AHOSKIE – One local school likes its chances of collecting a share of one million dollars.

Less than one week after U.S. Cellular opened its “Calling All Communities” campaign, more than 250 schools have jumped into the race to win a share of $1 million in the company’s fourth annual effort to support education.

On Tuesday, U.S. Cellular released the first list of the 100 schools leading the pack. Included was Ridgecroft School, who garnered enough votes in the first three days to find itself in 26^th place nationally.

“With five weeks left to rally votes, every school still has a chance to join the frontrunners and win,” said Dee Taylor, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in eastern North Carolina. “We’re excited to see the schools on this Top 100 listing, but we know that it is still a wide open race with plenty of time for other schools to join the ranks. Each year, we are amazed at how many community members rally together to lead their schools to victory.”

The top 18 schools that receive the most votes will win a share of $1 million to spend any way they see fit. The school that garners the most votes will receive $150,000, and the next 17 schools will each receive $50,000. The voting period ends Oct. 21.

As of Sept. 18, the top 100 schools lead a total of 251 schools throughout the country that have received community votes and close to 2,300 total votes have been cast. There is plenty of time for communities to rally and vote for their local schools and the standings can change drastically.

The full Top 100 school list for this week can be seen at uscellular.com/callingallcommunities.

Anyone 18 years or older can visit any U.S. Cellular store and receive a code to vote for their favorite school at uscellular.com – along with information on the latest mobile devices and services. Enter the code online at uscellular.com to cast your vote. You can then check back to track your school ranking, see the top schools, get ideas to rally more votes and post photos. With only one vote per person, it is imperative to get entire communities involved.

Public and private schools, kindergarten through high school, are eligible to win. No purchase is necessary and you don’t have to be a U.S. Cellular customer to vote. The winning schools will be announced in November.

The official rules for the campaign are located at uscellular.com/callingallcommunities. For more information about U.S. Cellular and Calling All Communities, visit uscellular.com or facebook.com/uscellular.