Grant Writing

• Our Purpose: We're here to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders and creative problem solvers.

• Our Vision: We will build an inclusive team by valuing diversity, doing the right thing, and treating everyone with kindness, fairness, and respect.

• Our Mission: To spread the values of FIRST by providing young people in our community with high-impact STEM experiences.

Pirate Robotics is a team of students from West Carrollton High School in Dayton, Ohio. We participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition. Every year, our team designs, builds, and programs an original robot to compete in a new, exciting, and complex game.

Mentorship: During the season, students work alongside mentors who are professional engineers, scientists, and businesspeople from the Dayton area. This is one of the most powerful aspects of our program. The bonds formed between students and mentors leave a lasting impact on students.

More than Robots: One of our team slogans is "More than Robots." We create meaningful experiences that provide opportunities for growth beyond the technical skills students must learn. Students become leaders in their community by organizing programs such as our summer STEM camps and numerous outreach events.

Demographics:

• Ages 14 - 18

• 30 students: 13 female, 17 male.

• 61% of students in our school district qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Budget:

• Our total annual budget is $32,000.00

• This includes registration for at least 2 competitions (one local, one out-of-town), robot parts, tools, and travel expenses.

• Competitions are 3 days each.

Financial support to our team will be used to help register for competitions, purchase robot supplies and tools, and cover some of the travel expenses incurred while competing out-of-state.

Every year, we see how impactful this hands-on, mentor-based experience can be for the young people in our community. The experience is inspiring. Upon graduation, many of our seniors describe their time on the robotics team as the most important part of their high school experience. We are creating special opportunities that will ignite our students with a passion for STEM, teamwork, and creative problem solving.

I invite you to explore the pictures on our website (www.wcrobotics.org) to see the kind of experience these students are describing. The season is fun, highly competitive, and high-impact. Students learn more than how to build a robot. They develop as leaders, work as a team, network with fellow future leaders, and foster a positive sense of self.

Thank you for your consideration.

For more information about our team, please visit www.wcrobotics.org. For more information about FIRST Robotics, visit please www.firstinspires.org.