Be the trusted adult.
The kids who are most likely to enter are the ones a counselor, a librarian, a coach, a neighbor, or a parent forwarded the link to. You don’t need to run a program. You just need to be the person who said “you should do this.”
Three ways to help — pick any one.
Ways to champion
If you’re an educator, you also have your own track.
Host a session
One class period, one club meeting, or one library afternoon is enough to get a roomful of students from “I don’t have an idea” to a recorded video submission. Here’s the run-of-show.
Read aloud: 'What's your idea to help your community?' Take three minutes for kids to write down anything that bugs them about their school, neighborhood, or town. No judging. Anything counts.
Give kids 10 minutes to think through who their idea helps and one small step they could take. They can talk it out with a partner or jot it down solo.
Each kid writes quick notes for their video: the problem, who it helps, their idea, and why it matters to them. Bullet points are fine. No polish.
Each kid opens /submit, hits Enable Camera, records a 1–2 minute video. Phones are fine — there's an upload fallback if the school blocks browser camera.
Each kid hits Submit. Done. They walk out with a video and a real entry.
- One device per kid (Chromebook, tablet, or phone)
- Wi-Fi
- A relatively quiet space for recording (one corner is enough)
- You. That’s it.
Want some help? Email hello@ideachallengenc.org with your name, role, and community or school, and we’ll set up a call or send you some content so you can feel confident to facilitate this.
Find ambassadors
One or two students in a school, club, or neighborhood can do more for reach than any newsletter blast. An ambassador is a student who shares the Challenge with friends and classmates, runs a small workshop with people they already know, and helps make sure students who’d otherwise hear about this from no one hear about it from someone they trust.
Ambassadors get co-branded materials and recognition on the Winners page.
Know a student who could do this? Email hello@ideachallengenc.org with their first name and community.