The second annual Fuel Up! Innovation Challenge has come to a close, with high school students from 46 states across the U.S. developing and pitching their ideas to address wellness and healthy eating challenges in local communities and schools. Building upon GENYOUth’s AdVenture Capital model, the students vied for a $1,000 grant to fund their wellness idea, receiving key support from sponsoring companies such as agricultural cooperative Land O’Lakes and consumer products company Quaker.
The challenge is part of the larger Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit, bringing together over 200 student leaders and 90 educators for four days of inspiration, ideas, and training opportunities. Fuel Up to Play 60 is the leading in-school health and wellness program in the US that was developed by the National Football League and National Dairy Council, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The 100 Challenge participants had the support of mentors from sponsoring companies and partners to refine their idea. The judging panel for the contest selected the 40 winners in a “mini-Shark Tank-style” competition. Some of the winning ideas included plans to update school cooler equipment to store milk, replacing plastic ware with reusable cutlery and bowls to cut down on waste, and providing small garden boxes to grow vegetables for school meals.
“We are thrilled to award students $40,000 in grants, which help them realize the potential of their big ideas to affect change in schools and communities,” said GENYOUth CEO, Alexis Glick in a press statement. “GENYOUth and our partners make events like this possible and we deeply believe in the power of young people to lead and create healthy futures for themselves and everyone around them.”
GENYOUth empowers students through a network of private and public partners to raise funds for youth wellness initiatives that bolster healthy, high-achieving students, schools and communities nationwide. AdVenture Capital is a social entrepreneurship program of GENYOUth that provides funding, mentoring and experiences to students who have ideas that will lead to better health and wellness in their schools and communities.
