When the StormBots were created, our goal just wasn’t just to build a robot that developed our own skills while winning competitions, but to also help build a bridge for young kids and others in our community to be introduced to STEM learning and skills. Thus an important pillar of our team’s values is that of community service. Each StormBot is required to commit at least seven hours to community service projects each season. We are proud of our efforts to improve our community through our many outreach activities.
This year marked the first time ever that a southwest Washington FRC team hosted an official, regional FIRST Robotics Competition Kick Off to introduce the new game challenge: Charged Up! More than two dozen other teams from Oregon and Washington came to Skyview High School to pick up their official “kit of parts” and to participate in a series of workshops hosted by the StormBots to review game rules and share ideas for designing a robot to master the challenges of the game.
Beginning in the summer of 2022 the StormBots have partnered with TopSoccer Vancouver to design and build adaptive devices to enable more kids to enjoy the world’s most popular game.
In the spring of 2022 the StormBots began a partnership with the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System (FVRL) to join with them is developing and conducting STEM education related Maker Workshops, patterned after the Maker Camp movement, with the intent of stimulating young minds and old to explore STEM learning, make stuff and have fun! Workshops have been held online via Zoom to extend the reach to FVRLs more distant branches and patrons, as well as in person at local branches in Vancouver. Plans are underway to begin offering some after school programs at local elementary schools.
Each year Stormbots volunteer at various FIRST events like FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC, our level), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC grades 7-12), and FIRST Lego League (FLL grades 2-6) to help the FIRST community. During the competition season StormBots volunteer at each event we attend to help with setup and teardown, queueing up robots, field reset and various other support activities.
The StormBots for a few years now have been hosting kickoff livestreams at Skyview High School for local teams. In 2022 we even hosted a practice event called “Storm Surge” to allow several local teams to get reacquianted with live competitions after a year off due to Covid. And in 2023 we hosted the REGIONAL kick off event for some two dozen regional teams.
In 2019 the StormBots began a partnership with Clark County Public Works Adopt-a-Park program. The team conducts periodic clean up of Chinook Neighborhood Park located within a five minute walk of our school. Our team has come to thoroughly enjoy this activity as it has offered not only a chance to give back, but also an opportunity to get our hands dirty (literally) and in doing so have fun with our friends outside a school environment.
In 2019 the StormBots were asked to helped redesign the website for one of the region’s long running family events that seeks to get kids out doors and enjoying nature, the annual Klineline Ponds Kids Fishing Derby. This was an opportunity to not only support an event many StormBots participated in as their younger selves , but to to also develop our own web design skills further.