First-graders in a class at a private school in Owings Mills this week became finalists in a national competition based on community service.

The 16 students at McDonogh School have made fleece blankets, picked apples to feed the hungry and put together hygiene kits that included wool socks for distribution to Baltimore's homeless.

For their community service efforts, the 6- and 7-year-olds are among the final two competitors in Howard Johnson's first Give Happy Challenge, a nationwide contest sponsored by the hotel chain and the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.

The company, which is offering a $15,000 prize to the winner, pared the list of applicants down to two on Tuesday. Online voting will continue through June 10 and a winner will be announced on June 21. (To vote for the McDonogh students, go to thegivehappychallenge.com and click on It Starts With Me. You must be age 18 or older to vote.)

Teacher Mary Catherine Irving, who entered her class in the contest, said the children already have a project in mind if they win the grand prize. They would like to buy a van for Loaves and Fishes, a Baltimore soup kitchen, where their teacher volunteers.