Help Delta Prime 4H get to District Championships

Delta Prime Robotics 4H Team of Richmond, Maine, is made up of students from Richmond and Halldale High Schools. The team builds robots in a two-car garage without enough space to even put the robot on the floor to operate it between our tools and workbenches. The team does not receive any school-based funding; the students fundraise the budget every year, through seeking sponsorships, grant writing, and direct fundraisers. The team is used to operating on a shoestring budget compared to most competitors. Delta Prime Robotics 4H competes against many school-based teams with large dedicated resources and practice facilities. The team's robots are built out of as many reused and recycled parts as practical, this year the entire main mechanism was designed to fit and is constructed from scraps of lexan that were saved from the trash at a local glass company. In 2022 and 2023 the team stayed in cabins without running water during winter to be able to afford to travel to competitions out of state. Creatively and economically solving problems is part of daily team operations. Recognizing that attending New England Championships last year would have left the team cash strapped for the 2024 season, the team chose instead to invest in technology, tools, and materials to improve skills and capabilities.

This effort paid off in the creation of this year's robot which is among the strongest contenders the team has ever built. The team anticipates qualifying for the New England District Championships which start on April 3, 2024. Registration for the event is $4,000, not including travel expenses and lodging for the team members to stay in Springfield, MA for three nights, where the Championships are held. The team also qualified in 2023 but was unable to attend due to the costs.

If the team is successful in qualifying and raising the funds to attend the 2024 New England District Championships, this fundraiser will go directly to the registration and lodging costs to take the team to Springfield, MA to compete with the best teams from the New England region. If we are not successful in meeting our goal, all funds raised will be used to allow the team to attend other off-season events this summer. Your contribution will directly support an activity in which 80% of alumni go on to work in a STEM related field. Please help these students who have worked so hard in an incredibly difficult competition make it to the game they will have earned the right to compete in instead of again sitting out of the tournament.

Thank you for your support!