Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine and INK! award grant funding to local schools

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Jan. 4, 2023 - PRLog -- Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine and Investing in Kids (INK!) have announced the winners of the 4th Annual Holiday Tree Contest at Old Town Trolley Tours in St. Augustine. The two local organizations are continuing to challenge public schools in St. Johns County, Fla. to participate in the tiny tree decorating event.

During early December, teachers, students, and volunteers from more than 20 schools embellished three-foot trees with themes representing the spirit, personality, and creativity of each school. The decorated trees were displayed at the Old Town Trolley Depot, 167 San Marco Ave in St. Augustine. Participating schools collected votes on Old Town Trolley's local website www.voteholidaytrees.com. Members of the public, school communities, and visitors were invited to vote on each tree.

The three schools with the highest number of votes received custom holiday tree trophies and grant awards with funds donated by Old Town Trolley Tours. With 1,025 votes, Pine Island Academy won first place and a $1,000 grant award. Hickory Creek Elementary School received 882 votes and the second-place grant award for $500. Pacetti Bay Middle School won third place and $250 in grant funds with 860 votes. A live, social media broadcast to online viewers announced the winners on December 20, 2022.

"Great fun was had by all during the recent competition. Old Town Trolley Tours is proud to collaborate with INK! and St. Johns County School District for the holiday tree program," said Old Town Trolley Tours General Manager Dave Chatterton. "We place great importance on supporting the education of our young people and continue to help teachers and schools through this and many activities for these commendable organizations," he said.

The St. Johns County Education Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)3 education foundation, which operates as Investing in Kids (INK!). INK! promotes academic success for all St. Johns County public school students by providing innovative programs, teacher support, and classroom resources to benefit more than 50,000 students and approximately 3,200 teachers. For more information, contact Donna Lueders at Donna.Lueders@stjohns.k12.fl.us or 904-547-7120. Visit the website at www.ink-stjohns.org.