Positive Protons Trip to FLL World Championship

We are "The Positive Protons," a group of 3rd, 4th & 5th-grade students at Leighton Elementary School in Aurora, OH. We have participated in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Challenger robotics competition for the last two years. This friendly competition introduces science, technology, engineering, and math to children ages 9 – 16*, engaging them in research, problem-solving, coding, and engineering a LEGO robot navigating missions of a robot game.

As part of the competition, teams participate in a research project to identify and solve a real-world problem. This year, teams were challenged to reimagine our global transportation system and explore ways to improve how we access and deliver cargo.

This global competition takes place in over 100 countries, inspiring the minds of more than 280,000** participants worldwide. The competition culminates with a Global Championship in Houston, Texas, where the top teams from each country and the top team from each US state compete for the ultimate prize.

This year in Ohio, over 450 teams with 4000+ students competed at various regional and district levels before the top 39 teams competed for the opportunity to represent Ohio at the State Competition.

This year the “Positive Protons” were honored to win the Ohio Championship and represent Ohio at the World’s Festival in Houston on April 20th-23rd.

We estimate the cost of sending seven team members and two coaches at $12,000. This cost is spread between travel, lodging, food, etc. Ohio Education outreach is covering our registration fee of $1,500. The rest of the cost will be assumed by the parents. The team is in the process of starting a GoFundMe page, a restaurant fundraiser, and presenting to local companies and community organizations to help defray expenses.

We are reaching out to you to explore the possibility of you/your organization sponsoring our team. We would be happy to add your logo on our T-shirts and other merchandise as a sponsor.

Should you have any questions or need additional information, please reach out to Senthil Ragupathi at [email redacted]

Thank you again for allowing us to present this to you and considering us for sponsorship. Checks can be made out and mailed to Senthil Ragupathi, 735 Lake Trail, Aurora, OH 44202.

Sincerely,

The Positive Protons

Aadhav Sathyamurthy, Diya Kumar, Diya Shah, Josh Bowen, Paul Berendt, Sarah Bowen & Tevona Sesuraj

Coaches – Senthil Ragupathi, Mike Berendt