Students from throughout Austin ISD met at Crockett High School today to “Think It Up”—creating big ideas that can be crowdfunded on donorschoose.org.

The winning idea—Green SAFE—was from Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, which won $1,000. Green SAFE is a produce spoilage tracker, with the ultimate goal of reducing the amount of food that ends up in the trash.

Mentors were on hand to guide students on how best to communicate their ideas, and to answer students’ questions.

Each student project being crowdfunded will start with half the amount of its goal, so if the goal is to raise $500, Think It Up will donate $250 to kick off the funding.

Gus Garcia Young Men’s Leadership Academy presented a project that gamifies history. The class would have game masters who would help the teacher in the classroom and make sure students were focused. The students said this would increase confidence in the classroom.

One of Crockett High School’s ideas was to make skateboarding a school sport. The girls who proposed the idea identified several ways this would help students, including keeping kids out of trouble, creating a positive self-image and improving graduation rates.

Another Crockett High School group pitched an idea that would turn unused Dumpsters into a sustainable living space for homeless students. AISD’s Sustainability Coordinator Jen Cregar was available to advise students and give feedback on their idea.

Think It Up launched in September and donates money toward teacher-led projects on Donors Choose.

Some projects already being funded through Think It Up include a self-driving car that can make its way through a maze and a tiny house design to help end homelessness.

For more information, please visit www.thinkitup.org.