Albritton Robotics Club Raising Funds for Competition

The Albritton Robotics Club, the Build-Dogs, has been busy this autumn. The team, which meets twice a week, has built field sets and robots for both FIRST Lego League (FLL) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics. They have attended a Saturday workshop sponsored by Joint Special Operations Command, and they demonstrated their robots at Curriculum Night. They plan to compete at an FLL qualifier on November 23rd and FTC competitions in January, but competitions require funding, and the team is having difficulty raising the necessary funds to compete. 

Currently, the team has two fundraisers taking place, and they have more planned in the coming weeks. Crystal Gers, head of the DoDEA Fort Liberty IT Department, donated a handmade stars and stripes quilt to the team (see photos). They have an online silent auction happening now through November 12th. Scott Bouley, one of the team's coaches, is also donating his time and materials to make custom wooden plaques to help out the team.

"We apply for a DOD STEM grant in the spring, which covers our team registration for the year and the field set for the current challenge," explains coach Dena Vassey, "but each qualifying competition costs $100. We also need team shirts, lunch and snacks for the competitions (because they last ten or twelve hours) and transportation. On top of that, to be truly competitive at the FTC-level, we will need to purchase advanced robotics parts."

Some of the team costs are being passed on to parents, such as T-shirt purchases and meals at competitions. Parents are also being asked to transport their children to the competitions, which can be as far away as Raleigh, as the team is unable to use bus transportation this year. 

"Competitive robotics is new for most schools in the Mid-Atlantic District," Vassey explained, "so it is still considered an afterschool club when it is really more like a competitive sport. Trying to raise funds on top of building robots and preparing a project for competition has been a challenge, but we aren't giving up!" 

FIRST Robotics is an excellent STEM program that provides opportunities for students of all ages. The FIRST philosophies of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition encourage teamwork and sportsmanship throughout their competitions. 

Ms. Vassey would like to thank her team parents for their support of the Build-Dogs. The Albritton Build-Dogs would also like to express appreciation for FIRST Robotics (including Dr. Kory Bennet and Megan Williams), the JSOC People Task Force (including Major Jason Porter and Mr. Torrence Simmons), the Airborne Innovation Lab (including First Lieutenant Terrence Allen and Specialist Mike Deutschlander), the Albritton administration, Ms. Kaawa Fulton and Ms. Thelberstine Barbee, and the Albritton PTSA for their support of robotics at Albritton.