FLL Championships - join the fun & help a great cause

[Jill Wilker]

FLL Community,

As FIRST says on their website,  "Volunteers power FIRST at every level, impacting more than 400,000 young people around the world each year. Whatever your expertise, FIRST has a Volunteer opportunity for you.  ...opportunities abound for people who want to give back - helping to change lives, change our culture, and change the future."  

This is especially true at the local NorCal level where Playing At Learning is managed and run by part-time volunteers and there is no paid staff for the NorCal FLL program. 

For the upcoming Championship tournaments, the need for volunteers is even greater since we need 4 times more volunteers as compared to the qualifier tournaments.  From bringing a Challenge table for the Robot Design Judge rooms, to helping with setup, or helping with crowd control and more,  we need to fill between 160-180 roles to put on a quality event.

Most pressing is this Sunday's East Bay Championship where we have only 80 of the 160 roles filled and the event is in danger of being a less than great event to showcase our wonderful teams.  This would be incredibly disappointing. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. 

If you can spare a few hours or the full day (or even just the day before), we have a role that you can fill.  If you are affiliated with a team that advanced or not OR a high school student OR just someone that has a few hours to spare OR you can help spread the message to your friends, colleagues, neighbors and family,  please review the list of  General Volunteer roles and a summary of their status at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l_Ew9AGQwe2r9Qt0rY9Xe3sne1CHj9Xo6xP4p6e8yww/edit?usp=sharing   and sign up to volunteer.    We are required to use the FIRST VIMS system for all volunteers - youth or adult - and you can sign up at https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/Login/VIMS_Login.aspx

If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to fllvol...@playingatlearning.org

To learn more about the 4 Championships,  please visit http://championship.norcalfll.org/general-info/

• East Bay FLL Championship: Sunday December 18 at Newark Memorial HS in Newark
• Peninsula FLL Championship: Sunday Jan 15 at Burlingame HS in Burlingame 
• Capital FLL Championship: Sunday Jan 22 at Pleasant Grove HS in Elk Grove   
• Silicon Valley FLL Championship:  Saturday Feb 4 at Sobrato HS in Morgan Hill

 
REMINDER:   Please keep Playing At Learning in mind as you review your end of year charity donations.  We need help in keeping The Play Space doors open as well as better support and manage the team growth that all 3 of our programs are experiencing, including tournament support.  We are an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) charity, your donations are tax deductible AND GuideStar has given us their Gold level rating.  We do not receive funds from FIRST except as designated by local companies!    Donate link to accept paypal/checks -  or you can give as part of a recurring Network For Good donation  or Razoo.
   

REMINDER: Don't forget to file for volunteer matching hours and/or matching donations if your employer supports this.  Playing At Learning is currently registered to receive matching donations and volunteer hours from employees of Cisco, Intel, Google, State Farm, and Boeing, Sandisk, and others.    If your company supports nonprofits by tracking volunteer hours or donations and you need help to get Playing At Learning registered,  let me know. 


Thank you for your consideration, your time and energies supporting FIRST and Playing At Learning.  May you and your family have a wonderful Holiday Season and joyful New Year! 


Jill