Salesforce's Future Trailblazer Challenge brought together 500 students from seven schools to pitch tech solutions for climate change, ocean health, and education. Student projects included a community garden and Mrs. Hotdog, which tackles plastic bottles in the ocean. Garnet won the pitch competition.
500 students
Seven schools
40 minutes
Garnet
Over the last year, 500 students were engaged in their schools with volunteers using technology to make a different world. Climate change, health education. We have seven schools representing the challenge. Over the next 40 minutes, you'll hear from them. We also have three celebrity judges. And when we get done, we will choose the one future Trailblazer champion.
This is our first annual Pitch Fest and I'm just so excited that we were able to do this today.
These kids are taking global problems and applying intense amounts of creative thinking in a way I don't think grown ups always can.
When you think about all the issues that are affecting the world, it's impacting these kids, but they grew up in this new world and they're going to take a different view.
So the more we get children and young people involved with the thought process, the how do you solve these? What are these issues? They will be thinking about this differently as they live their lives.
This community garden, there's the base which will hold all the vegetation and soil.
The global goal we focused on is life below water.
Mrs. Hotdog helps us solve SDG number 12 by reducing the amount of plastic bottles in the ocean.
It was so difficult to choose a winner because all seven finalists were outstanding.
I just was like, kids came up with this. It's just amazing to see the level of intention, passion and then actually the design that went into it.
And their poise on stage was just so impressive. The maturity level of these kids.
Pitch Fest winner is Garnet.
I wasn't sure who was going to win, so I was really surprised. We were really nervous and some of us were shaking, but in the end it worked out.
I think what we need is not just the kids to step forward and solve these issues, but companies and institutions and, you know, adults to figure out how can they step forward and help their middle schools, especially around technology.
It was a 40 minute pitch fest, but there were hundreds and hundreds of volunteer hours that made this happen. Marc Benioff always says, like, go to your local school, knock on the door and ask the principal what they need. And I think it's as simple as that.
Get into the community, get with the kids and work with them, talk with them. You'll get all the inspiration you need right there.
You can make a little time. It's not that hard. It'll pay you back tenfold.
