Our 2020-2021 Outreach (so far!)
As a FIRST Tech Challenge team, we strive to reach out to our community and introduce as many people to the FIRST Program as we can. Every year we participate in multiple outreach events with a variety of age ranges and groups to spread the word about FIRST as far as possible, so that anyone who’d like to participate has the chance to do so. We also hope to start more teams in Alabama by informing people on how to go about it and what tips and tricks to keep in mind. Unfortunately due to Covid-19, we have not been able to particpate in as many in-person events as we normally do, but we are still excited to reach out to our community in any way we can!
2020 Informational Meeting
Every year we host Informational Meetings at our local libraries to introduce more people to the program and get more teams in our area started! This year was a great success. We had lots of people interested in either starting or joining teams, or even just volunteering at FIRST events. It was a great opportunity and we’re glad we were able to provide it for everyone!
Yard Sales and Robot Demo
The Browncoats hosted two yard sales to raise money for the team, and we drove around our demo robot, showed off our 2019-2020 Vera, and handed out lots of flyers about FIRST! Not only was it a great fundraising and team-building opportunity, but it was also a great way to spread the word about FIRST Robotics and STEM!
Robotics Video Contest
During the summer, senior Browncoats team member, Jalynn, and recent alumni, Megan, collaborated on making a video for the Robotics Video Contest hosted by TN Valley Robotics. They seized the opportunity to spread the word about the FIRST program and share the personal influence robotics has had on each of their lives. Ten videos were chosen and rewarded $100 for their team. Jalynn and Megan were thrilled to learn that their video had been chosen as one of the top ten!
Covid-19 Personal Protective Equipment
Our team coaches and mentors were able to provide Personal Protection Equipment to many different people for protection against COVID-19, including face shields, “stress relief straps”, and face masks. The Browncoats team was glad to be able to donate around 2300 PPE products to those who needed them during the COVID-19 outbreak!
Winter Clothes Donation
Our team loves to give back to our community when we can, and since the months are growing colder, we collected all of the leftover clothes from our garage sales and any new donations we received, then sent them to the Huntsville Downtown Rescue Mission to benefit those in need. Our goal is to keep as many people as possible warm this winter!
