Help me get to St. Louis?

[JohnFogarty]

I got the opportunity to speak at the World Championship for FTC a few years ago. I did some small part time work around the area as well as writing letters to friends and family asking for some small donations and I raised the money I needed to fly there for the whole week and stay at a nice hotel in less than a week.

[Jade Z]

If there's a team in your area that is going to St. Louis, see if you can pay the fee the rest of the team is paying and catch a ride with them, although you may have to find your own hotel and/or get to know them before they let you do this.

[Carolyn_Grace]

1. Volunteer at the event (this will pay for your food, as well as a volunteer shirt)

2. Find a close by team that is attending and see if you can stay with their students.

3. Talk to your school about offering support. You are not only representing yourself, but the school and community you live in.

4. Create a crowd sourcing account and send it to your local community leaders, post it on your social media sites, and ask your administration to also spread it around.

5. Babysit! $10-15 / hour = a lot of money quickly for a high school student.

[David Brinza]

Originally Posted by Carolyn_Grace

1. Volunteer at the event (this will pay for your food, as well as a volunteer shirt)

2. Find a close by team that is attending and see if you can stay with their students.

3. Talk to your school about offering support. You are not only representing yourself, but the school and community you live in.

4. Create a crowd sourcing account and send it to your local community leaders, post it on your social media sites, and ask your administration to also spread it around.

5. Babysit! $10-15 / hour = a lot of money quickly for a high school student.

Try #4: Create your own PiggyBackr fundraiser and send emails to family, friends, and even Team 980 members/parents!

If you want to volunteer for the event (doing #1 on the above list is highly recommended), go to the FIRST Volunteer Information Management System (VIMS) here:

https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/L...IMS_Login.aspx

With 600 FRC teams competing at Champs, FIRST needs volunteers!

[rich2202]

I started volunteering last year, and can't recommend it enough. For Students, the Field Reset position allows you to watch the game from the field. However, if you have Dean's List Responsibilities (interview?), then that may be a problem.

Otherwise, they are always looking for people to do (3 hour shifts?):
Safety Glasses
Crowd Control

Longer commitments
Ambassador

[Alex Cormier]

Do you have a goal amount in mind that you are looking for?

[Jon K.]

I would definitely recommend volunteering! While you don't save on costs beyond food, you get to meet people who have the chance to influence the rest of your life. Not only have I met some of the best people and some of my closest friends, but often times you get to interact with leaders in industry whom may just get you your next job, or into that college you are looking at! I started volunteering in 2003 at my local regional, and helped do field reset at the championship because they needed it. I haven't stopped since.

As for the concern about Dean's List responsibilities, not sure what they entail, but the volunteer coordinators are fantastic at making those types of accommodations. Many VC's at champs have teams themselves, I know of at least 3, so they get what Dean's List means and would totally work with a student who wants to help out but will have other commitments as well.

[Tim Lehmann4967]

Start a GoFundMe and post it on CD, people usually respond to those type of things pretty well.

Talk to your high school, they usually support high caliber students.

Talk to local businesses, they may be willing to pay if you interned/worked for them over the summer.

Make some marketing materials that show your coolness, pass them out to friends/family, local community, etc...

Get a Job.

Sell flowers in the spring. I sold hanging flower baskets in Boy Scouts, and if you work it, you can make a large sum.

Just some ideas, there is plenty of money to be had in the world.

[GeeTwo]

All of the above of course, and don't forget your team sponsors! When presented with your situation, one or more of them may be willing to kick in a bit more to get you to St. Louis. You should make each of these a personal presentation, perhaps with another team member if you think this would help; most Dean's List winners should be able to do this solo.