The Different Forms of Recycling

[Marisa A.]

As our team tries to increase our activity within our community, we have found that small steps, albeit seeming ineffective, are the most effective way to show people in our community the messages of FIRST. One of our first steps this year is to become more involved with our school. We were curious about finding out how involved other teams are within their schools/local communities.
For us, creating a positive relationship with fellow students has been most rewarding. Our team has supported the school's musical productions, and interacted with other clubs within our school. However, one of the greatest programs that came out of working with the student body has been our recycling program. In the light of the many different e-cycling programs that many teams host/partake in, our team wanted to investigate what type of recycling was most efficient in our school. Through the efforts of both team and faculty members, we have raised money through the recycling of plastic bottles that both aids the team, and allowed us to donate a wheelchair to our local hospital.
While we realize that some states/countries don't participate in plastics reycling, there are always ways to get involved! For example, Team 694 runs an e-cycling program with a club in their school (More information can be found on their website, at StuyPulse), and this thread Recycling also touches upon e-cycling. Some teams even do copper recycling within their communities as well, a subject touched upon in this other thread: Copper Recycling
These are just some of our thoughts about yearly fundraising, and reaching out to the community!