Send Berkelium to the FRC World Championship!

Cyndia Cao is organizing this fundraiser to benefit Berkeley Public Schools Fund.

Tax deductible

It's happening: we're registered, flights are booked, and we're already making improvements to our robot so we can make a big debut! HUGE THANKS to everyone who has donated so far - our friends, family, and community members have far surpassed our expectations with their generosity.

Our initial goal just to manage all team-related costs was $15,000, and now that we've passed it, any additional funds will be split between making travel to Houston more affordable this year and additional student travel scholarships for next year. As a team that values diversity and inclusion, we are taking the current momentum to ensure that the younger members of the team will not have to choose between competitive success and financial accessibility.

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Berkelium is Berkeley High School’s FIRST robotics team, comprised of 60 students who have spent the last 10 weeks building a robot to compete, and for the first time in our team’s history, we have just qualified for the FIRST World Championships at the end of April! But we need your help to get there.

Team Berkelium is run through a 501(c)(3) non-profit that relies on both monetary and in-kind donations from generous sponsors. Our team welcomes students of all experiences, identities and backgrounds. Our mission is to provide team members with hands-on experience in STEM fields, focusing on skills such as programming, machining, design, as well as media and business management. We also encourage the development of soft skills such as leadership, teamwork and mentoring fellow students. Our team stands out at competitions, with 48% of students coming from underrepresented communities in STEM (women, BIPOC, Latinx, youth with disabilities, LGBTQIA+).

Your donation will go towards the competition registration fee ($8,000 total), robot transportation costs (~$1,000), and travel scholarships for students in need to attend the event. To be financially accessible to every member of the community, we don’t charge any sort of club fees, which is why fundraising is so vital to the team’s success.

Our team has put over 20 hours per week into building this robot over the past semester and we would love to see it compete at the highest level at the FRC World Championship. Our seniors have been dreaming about qualifying for the last four years. Now that we’ve qualified, we need all the help we can get to reach our goals!