Help the East Palo Alto ChurroBots Upgrade Our Practice Robot!

The East Palo Alto ChurroBots (Team 8048) are the first and only high school robotics team in the city of East Palo Alto, CA. Open to any youth residing or attending school in East Palo Alto or Belle Haven, we’re a community-based team that brings together students from over 10 local schools. Our mission is to provide hands-on exposure to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and to help students develop real-world leadership skills that inspire lasting change in our community.

This season, we’re taking the next step in growing our team’s skills and innovation. Our practice robot has been with us since the start of the season. It’s the robot our drivers learn on, the one we test ideas with, and the one that helps new members get hands-on experience before working on our competition robot.

Right now, our alpha robot is running on an older drive base with a weaker frame and only four motors. That setup no longer matches the speed, power, or durability of our competition robot, making it harder for us to train effectively.

To fix that, we’re planning to upgrade our practice robot with:

• A stronger metal frame built to handle real match conditions

• Six motors to match our competition drivetrain

• A setup that allows us to run realistic practice matches, train new drivers, and protect our main robot

This upgrade will cost $2,200, but the impact goes far beyond the hardware. It means more time learning, testing, and preparing and less time worrying about breakdowns. It helps us continue leveling the playing field for students in East Palo Alto by giving our team access to the same tools and technology as many of our peers.

Every donation, no matter the size, helps us keep building, learning, and inspiring future engineers and leaders in our community. Thank you for being in our corner!