The “Winter Soldiers”, a First Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team, carries a reputation for being one of the most competitive teams in the Quad Cities. Apart from designing and building their robot, this team sets aside time for inspiring others to do the same.
Heading the team’s outreach initiatives, co-captains Varun Vedula and Rishab Verma explained that their team focuses on sharing their passion for robotics to students in the Rock Island community. These students were either never introduced to robotics or never had the chance to participate due to a lack of resources.
“We were surprised to find out that the Rock Island Community didn’t have any robotics teams considering that other areas in the community like the Davenport area have at least one robotics team,” Vedula said. “So we knew we had to do something for them.”
The team’s initial work in the Rock Island community brought forth a First Lego League (FLL) team, and then, a Junior FLL team and a First Tech Challenge (FTC) team. The Winter Soldiers continued to expand their efforts, and as a result, the team had given rise to five robotics teams in Rock Island.
They didn’t limit their outreach within the local community. The Winter Soldiers took the initiative to assist underprivileged kids in India to participate in robotics. However, assisting students overseas presented a challenge for the team. To work around this, they decided to take a different approach.
“During our first year, we started off by sending the kids in India small things to mess around with like toothbrush robots,” Vedula said. “But then the following year, we decided to step it up and raise money to buy them FLL kits and cover for their registration fees.”
Their support helped one team in India to advance to the national competition. “For some of these kids, it is their first time going out of their city,” commented Vedula. “They don’t get to travel much, and they don’t have the money to travel, so it was a big deal.”
The Winter Soldiers weren’t alone in their efforts. Companies such as John Deere and Arconic, have helped the Winter Soldiers gather enough money to provide resources to other teams. The Winter Soldiers have also accepted donations and raised money through fundraisers to help their cause.
Overall, the team’s outreach hasn’t given just the kids a meaningful experience, but also for the team members themselves.
“It’s nice to learn things for ourselves,” Verma commented. “But the fact that we can teach what we learned to those less privileged than us is really rewarding.”More information about the Winter Soldiers and donations can be found on their website and twitter page.
