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Re: How much does your school support your FIRST Team?
I just want to give an update after posting a few posts back.
A few weeks ago, we gave a presentation to the school board. We had to collect 25 registered voters signatures to be able to ask to be put on the ballot for funding. We presented the petition, as well as gave a presentation about the program and who we are and why we are requesting their support. We packed the room with students dressed in our team colors, as well as mentors, alumni, and parents. We showed the PBS newshour clip of FIRST from a little while back, and alumni talked about how the program "pays off". We connected FIRST to the mission statement of the school, and were able to answer any questions they had. Their only concern was the fact that this "club" would get more money than any other club, thus what would happen if other clubs came asking for money? Valid question, but we made them realise that we're not your typical "club", we're kind of like a hybrid between a club & a sport. Overall, it was met by the school board, whom in the past has been kind of ignorant to the program, with overwhelming support --- unanimous support!
Later on, the budget committee met and voted 5-1 in favor of supporting the team. And last night, we had the deliberative session where the town comes and mulls over all the articles on the ballot. We were allowed to talk for five minutes and we even got our t-shirt launcher to shoot a t-shirt over the crowd. Nobody that was present from the town had any questions or was negative towards the idea, so now it's down to March 9th and the people of the town to decide!
This is an example of a team that once used to say, "we'll never get support from our school district. we're always going to have to fend for ourselves..." and now it's really happening because WE made the effort to make it happen. Like everything else in life, you can't just expect the school to one day come to you and say "hey, we're going to support you now". You gotta work for it, and show that your team deserves it, and that their support is really important to you. Find out what it takes to get on your school board budget, and make it happen.
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VirginiaFIRST Social Media and Alumni Coordinator
Former FIRSTPlace Administrative Assistant @ FIRST HQ
Virginia Commonwealth University
School of the Arts Class of 2013 - BFA Graphic Design & Certificate in Product Innovation
[2004-2006]: FLL student [2006-2010]: FRC 1058 / FIRST HQ [2010+]: VirginiaFIRST
2010 Granite State Regional Winners with teams 1073 and 1519
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