Outreach

OUTREACH
-COMMUNITY- FUNDRAISING - PARTNERSHIPS -

ULTIMATE Robotics seeks out projects where it can be of service to the community of Laredo, Texas. However, it is not limited to our town, or our nation. Being a border town, our projects also affect people in the surrounding area, including our sister city, Nuevo Laredo, in Mexico. Our limitations on traveling there do not limit our ability to help out.
COMMUNITY

Magnet Power Wind Turbine Project (Work In Progress) ULTIMATE is using its technical skills and facilities to build two wind turbines mostly from locally accessible parts. We will also write a set of plans in English and Spanish to be used by people living in Las Colonias, an area of our community without access to the power grid. In partnership with a high school in a nearby school district whom we hope to encourage towards participation in FIRST, as well as the Texas A&M Experimental Extension Station in this two year project.
People En Español In May 2007, People en Español contacted ULTIMATE due to our involvement and feature in the PBS, Bold Visions Women in Science Engineering & Technology documentary. The women on the team were interviewed and given the opportunity to appear in the December 2007 issue.
Elementary Presentation To introduce kids to the importance of engineering; over 100 third graders from Matias de Llano Elementary attended a presentation on the importance of robots. They participated in a variety of games and activities that emphasized the importance of team work, education, and technology. The children came away with a better understanding of the role robots play in their daily lives.
Laredo Community College Family Fun Fest For the past two years, ULTIMATE enlisted the help of such "celebrities" such as Tigger, Elmo, and Pooh to help promote the visions of FIRST. Kids also learned about our FIRST LEGO League program, FRC, and the BEST competition. Engineering was the focus within a fun surrounding. Kids built robots of their own from LEGOs and constructed prototype robot arms using popsicle sticks, brads, spoons and such. Also, demonstrations using LEGO Robots were shown.
Bold Visions: Women in Science & Technology Last year, ULTIMATE embarked on its biggest community project yet: the Magnet Power Project. The activity is sponsored in part by the Texas A&M Texas Engineering Experimentation Station, Cigarroa High School Magnet (META)l, and the State Energy Conservation Office. Last May, the team completed the first phase of the project which included the complete installation of two fully-functional wind turbines. While doing so, Creative Expressions Productions from New York City traveled to our city to film a documentary on the involvement of the Wind Turbine Project. The documentary is airing on PBS and ATP in 31 states of the union.
FIRST LEGO League Team 3339 For the second year in a row, ULTIMATE has housed and mentored team 3339. Over 30 elementary and middle school students from all over Laredo participated. Our team is working to expand the LEGO league program with support from our local university, Texas A&M International University.
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Jr. Chapter As a means to attract new students to the fields of engineering and technology, our team has established a junior chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Our affiliate, Texas A&M University Chapter, sponsored members of our team for a visit to their campus, the Dwight College of Engineering. They also sponsored some of our eleventh grade members to the National SHPE Conference in Denver, Colorado.
FIRST Vex Challenge Team 3079 In order to introduce our freshmen to robotics with the skills needed to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition, our team started Vex Team 3079, all 92 freshmen in the magnet program enrolled in Tech Systems class participated during both Spring and Fall semesters, students were divided into teams, and the best one successfully participated in the Arlington Championship Tournament. Mrs Maggie Powell and other ULTIMATE Members volunteered their time to mentor some of the groups
Middle School Recruitment Presentations Members of the ULTIMATE Robotics Team traveled to all eight middle schools in our area to recruit for our Magnet program. Potential members were reached with the possibility of joining the only FIRST Robotics Team in our area by choosing to come to United High School.
Robotics Open House The next step in our recruitment efforts, is our robotics open house, during this event, all eight graders accepted to the United Magnet were invited to our school to see a presentation and demonstration of our robot. The event took place during the month of April in order to convince freshmen who have been accepted to the different magnet schools to come and join our team, the event was a total success; UISD administrators, the media, and over 70 incoming freshmen and their families attended the event.
Robotics Community Awareness Night For the first time ever, ULTIMATE will host a Community Awareness Night. During the event, local political figures including Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas, UISD administrators and board members, local engineers, and the media will see a robot demonstration and a presentation on the importance of our team for the betterment of Laredo's community. Team ULTIMATE is scheduled to receive a formal proclamation from the Mayor of Laredo.
Board Recognition Ceremony The ceremony which will take place the day we leave for competition. The school board will recognize team ULTIMATE for their achievements and success throughout the 2006-2007 season.
FUNDRAISING

Ice Cream Sale The area our team is located in is well-known for scorching temperatures. So, the ULTIMATE team decided to put this factor to good use. Our team members volunteer to sell ice cream, popsicles, and other frozen treats during lunch and after school. This fundraising effort has proven to be very successful. So far we have made profit of about $6,600 in one year alone!
Football Concession Stands Thanks to our school's incredibly popular football team, ULTIMATE made a profit of about $3,000 last football season by managing the concessions stand at local games. Our school principal Mr. Alberto Aleman has given us the opportunity to sell drinks, candy, and food items to the many people that attend. This venture has shown to be extremely successful to the team and very fulfilling to those sitting in the stands every weekend.
Monday Student Store Sale For a whole month, our team sold food during lunch to raise funds for competition. With that, it helped raise our funds another 4,000$.
Community Presentations Our team sets up many presentations for local business owners in order to obtain donations. We first setup these presentations for local banks that are well known to give generous donations in our community. These included the International Bank of Commerce, Laredo National Bank, Chase, and Falcon. From these presentations alone, we have raised about $2,000
PARTNERSHIPS
Parent Booster Club Our Parent Booster Club continues to support and help out the ULTIMATE team in various ways. Initiated in 2007, it has become one of our most valuable assets. In the most recent plate sale the booster club helped out in, we raised a total of about $4,500.
Instituto Tecnologico de Nuevo Laredo Our partner since ULTIMATE began, they have provided us with engineering mentorship and technical support.