Support your favorite idea for the Verizon Innovative App Challenge

New this year, Verizon is inviting students and adults to support the Verizon App Challenge, by casting a vote for the new, Fan Favorite Award winner.

Celebrating four years of Verizon's Innovative App Challenge, Resaca Middle School in Los Fresnos, Texas, like most middle schools, has hallways filled with students racing between classes, bumping into each other, gathered around lockers – the kind of environment that can be a nightmare for a blind student like Andres Salas, who is just trying to get from one class to the next.

Lucky for Andres, a group of six girls from his school didn't just notice the challenges he faced, but decided to use technology to help solve them. They created Hello Navi – an app that enables Andres and other visually impaired students to better navigate unfamiliar spaces. Their app combines digital blueprints with technology that measures and records each user's stride, offering verbal directions to help users get around.

They submitted their app idea to the Verizon Innovative App Challenge and were named one of eight Best In Nation winning teams in 2014. Hello Navi even won the attention of the White House. As winners, the team earned $20,000 for their school from the Verizon Foundation, and the chance to actually build their app with help from MIT's Media Lab. The all-girl team even presented Hello Navi at the White House Science Fair where they met President Obama. Continue supporting the App Challenge with your votes Now in its fourth year, the Verizon Innovative App Challenge continues to encourage students to discover their own passions for technology.

New this year, Verizon is inviting everyone – students and adults alike – to support the App Challenge, by casting a vote for the new, Fan Favorite Award winner. The team whose app idea gets the most votes will earn the same award as the Best In Nation winners – $20,000 for their school or club, and the chance to bring their app idea to life in Google Play.

Visit the App Challenge website to see videos from all the eligible teams and cast your vote by texting your favorite team's code to 22333. Voters will also receive exclusive access to unlock their own personalized, "I Voted #VZAppChallenge" emoji, from the Emojiface School mobile app (free in the App Store).

Share your unique, customized emoji with your network to encourage others to vote today. Cast your vote here.