Dirty Birds need advice

[Jacqui Sutton]

This may not be the disaster that it first appears to be... it's fantastic that you guys did have corporate sponsors - shows that you were able to get some of the larger corporations interested in FIRST and the students involved - so congrats on that. However, it's possible to get by without corporate sponsors - and sometimes, i think it might even be better that way. Last year I was on Grundy's team, team 388. 388 has never had a large corporate sponsor, and although it's something that theyve worked hard at trying to attain, it's almost impossible to do so given the location and economic situation of the town. 388 even had to sit out one year due to politics and finances, but got back into it stronger than ever last year. We spent the majority of the year funraising, going personally from business to business until we'd hit almost every business in town - and whether their donation was $5, $50 or $500, there werent too many places that could turn us down, and every little bit counts. We applied for grants, did car washes, garage sales, and i think that all the work we'd done fundraising pre-season, made our team so much stronger because we'd been working so hard together months before the comp even began. It weeds out the people who are only in it for the trips and the building - because by the time you even get to build season most of them have already quit, not willing to put in the hard work but wanting the rewards. By the time kickoff came, we had a solid team of dedicated students, teachers, and mentors, and we'd already become like family because we'd put in so many hours.

I think the harder you work for something, the more you appreciate it, and it only makes the competition sweeter in the end. as justin said before, our team doesnt just fundraise to build the robot, we fundraise for the teams accomodation, travelling expenses, meals, tshirts - everything. The team puts in the hours, and no one gets left behind. we cant do much for our sponsors to thank them, but every last one gets put onto the back of our shirt - although sometimes its hard to fit them all on there - and we wear those shirts proudly, its our way of showing our appreciation, our shirts show how strong our community is - their support is phenominal.

its hard work, but its not impossible...keep optimistic...losing your corporate sponsor might just be the best thing that has happened to your team - you never know. these things happen for a reason. goodluck this year, make the most of it