3 Girls, 1 Robot, 1 Dream: Fuel Our Journey to Dallas please

Hi! I’m Dia, and I’m 13. Alongside my teammates Helen and Sara, we are on a mission to raise £4,000—enough to cover the USD 1,800 VEX IQ World Championships registration fee, robot upgrades, and extra tools—so our three girl team can compete on the world stage this May. Our parents have already generously funded £5,000 for our four-day travel and accommodation in Dallas, so every pound you give goes straight into our robot and training.

Just six months ago, we didn’t know a gear from a motor. Unlike most six member teams with coder parents or siblings, we had zero technical backup. Every afternoon after school became our own “robotics boot camp”—sketching designs on scrap paper, testing mechanisms with borrowed tools, and teaching ourselves to code through trial and error. Fueled by pizza and laughter, we went from total beginners to one of only 60 UK teams to reach the Nationals at Telford—an achievement made possible when 28 friends and family rallied to raise £1,790 for our UK journey, and our parents added nearly £1,000 to cover extra UK expenses.

At Nationals, our little robot stunned everyone (including us!) by placing 2nd in the Teamwork Challenge, 5th overall in skills, and earning the Judges’ Award for our detailed engineering notebook and confident interview. When the invitation to Dallas arrived, we felt on top of the world—then realized that dreams don’t pay for themselves.

Now, with the World Championships within reach, we need your help to bridge the gap. Every donation—£10 or £500—brings us one step closer to Dallas and lights the way for girls everywhere who dare to dream in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Will you join us? Let’s make this journey unforgettable—together. Thank you so much. Dia