HELP!! i need help starting a new team!!
 

hi

im starting a new team at my school up in canada. i spoke to some of the teachers today for the first time. i found out something that i didnt know before. my school had a team about 10 years ago.

anyways, that is just an added fact...what this post is really about is that the teachers want to see a written proposal. now i have never been all that good at proposals, and i was wondering if there were other teams that had copies or know what their proposals consisted of. these are the proposals that were given to the teachers/principals by the students to start a team up at the school.

one of the reasons that the team was discontinued (so to speak) was due to the lack of funding. so i guess what im also asking for is letters that people have sent out to their sponsors for funding. also, to the canadian teams...if you know any sponsors who are reliable can you please give me names? especially if they are in mississauga, as this is where my school is located

i realize that i am asking for a lot, but this whole concept is really new to me, but i really want to have a team this year and i really want to make this work.

so please, if anyone has any proposals for starting a team or getting sponsors, could you please either reply to this post, email me at either underscore_asdf@hotmail.com or skhosla987@sympatico.ca pm me or im me (talkincobra987). thank you very much.

- shyra

If I were you I would talk to Mark Breadner. He is in charge of the Canadian Regional and is always willing to help new teams. Follow the link to the Canaian Regional website that has lots of info. You can get Marks info from the contact button on the top right side of the page.

BTW - were in Canada are you located?

http://www.firstcanadianregional.org/main.php

in canada we are located in mississauga, which is a city outside of toronto in ontario.



another point i think i should make that i just thought of is that i do not yet have the staff support of a FIRST team from my school. currently, i think i am the only one in my school who has this drive in me, so i also need advice for getting support from the faculty. and i need this before i can even go to the principal.

thank you again
-shyra

Shyra,

I would be happy to send you some of the letters we used to get support from our university, and the high schools we were working on getting involved. Unfortunately, I have to wait until I have access to my desktop on Sunday, but look for them in your e-mail :D

Now, are you a student at a high school, or a university? Big difference in approach, so you might want to clarify a little. Also, have you ever been involved with FIRST, or are you a first timer? Either or, it's great to see people trying to start a new team, so I wish you luck!!! ;)

I would be happy to help you with organization and planning of the team (management major here). I could give some advice to the proposal, but you wouldn't want me writing it as my English isn't very good at all. Let me know what you need. TTYL.

My advice - find a teacher. Once you've done that, find one high school student who is passionate about it (or has the potential to be, that will suffice). Everything else is a struggle, but an uphill one.

book for getting sponsors is online
 

Please give me a call. There is a volunteer handbook on line which is all about how to get the school to have a team and how to hook a sponsor.

Go to the FIRST website. Then go to Robotics, then to team resources. There you will find the "Volunteer Handbook" with different sections. It's a word doc you can change and print out.

Also included are other docs you can use like our the team brochure used in 2001 to get sponsors after our first year.

Feel free to print, modify and use all the materials in anyway you see fit. That's why they are there.

The end of each section even has the most commonly raised objections and how to address them.

If you want, I also have initial contact letters, budgets for 15,30 and 55k. Whatever you need, I have. Email me directly at gsalp@aol.com

Gail Alpert
Team 469
Committee Member- Great Lakes Regional
Committee Member- Detroit Regional (new this year)

to answer your questions, i am a grade 11 high school student. i was part of a FIRST team last year (swat 771), but i changed schools for many different reasons, and would now like to start a team at my new school.

thank you everyone so far....

-shyra

I have talked to Mark B and he would be glad to help you out. Seeing that the Canadian Regional is in Mississauga he would like to get some schools from their attending. He will be able to arrange meetings with the school and others. He has lots of testimonials from other teams. Mark is in Toronto, give him a call. Hope to see you and your new team at the CR.

thank you...i sent him an email on friday and am awaiting his reply, but i will call him tomorrow.

-shyra

okay...first of all i would like to thank all those who have emailed me with their documents and have provided me with support. i really appreciate it, and it really means a lot to me.

i have just finished writing the proposal that i will give to my teachers. i was wondering if people could read it over and give me some feedback and suggestions on it. thank you.

also, there is a section of pictures in it from the 2003 season which has not been included in this attachment as the file would then be too large.

-shyra

ps- i was hoping that i could hand this in latest by thursday... i realize that that doesnt give you much time, but i have to get it in soon

Wow Shyra, you did a pretty decent job here. Some quick suggestions on my initial scanning would be to take out the drawbacks section because when you are selling something, it's not good to focus on the negative... and for the budget, I think it may be a little high.

thank you. unfortunately, i have to keep the drawbacks section in as my teachers have asked for it. as for the budget, i copied that from the usfirst site. what would you suggest as a more appropiate budget?

Your budget numbers are pretty close. Don't forget that they are talking American $. To enter a team - $7500.00 CDN , $3000.00 CDN robot and overhead. Any other expenses like Web site, promotion goods, uniforms, travel and food easily add up.
I would start with getting to the Canadian Regional this year and grow from there. Don't forget that the Canadian Regional will be the largest regional. You will get a small taste of the size of Championship.
If you need a demo I am sure Team 188 would be glad to give one. We were 2003 Canadian Regional finalists and West Michigan Winners. Our team has been around for a long time so feel free to ask for help. Our web page is:
http://www.team188.com


Good Luck

ok an update:

i handed in the proposal today...thanks to all those who looked it over, i did end up making some changes. now all that is left to do is wait until monday when i get a chance to talk to my teachers tomorrow.

Steve:
I might just take you up on the offer of showing off your robot at my school.

thanks again to everyone

-shyra