New Utah app unites high school students against hunger

New Utah app unites high school students against hunger

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Editor's note: This article is part of KSL's App of the Week, which features a different app with Utah ties each Thursday. Send tips for future articles to ddewey@ksl.com. SALT LAKE CITY — High schools all over the state are joining forces in the fight against hunger with a new app.

The Time Machine app was created by a Utah company and allows people to give their time to increase social awareness of various campaigns. That time is then converted into points and gives the person a chance to win several prizes.

Danny Naylor from Olympus High and Raleigh Sorbonne from Skyline High have been friends for years and decided to team up on a campaign once they both found out they would be student body presidents at their schools.

"We brought up the idea of using Time Machine and we just realized it would be the perfect way to connect all the high schools to a common cause," said Sorbonne.

The campaign benefits the Utah Food Bank and partners with Arvo and Costa Vida to provide more than a thousand prizes that students can win. Students can download the free app from Time Machine's website, the App Store, or on Google Play. Then they can create an account and join the "Utah Hunger Games" campaign to participate.

Photo: Time Machine
Photo: Time Machine

"We noticed how high school students waste a lot of time on their phones so we wanted to encourage a positive use of their time," said Naylor. "What they are posting on social media and this app is all about bringing a positive change to social media."

Students can spend time supporting the Utah Food Bank by doing several activities such as taking a "spoon seflie" for Hunger Action Month or signing up as a volunteer at the food bank. Each act must be shared on social media to verify completion, which also helps spread the word.

"We have some ideas when we create (the challenges) on how they will turn out and we are always surprised," said Gretta Whalen, communications manager at Time Machine. "It's pretty fun."

The campaign started on Aug. 19 and goes until Sept. 30. So far, 560 people have joined the cause and have given over 20,000 minutes of their time.

"We were hoping to build a platform where people could come and see what their favorite brands and causes and organizations were up to and see how they could get involved," said Whalen. "And rather than asking people for donations or for money, we are just asking people to spend time."

Utah Hunger Games from Tyler Bingham on Vimeo.

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Devon Dewey

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