Hello all! I'm writing to ask for your help.
I'm working on getting together the approximately 100 volunteers we need
to put on the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school kids which is
coming up mid-March. We need a lot of volunteers of all ages and
talents (both technical and non-technical) to run the competition. We
cannot hold the competitions without our volunteers! I need to get the
volunteers in place now so we are ready for March. If you think you may
be able to help - whether just any one or all days (or even only online)
- please sign up now! I *really* need more volunteers, especially in
these positions:

Crowd Control - Friday and Saturday especially
Website Evaluator - this happens online before the competition so you
don't have to be there or you can do both this and another volunteer
position
Field Assembly - Wednesday (3/11) afternoon
Field Repair/Reset
Official Scorer
Robot Inspectors - Thursday (3/12)<---- technical people needed

Please sign up online if you have some time to help and tell your
friends. It's lots of fun! Also, the competition is open to spectators
so tell your friends to come and watch. It's at San Jose State
University Event Center. Sign up at: https://my.usfirst.org/vims/

PLEASE NOTE: Make *SURE* you select the "Silicon Valley Regional" on the
Volunteer Preferences page, otherwise I won't be able to see you in the
system! Forward this to anyone interested- whatever their background
(college students, retired, anyone who can help!).

Training will be supplied by FIRST either at the time of the event, by
conference call, or on-line. Breakfast and lunch will be provided each
day.

Volunteers will receive a **complimentary FIRST T-shirt** to be worn
on-site at all times when they are volunteering, and can worn with
casual wear such as blue jeans or khakis and comfortable closed toe
shoes. The volunteer T-shirts will be available on-site when you first
arrive to work the event.

Hope to see you there!
Elise Engelhardt
<mailto:engelhardte@...> engelhardte@...
408-360-0669

What is the FIRST Robotics Competition?

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is a unique varsity sport of the mind
designed to help high-school-aged young people discover how interesting
and rewarding the life of engineers and researchers can be. The FIRST
Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors
to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard "kit
of parts" and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts
and enter them in competitions designed by Dean Kamen, Dr. Woodie
Flowers, and a committee of engineers and other professionals. FIRST
redefines winning for these students because they are rewarded for
excellence in design, demonstrated team spirit, gracious professionalism
and maturity, and the ability to overcome obstacles. Scoring the most
points is a secondary goal. Winning means building partnerships that
last.

This competition is the largest high school event of its kind developing
critical skills in science and technology in a super-charged learning
atmosphere. FIRST competitions (all ages) involve 53,000 teachers,
mentors and engineers. The FIRST Robotics competition for high school
age has with more than 42,000 students and nearly 1700 teams across the
country competing in 40 regional competitions.

Students work with engineer mentors to design, build and test a robot
developed as a solution to a competition problem provided by FIRST. The
robots compete in an area requiring the teams to strategize and build
offensive and defensive capabilities into their design. Students acquire
skills such as problem solving, project management, critical thinking
and teamwork: skills necessary to their future and the future of
society.

If you think you may be able to volunteer for the FIRST Robotics
Competition, please sign up right away in FIRST's Volunteer Information
and Matching System (VIMS). To access VIMS go to
<https://my.usfirst.org/vims/> https://my.usfirst.org/vims/ PLEASE
NOTE: Make *SURE* you select the "Silicon Valley Regional" on the
Volunteer Preferences page, otherwise I won't be able to see you in the
system! If you are a new volunteer, click on the red star to the lower
left which says "Sign me up!" Proceed as directed. (If you experience
problems registering or have additional questions, please contact
<mailto:volunteer@...> volunteer@... ) You will then
receive a follow up from me and a confirmation email from FIRST. You may
also contact me directly at <mailto:engelhardte@...>
engelhardte@... or call me at 408-360-0669

Please pass this email along to anyone you think may be interested in
volunteering. It is an exciting, fast-moving, rewarding event. One you
will remember for a lifetime!



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]