With I Love To Read month just around the corner, students will be focusing their efforts on literacy.

Habitat For Humanity is hosting a writing contest for grade 4-6 students across the country. What better way to get kids excited for reading than doing some of their own writing?

"What they do is they write a short either essay or poem about what home means to them, and then they can enter it online," says Christina Falk.

The top three essays will get $25,000 that goes towards their local Habitat chapter, and the nine runners up will receive $5,000. All of the grand prize winners can also win an iPad or a pizza party for their classroom, and each entry will also generate a $10 donation from Genworth Canada.

Falk says, "it's a great way for kids to be involved with Habitat. Habitat is about bringing the whole community together to help our own families and we want every part of the community involved, so this gets kids involved with helping other kids which is pretty cool."

There are a few classrooms from Morden and Winkler where every student is submitting a poem or essay.

"They're doing it sort of as a writing assignment for school because it fits in great with writing curriculum, and so the teacher is doing it as an assignment with them, and then they'll enter all of them as submissions."

Any writers from the area are welcome to submit an entry of their own online at this website. All of the entries can also be read online, and Falk says there is one from the area that already stands out.

"There's one in particular that is just beautiful, and she tells the story of [how] her childhood was not that great until she found an adoptive family. Home is a place of safety and love, and it's just a beautiful story."

Entries are accepted until February 18.