How does your school/town support you?

[jessjank.]

Cybersonics receives massive support from our school board. The Palisades School District has provided the team with financial support for the registration fees for all the competitions we attend, three specifically this year, and has done so for probably the past 5 years. Money is also provided for our busing fees; we travel by charter bus to both our regional competitions as well as the championship competition. In the year to come, the school district will be constructing a 40’ x 70’ x 16’ building, valued at $170,000, specifically for Cybersonics to use as a full-sized practice arena and storage space. All this has come from 9 years of endeavoring to convince the district on the value of the team and FIRST and can largely be attributed to the endless efforts of our parent organization, advisors, and mentors, and the enthusiasm of our team members.
Team 103's two main advisors are teachers, specifically a technology teacher and an art teacher, at our high school. The husband and wife pair founded the team together prior to the 1997 season. The team uses the school's machine shop and adjoining computer lab for the manufacturing of the robot and creation of our inventor entry, as well as an art room, equipped with a large computer station and a small room with more computers, video editing supplies, and storage, where both our pr/marketing and animation departments work.
Our community is rather lacking of corporate presence, though we do get small contributions from local businesses and individuals. We typically have to go outside our rural community to find corporate sponsorship. Our community, though, is extremely supportive and participates in our many fundraising events.
As far as travel goes, team members and their families are asked to contribute money for hotel fees, food, and any other money needed for busing that is not covered by our school board.
Though I would say it may be difficult to get an extremely significant amount of financial support from your school in your first year of requesting money, keep working at it and eventually they may come around and realize the benefits of your program in the district. It has taken our team many years to gain the support we have today, but all the time and effort that was put in over the years was definitely worth it.
Best of luck to your team!