FIRST Tragedy- Help From the FIRST community Requested- Last Chance
 

Hey FIRST World! It's MARS (Mountaineer Area Robotics), FIRST team 2614 again. We are making a final request on behalf of our tragedy-struck FLL team, the Smarticle Robo Builders. Some of you may already know the story behind why we are asking for help, so please excuse me when I explain the story to those who didn’t see the original thread.

Right after the 2011 FRC kickoff, tragedy struck the Smarticle Robo Builders, one of the first FLL teams we started back in the fall of 2008. They were the runners-up at this year’s state tournament and were invited to compete at the FLL US Open at LEGOLAND in California in May. Their head mentor, a man by the name of Roy Hollinger, was a father figure to the students in spirit and in actuality, a father to one of them and grandfather to another. He has served as a great mentor to not only his team, but the mentors and students of other local FLL teams as well. Sadly, he passed away early this year.

Robotics truly changed his life. FIRST meant so much to Roy and to his family. He lived to mentor the kids. A common topic discussed at his funeral was robotics and the passion he had for it. After our team coaches attended Roy’s funeral, they were so taken aback by the impact that FIRST had on Roy’s life.

Remarkably, the tragedy-struck family and team still want to travel to the US Open to continue his legacy. The response from the community and the other FLL teams has truly been inspiring. Everyone, including other FLL coaches and students, is pitching in to help them with travel costs and mentoring to prepare for the US Open. However, the team is coming up short on finances. To attend the US Open, the students must secure plane tickets and hotels, which is very costly.

To alleviate some of the financial burden, we, team MARS, and the Smarticle Robo Builders, are reaching out to you, the FIRST community, to help continue Mr. Hollinger’s Legacy. We are not asking for sponsorship for the Smarticle Robo Builders. However, we are asking for a couple of dollars towards sending the Smarticle Robo Builders to the FLL US Open at LEGOLAND in California in May. Any financial donations, even as little as a dollar, will go a very long way.

Donations can be made through Paypal at this email address:
SmarticleRoboBuildersToUSOpen@gmail.com

OR

If you wish to make the donation in person, feel free to stop by the MARS Pit Area (in Newton) at the World Championships. Checks can be made out to Mountaineer Area RoboticS. (Our Community Trust will handle all of the checks.)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at Karebear95@gmail.com OR stop by the MARS Pit Area at the World Championships. Our team is willing to answer any questions or concerns!

Thanks a bunch! We really appreciate all of the support. [^_^]