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Greendale High robotics team outlines season goals, asks community for fundraising support
Summary
Students from Graffiti — Greendale High School’s FIRST Robotics team — presented the team’s competitive history, season plan and a $30,000 fundraising goal to the school board, detailing costs and volunteer-run operations.
Graffiti, Greendale High School’s FIRST Robotics team, told the Greendale School District board they are aiming to raise roughly $30,000 this season to cover competition, travel and build costs as they pursue qualification for regional and possibly world championship events.
The student-run team detailed recent competitive results, community outreach and a year-round schedule that runs Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings plus Saturdays during build season, and asked the board to share donation channels with the community.
Team members described past awards — including rookie and engineering recognition at regional events — and noted the program is fully self-funded. They provided a cost breakdown: about $33,000 in annual expenses, of which tournament and registration fees total about $10,000, build materials and prototype parts about $13,000, branding and outreach about $3,000, travel roughly $2,000, and a possible $5,000 world-championship registration fee if they qualify. Students said their fundraising goal for the season is $30,000 and listed grants, sponsor outreach and community fundraisers as primary strategies.
"Robotics has taught me so much, just in my personal life — how I can do things, how I can think about a career," said Matt, a senior and co-captain. "It's just such a valuable resource to have here." Dane Wenzel, the team’s programming lead, and other student leaders described subteams for mechanical, electrical, CAD and programming and said duties and robot access shift by weekly need.
Board members asked the students to share current donation links and locations where donors can give directly. One board member praised the students’ community involvement and advocacy at the state level and encouraged continuation of alumni mentoring programs.
Students listed several community engagements — STEM read-alouds, volunteer appreciation dinners, demonstrations at local events and support for elementary and middle school teams — and noted that the team helps younger STEM teams and runs outreach emphasizing female participation in STEM.
The board did not take a formal funding action; students were asked to provide donation details to be circulated to board members and staff.
The presentation underscored the program’s role in exposing students to STEM pathways, with students noting higher-than-average rates of FIRST participants entering STEM majors and careers.
