TEAM BLAST: Kickoff is Coming! /FIRST Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion/Arconic Grants Available
Not displaying correctly? View online

 

Hi Friend,

  1. Kickoff is Coming!
  2. FIRST® Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Training
  3. Arconic Foundation Grants
  4. Last Chance to Volunteer!
 
Kickoff is Coming!
Just in case you haven’t heard, our FIRST® Tech Challenge Rover Ruckus Presented by Qualcomm season kickoff will be Saturday, September 8, 2018. Our Game Manual Part 2 will be released on our website at 12 noon ET! Make sure to check our Team and Event Search page to find a kickoff event near you where you can see the game in person and connect with your Affiliate Partner and other teams in your community! You’ll also want to register for the 2018-2019 season so you can get your robot kit--and you might as well tell all your friends that we’re offering rookie grants to need-based teams this year!
 
FIRST® Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
At FIRST, we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community for all our participants. We have collaborated with the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) to provide FIRST Coaches, Mentors, Volunteers, Partners, and others who work directly with students, a three-part free training module course. We know that culture shapes the biases and beliefs about others. Often without realization, interactions are based on the age, gender, race, language, (dis)ability, or income level. These modules will provide you with the tools and specific strategies to support student participation, engagement, success, and community outreach.
 
Arconic Grants Available
Arconic Foundation is the charitable arm of Arconic Inc. – which works in close partnership with customers to solve complex engineering challenges to transform the way we fly, drive, build, and power. Through collaboration non-profit partners, their, initiatives make quality STEM education opportunities available to students and help to create access for underrepresented individuals to the STEM fields.
 
Grant Details and Requirements:
This grant is open to rookie and veteran FIRST Tech Challenge teams 2018-2019 season. Eligible teams must be within a 25-mile radius of an Arconic location in the United States or the United Kingdom. If approved, the grant will be awarded as follows:
  • FIRST Tech Challenge rookie team $1,000
  • FIRST Tech Challenge veteran team $500
 
The grant application will be open August 20, 2018 through September 10, 2018 and will not be available outside of these dates. Applications must be fully submitted no later than 11:59 P.M. ET on September 10, 2018 in order to be considered for a grant. 
 
Questions regarding this grant opportunity should be directed to firsttechchallenge@firstinspires.org. Teams are expected to practice Gracious Professionalism™ at all times throughout the grant process and respect the decision(s) of Arconic staff.
 
Teams will be notified of their grant decision by September 17, 2018.  Please note that completing an application does not guarantee funding, and all teams should be actively fundraising and seeking alternate/additional funding opportunities.
 
Last Chance to Volunteer! - FIRST Progression of Programs Resource Help
Did your team recently make the move from FIRST® LEGO® League to FIRST Tech Challenge? We’re making some new materials for teams interested in “graduating” from FIRST LEGO League to FIRST Tech Challenge, and we’d love your expertise. If you’re interested in sharing some tips, tricks, and suggestions with rising FIRST teams please email firsttechchallenge@firstinspires.org with the subject line “FIRST Progression”. Thank you so much in advance!
 

Sincerely,

FIRST Tech Challenge Staff

603.666.3906 x 0  |  firsttechchallenge@firstinspires.org  |  www.firstinspires.org

 
Contact Us
 
We can't thank our awesome sponsors enough! Thank you to our Season Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm, our Official Program Sponsor Rockwell Collins, and our Official 3D Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Sponsor PTC
 
 
 
www.firstinspires.org
OUR VISION: “...to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.”
— Dean Kamen, Founder