Update 3/14/20 – Dear Family, Friends, Team Sponsors and Community Supporters,

We are disappointed to announce that the FIRST LEGO League World Championship has been cancelled in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not surprising. We understand that it’s in everyone’s best interests to help slow the spread and protect our vulnerable populations. At this time, we’d like to be transparent with our generous donors and community, and let you know our current position and intention.

To date we’ve raised about $13,500 to make this trip happen. Here’s where we are at this exact moment. Our airline tickets are non-refundable, under Delta’s COVID-19 policy we are eligible for an itinerary change or a credit. I have filed an appeal, to see if we can instead get a refund. I have filed a similar appeal with AirBnB, if denied we lose half of our lodging expenses. I am waiting for responses from both of those companies. We will get our $1,000 tournament registration refunded. There are expenses/items that we cannot recover/return including our team banners, signs, buttons, swaps, team uniforms, some of our display hardware, tablecloths that have been laundered and several other small things that all add up. The team uniforms with our new team sponsor logos will be used all next season, and we will make good on our sponsor obligations to the best of our ability.

The girls have worked very hard and through no fault of their own find themselves in this incredibly disappointing situation. Whether we get a credit or full refund from Delta, after the pandemic has passed, we would like to plan an alternative educational trip. It may even still be to Houston to go to NASA Johnson Space Center. We would plan for this summer.

Aside from that, any remaining funds would be used to support the team in their upcoming robotics season 2020-2021, which starts August 1st. Added together, our expenses for FIRST LEGO LEAGUE and the NASA robotics challenge are over $3,000 per year with our current team headcount.

We have been reaching out to each of our amazing donors individually to inform them of the situation. Many of you have heard from us already, if you haven’t, you will shortly. We just started making contact this weekend. We understand that the funds you generously provided would no longer be going toward their original intended purpose. We can assure you that they would be used similarly to provide an extraordinary STEM based educational experience for these hard-working young ladies and support their STEM and leadership skill building in the coming robotics season. If you would rather withdraw your donation based on this unfortunate change in circumstance, please let us know.

We intend to proceed with MacKenzie River Pizza Community Day, if you’d like to go out for pizza and support the team’s ongoing mission, we’d be thankful. I have spoken with MacKenzie River and they are happy to support us with this event.

We will persevere and make the best of this situation. We will continue to do incredible things for girls in STEM in our community. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions. Thank you all for your ongoing support.

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Update 2/25/20 – The initial shock of winning state has passed and monumental task of fundraising and preparation for Worlds has begun. Our fundraising is currently at about $11,000 out of our $18,000 goal. $7,000 more to go! We are seeking team sponsors, we have a GoFundMe and March 16th we have a fundraiser at MacKenzie River Pizza North. GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON is in full swing! Keep scrolling to see how you can help! We have some amazing sponsors to thank and we’ll have our sponsor page updated soon. We’ll also be at “Making Montana” this weekend at the Flathead County Fairgrounds 2/28-29.

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Community Fundraisers!

3/16/20 – MacKenzie River Pizza North – come in any time all day. Show them this special flyer when settling your bill and the team gets a donation of 20% of your meal (alcohol not included).

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We are so humbled and excited to be representing Montana at the FIRST World Festival and Championships. These young ladies have worked incredibly hard!

FIRST World Festival is a 4 day event in mid-April. 600+ Champion teams from around the world come to compete in the four levels of FIRST Robotics. It is the worldwide youth STEM event of the year! In addition to the camaraderie and friendly competition, it’s a “world’s fair” of tech geared toward kids. Companies bring their newest toys, there are hands on exhibits, tech presentations, and even college recruiters.

An unanticipated week-long trip to Houston with only 3 months to plan is a tall order. Our budget for the trip is about $18,000. Our most immediate need is airfare, the sooner we can book, the greater the savings.

Departure Date: April 14th

Return Date: April 19th

Ways you can help us get there and be prepared to compete on the world stage in Houston:

• Financial Support – large or small, it all adds up and means the world to us – see the financial support opportunities we are working on below. Feel free to email us at info@roboscoutsquad.com
• Raffle Basket Item Donations
• Large Format Printing – We will need large format prints of our Innovation Project materials to display at our 10’ x 10’ booth
• Team Banner(s) for our booth with our World Championship Sponsors’ logos
• 3-D Printing – We are going to need a mock up of our Innovation Project. Our current one is made of popsicle sticks and construction paper. Anyone want to offer the girls a teaching session on 3D printing and help them build a better model? THIS NEED IS MET, THANK YOU FVCC!
• Color copies – We’ll need handouts printed about our project and presentation materials for our judging sessions
• Construction/Electrical Engineering Firm – We need mentors to give us feedback on our Innovation Project so we can make it even better. Topic: Piezoelectricity and Kinetic Sidewalks in Schools
• Team Shirts – We need to dress as a team most of the days. We’ll know more soon, but guessing we’ll need at least 2 sets of team shirts with sponsor logos. Team jackets would be awesome too, if feasible.
• Spread the word – Everyone can help us by spreading the word about our team and what we need to represent Montana at the World Championships. Please share our page and our GoFundMe: https://roboscoutsquad.com/world-championships/  https://www.gofundme.com/roboscoutsquad2020

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Financial Support Opportunities

Here’s what we are working on.  Feel free to email us at info@roboscoutsquad.com or fill out the form below for more info. We’ll keep the website updated as things develop.

Corporate Sponsorship

As we are part of a Girl Scout Troop.  Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming (GSMW), a 501(c)3, will process letters/receipts for tax purposes using their tax ID.  Checks $250 and over (or any that wish for a receipt for taxes), need to be written to “GSMW” with a note of “RoboScout Squad”.  Please include the business name, contact name, address and phone number.  Also please email a high quality vector logo file to info@roboscoutsquad.com .  We will document the donation and sponsorship level and forward the check to GSMW with the appropriate paperwork.  GSMW will mail a letter/receipt for tax purposes with their tax ID.  GSMW will then deposit 100% of the donated funds to the team’s bank account.

Sponsorship Levels

• Teamwork Techs : $50 to $249 (social media thanks and logo on website, sponsor list at booth)
• Programming Partner : $250 to $499 (social media thanks, logo on website, logo placement on team apparel, sponsor list at booth)
• Engineering Energizer : $500 to $999 (social media thanks, logo on website, logo placement on team apparel, logo placement at FIRST World Robotics Championship in Houston displayed at booth)
• Innovation Inspiration : $1000+ (social media thanks, logo on website, logo placement on team apparel, larger logo placement at FIRST World Robotics Championship in Houston displayed at booth, framed photo of team at the event, newspaper ad thanks)

GoFundMe – for donations under $250

 https://www.GoFundMe.com/RoboScoutSquad2020

Checks under $250 can also be given to the coaches or parents written to “Girl Scout Troop 3709”.  Checks can also be mailed to 113 Indian Trail Rd, Kalispell, MT 59901. 

Donations of $250 or more

If you’d like to donate $250 or more, or would like a tax letter/receipt please write the check out to “GSMW” with a note of “RoboScout Squad” and include your name, address and phone number.  Checks can be mailed to 113 Indian Trail Rd, Kalispell MT, 59901.  We will forward the check to “GSMW” (Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming) with the appropriate paperwork, they will send you a tax letter and deposit 100% of the funds into our team bank account.

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Other Avenues Coming Soon!!!

Raffle Tickets

Spaghetti Feed

Pint Night(s)

Restaurant Night(s)

Contact Us: