Rochester Community Robotics

For the first time in almost a decade, FRC Team 578 ~ Red Raider Robotics, has qualified for the FIRST® Robotics World Championships Detroit on April 25-28th.

This season we have attended two regional competitions (Finger Lakes at RIT and Midwest in Chicago) and have been finalists at each, placing second at both. At the Finger Lakes Regional, we were also honored by the Judge’s Award for our community service and were especially recognized for hosting a rookie Team 7033 from Brazil by providing them with housing and fun experiences around Rochester. Because of these strong finishes, we earned the wild card to be able to attend the FIRST® Robotics World Championships!

Now comes the hard part . . . travel expenses. We are in the process of raising funds to attend the championships and are asking you to support Red Raider Robotics with a financial donation to make this significant educational opportunity possible.

Because we are a large team (46 students), Team 578 needs to raise $20,000 to help with transportation and lodging. Please consider a financial donation to our team, in any amount, so we are able to attend this competition. Your charitable contribution would make an incredible impact on our students. Our team is considered a not-for-profit organization and holds a 501(c)(3).

With the trip just a couple of weeks away, we need to move quickly as we plan on heading to Detroit on Tuesday, April 24th. Any amount that you can donate to the team will help tremendously and we thank you in advance for all of your support! Go Red Raider Robotics!

Team 578 ~ Red Raider Robotics is made up of high school students and mentors from our community who have a passion engineering that compete through FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC). Our robotics program gives students a hands-on outlet to pursue an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math beyond the classroom. Our robotics program plays a critical role in expanding the STEM and Leadership programs available to the students in district.

Through the dedication and passion of our mentors, sponsors, community, parents and students, we have worked to continuously improve how we function as a FIRST® team. Each year we have a six week build season that is dedicated to the challenge of designing and building a fully functional robot to that years’ game specifications. In order to do so successfully, we prepare our team members with skill building for each of our subteams: electronics, structures, drivetrain, software, game management and marketing.

In addition, we embody FIRST® ideals such as Gracious Professionalism® and community involvement through a wide range of opportunities to reach out to our community through volunteer work. With our community presence we “make it loud,” and effectively spread the word of FIRST® and STEM education. Some of our annual activities include:

• Leaf raking for Veterans on Veterans Day
• Bell ringing for the Salvation Army
• Pumpkin carving & Valentines at the Fairport Baptist Home
• Haunted Hallways proceeds going to the Perinton Food Shelf, Honor Flight and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
• Book drive collecting used children's books for the Reach Out And Read Foundation
• Building animal benches, beds, and step stools for the keepers at the Seneca Park Zoo.
• Demonstrations at The Rochester Museum & Science Center, Canal Days, Homecoming and various buildings in our district.

This campaign is setup to allow team members and mentors to travel to the World Championships in Detroit, Michigan, April 25 through 28. Please consider donating directly to this page or if you prefer to donate outside this page, you may send a check made payable to “Rochester Community Robotics” and in the memo line, please write “Team 578”. Checks should be forwarded to:

Team 578 – Red Raider Robotics
c/o Mr. Steve Deal
44 Rolling Hill Drive
Fairport, New York 14450

Regardless of your decision on providing any funding, we appreciate your consideration. Please know that you will be expanding the educational experiences of our team positively impacting our program. Once again, thank you for your consideration and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

A picture is worth a thousand words so please check out our Twitter account @fairportrobotic to see the team in action at our two regional events.

Check back often for updates here and on our Twitter account!

Team 578 partnering with Rochester Community Robotics is a non-profit educational 501(c)(3) setup to support the team. All donations go directly to the Team 578 ~ Red Raider Robotics. All donors will receive a receipt indicating that their donation is tax-deductible for their tax records.