**FIRST EMAIL**/FIRST Annual Fund Message from James R. Utaski, FIRST Board of Direct

[miketwalker]

Greetings FLL and FRC Teams:

Congratulations on a terrific 2003-2004 year! We look forward to partnering with all of you as we begin our new season's challenges - FIRST LEGO League with registration now underway, and the upcoming 2005 FIRST Robotics Competition.

As team leaders you know most directly FIRST's impact on young people, and how important it is for us to expand our reach to more students, schools, and communities. We also know you have given and continue to give substantially of your time, leadership, and often financially to help support your team(s). We extend a great thanks to you for your participation which is critical to the success of FIRST. If you are able and would like to additionally support our mission through the Annual Fund, please see the message below from James Utaski, Vice Chairman, FIRST Board of Directors, and contribute at any level that respects your situation.

Thank you all in advance.



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FIRST Annual Fund Seeks to Meet Goal With One Month Remaining
A message from James R. Utaski
Vice Chairman, FIRST Board of Directors
Chairman, FIRST Annual Fund

It is a time when the need for engineers and a technically qualified work force is essential. It is also a time when new federal studies are showing fewer students are entering science-based fields of study. FIRST has developed effective programs to attract and inspire students to engineering, science and technology. In 2003-2004, FIRST programs have reached over 60,000 students, 4,000 schools, 15,000 mentors and 20,000 volunteers. Participation builds science and technology skills as well as self-confidence, leadership, and life skills, and provides growing access to scholarship opportunities. Ultimately, FIRSTs success is in helping to form a society that respects and encourages invention and innovation, and supports young people in the pursuit of science and technology excellence. The FIRST experience will have a positive impact on our world's future.

We extend a great thanks to our sponsoring companies, corporate donors, foundations, and individuals for your contributions to FIRST teams and FIRST events both in personal time invested as well as direct financial help. Your support is well recognized and deeply appreciated by our organization and by your local and regional communities.

If, in addition to your contributions at the local and regional level, you would like to support the mission of FIRST to help us increase our global reach, please consider making a donation to the FIRST Annual Fund before we close this fiscal year June 30th.

Your support brings the power of FIRST to more students

The FIRST Annual Fund provides unrestricted support to our organization, a vital resource for financial sustainability. Donations to the fund allow FIRST to:
Build the FIRST organization capacity to truly support the vast network of mentors, engineers, teachers, and volunteers that grows annually.
Expand to new regional and tournament events.
Develop new program learning materials, such as the FIRST Robovation Initiative http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/robovation/ that includes a prototyping kit for all FIRST Robotics Competition rookie teams.
Develop expanded online training and Web conferencing tools to support our community of FIRST teams, mentors, and volunteers.
Develop and test new and innovative game design methods to make programs accessible to the widest range of students and school environments.
Deploy additional resources to engage more underserved students in FIRST programs.
Continue measuring the effectiveness of our programs and share best practices.
Please contribute in any amount
The 2004 Annual Fund has an ambitious goal of $875,000 by June 30th, 2004. You can help us by making a donation in whatever amount feels appropriate. We recognize in many cases your direct personal time commitment to FIRST is already significant.

Every donor and contribution truly helps. There are a number of ways to contribute, including online donations http://www.usfirst.org/about/donate.htm. Or contact Dia Stolnitz, Director of Annual Giving at (800) 871-8326 x #406 or dia@usfirst.org.