There are many ways to get involved with the team, even if you don’t want to give a financial gift. You can also become a volunteer and be part of the man power that it takes to run the team. There a a couple of ways that you can help out: One way is to become a mentor. There is more information on this below in the “becoming a FIRST FRC mentor” section of the page. You can also become a team volunteer, and volunteer to bring in food, or help with transportation. More information can, of course, be found below. The PDF below overviews some of the ways that YOU can get involved with our team!
Volunteers (413 KB) Updated 8/11
Becoming a Mentor
Becoming a FIRST mentor is a time commitment, but of course, it is the dedication of the team’s mentors which help it function as fluidly as it does. With our team, 1410, we have a dedicated group of mentors which work with the team throughout the entire year, to help the team function. One of the important distinctions between a parent volunteer and a mentor is a knowledge of some aspect of the team, and the willingness to teach you knowledge and skills to the members of our team. Below are some resouurces from the FIRST website regarding mentoring. If you do decide that you wish to be a mentor, contact us using the Questions and Comments form in the “Connect with Us” section of the webpage!
To be a mentor for FRC, you should be prepared to
- Spend 4-10 hours a week helping students execute the program goals
- Help the team keep on track and making progress
- Finding resources and logisitics for the team
- Attending training sessions with your team
- Attending the competitions, which are usually in March
Useful technical skills to help an FRC team
- Mechanical Engineers
- Electrical Engineers
- Computer Programmers (C, Java, or LabVIEW)
- Project Management
- Designer or CAD/UG Operator
- Machinist
- Technician
- Mechanic / Welder / Fabricator
- Carpenter / Electrician / Handy person
- Pneumatics
- Computer Graphics
Useful non-technical skills to help an FRC team may include
- Marketing
- Business Management
- Fundraising
- General logisitics
- Graphic Design
FIRST Mentoring Guide — tips on how to be a great resource for your team (pdf – 248 KB)
MENTOR — National Mentoring Partnership- links and resources for mentor trainings
Being a mentor — Description of roles of mentors from About.com (not specifically for FIRST)
FIRST Senior Mentor Recordings — FRC mentor orientation recordings, and outlines
NEMO: A Mentor is (pdf – 42 KB)(Thank you to the Washington FIRST website for some of this great information)
Team Volunteer: If you don’t have the time or skills to be a FIRST mentor, you can become a team volunteer. As a team volunteer, you could help with food, transportation, fundraising and all kinds of other aspects of our FIRST team. For more information about becoming a team volunteer, contact us using the Questions and Comments section of the “Connect with Us” section of the webpage!