Savannah-area schoolkids who enter a creative-writing challenge can win ice-cream feasts thanks to the Live Oak library system teaming up with a classic local confectionery once again.

Savannah’s famed Leopold’s Ice Cream announced its collaboration with Live Oak Public Libraries for the ice-cream shop’s 11th Annual Creative Writing Challenge, themed “Family & Friends,” according to a Live Oak announcement.

All schoolchildren − including home-schooled children − in Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty counties are invited to submit a poem of 20 lines or less for this 11th-annual writing challenge. Students will be judged on the creativity of their poem, which should focus on the “Family & Friends” theme.

Prizes are awarded in four separate groups by grade: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and high school. The top winners in each group will receive a cooler filled with Leopold’s Ice Cream delivered to their homes, while second-place winners are awarded a $25 Leopold’s Ice Cream gift certificate.

“We’re always excited to see and encourage the art of written word in this community,” said Leopold’s owner Stratton Leopold. “The first ten years of this challenge have been great, so we look forward to many more years of engaging with young people in Savannah.”

Hundreds of entries are expected, based on responses to the challenged received in previous years. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Feb. 19, and winners will be announced on Friday, March 5 at leopoldsicecream.com and liveoakpl.org.

Submissions can be emailed to baldwinc@liveoakpl.org, or printed and dropped off at any Live Oak Public Library or the Leopold’s Ice Cream shop on Broughton Street in downtown Savannah. Entries must include the student’s name, teacher’s name, home address, age, school, grade, and e-mail address. Visit liveoakpl.org/events/cwc2021 for more information.

This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2021.