The Verizon Innovative App Challenge gives kids a chance to create apps that can solve problems in their community. Do you want to make a difference in your community? The Verizon Innovative App Challenge can get you started. The first step is to think of a problem in your community. The next step is to create an app that can solve the problem. Groups of five to seven students in middle school or high school, led by a teacher, can enter the contest. First, teams compete on a local level. Teams that make it to the next round receive $5,000 for their schools. Finalists present their app ideas to judges in a live webinar  . Next, the judges pick national winners. The top eight teams receive an additional $15,000 for their schools, and each team member receives a Samsung tablet. Plus, the winning teams get the chance to bring their app to life. A group of six girls from Los Fresnos, Texas, won the second annual Verizon Innovative App Challenge. They came up with the Hello Navi app concept, short for "hello navigation". The app was designed to help visuallyimpaired   students navigate their school by using an internal compass and voiceover technology. Read more about the team in September 19, 2016 issue of TIME For Kids: Edition 3-4. Do you have an app idea that could help solve a local issue? The deadline to register is November 24, 2016. Find more information and register your team at www. verizonfoundation. org/appchallenge. Here are some tips from the Verizon Foundation to get you started: *Get your team together for a brainstorming meeting. Write out all the ideas that come to mind. * Don't ignore challenges. Think of the problems that exist in your community. *Ask family, friends, and people in your community to share their thoughts about problems that they want to see solved. What's the purpose of the passage?
To tell readers how to solve a local issue. To invite kids to join in the Verizon Innovative App Challenge. To offer readers information about a talent show. To appeal to adults to make contributions to society.