site for Hebrew Academy is to use the money to buy a much needed new building.

Hebrew Academy is one of a number of Jewish day schools that are vying for the Kohl’s grants. Twelve of the top 20 are Jewish schools from Florida, New York and California. Voting ends Sept. 3.