NC PEERS, Inc.

My name is Jim Barstow. I am one of the volunteer mentors of FRC Robotics Team 1918 NC GEARS and FTC Robotics Teams 7911 and 23380, NC COGS. I have been involved in mentoring robotics programs since 2015, when I fell in love with the FIRST robotics program because of the outstanding personal, professional, and educational benefits the program offers. My personal interests involve building things, writing software, designing machines, creating electronic gadgets, building lasers and 3D printers, and all sorts of things generally considered "nerdy".

Over the past 10 years and I have been involved in 3 different high school teams and 4 middle school teams. I have volunteered thousands of hours as a mentor and coach, as well as received training and volunteer as a key volunteer at dozens of events. People often have a hunch that I might be hooked on robotics, but when they see my FIRST related tattoo, it removes all doubt.

My normal duties include Electrical and Software mentoring on FRC1918, FTC7911, FTC23380, and I advise, mentor, and support teams throughout West Michigan. In addition to those mentor roles, I also provide financial and logistical operations support to the NC GEARS and NC COGS teams.

The NC GEARS robotics program boasts an impressive career spanning over 18 years with over 15 event wins including a Michigan state championship title as well as over 30 industry awards in innovation, control, engineering, and design.

In June 2024, we were notified that our primary educational sponsor and financial partner, as well as the owner of our build space had indicated they were ending support for our program. On top of this news, the ownership of our team assets, including banners, trophies, shirts, robot parts, raw materials, machinery, tools, and even our current robots are currently contested and it looks like the sponsor is claiming ownership of all assets of the team. We have means addressing this and the sponsor has no interest in communicating with us on the matter. At this point, the only thing we have is our desire to keep going and to keep our robotics program alive for another 18 years.

When we were faced with this challenge, the mentors, parents and students were driven to make sure that our small rural farming community didn't lose access to this program that has been instrumental in engaging hundreds of students over the years and getting them excited to be involved in STEM professions. Our alumni have went on to become professional engineers, machinists, pilots, business owners, and dozens of other professions thanks in part to the skills, experiences, and confidence they acquired in this program.

We started this GoFundMe in order to help FRC1918, FTC7911, and FTC23380 rebuild our team, find new lab space, and begin assembling a new set of tools, machinery, and robots, as well as pay for the needed registrations for the upcoming season.

All donations for this GoFundMe go to our financial partner, NC PEERS, Inc., a 501(c)3 booster organization that supports Newaygo County robotics.

Please direct corporate sponsorship interests to info at ncgears dot com for additional charitable contribution information.

We know that the FIRST community is strong, and together we will change the world for the better!