Arizona, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan FIRST Robotics Teams, Students Gear Up for Competition with $250,000 from The Chrysler Foundation

Latest round of grants will enable an estimated 1,100 students to participate in FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge programs

Since 1995, The Chrysler Foundation has awarded more than $2.3 million in grants to FIRST programs

AUBURN HILLS, MI -- Dec. 15, 2014: The Chrysler Foundation today announced more than a quarter of a million dollars in grants to support students participating in FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) (grades 9-12) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) (grades 7-12) programs in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. In total, The Chrysler Foundation will distribute 47 grants valued at $250,250 to help young people discover and develop a passion for science, technology, engineering and math.

VIDEO: Students share their FIRST experiences - Student First Experiences.

"Chrysler Group's ability to compete and succeed in the future depends in part upon our ability to maintain the pipeline of students that pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers," said John Nigro, Head of NAFTA Product Development – Chrysler Group LLC. "The real-world experience that students gain through their participation in FIRST is invaluable in preparing students for the future."

The Chrysler Foundation grants – ranging from $750 to $5,000 per team – will enable an estimated 1,100 middle and high school students to participate in regional and district competitions. Subsequently, The Chrysler Foundation will award a total of $21,000 in grants to teams that advance to the 2015 FIRST Championship, April 22-25, 2015 in St. Louis, MO.

"The Chrysler Foundation is proud to play a role in helping students discover the rewards and excitement of education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math," said Jody Trapasso, Senior Vice President - External Affairs, Chrysler Group LLC and President of The Chrysler Foundation. "We are equally proud of our employees who generously give their time and skills to help mentor students and serve as competition coordinators."

The Chrysler Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to each of the following FRC teams: Format: School(s) – Team Name, Team Number

Arizona Kingman High School – Bionic Bulldogs, 60

Illinois Belvidere, Belvidere North & North Boone High Schools – Flaming Monkeys 4-H Robotics Club, 3352

Indiana Northwestern High School (Kokomo) – CyberTooth, 3940 Western High School (Russiaville) – Panthertech, 292

Michigan Almont High School – Shock and Awe-sum, 4961 Ann Arbor Huron High School – The RatPack, 830 Berkley, Hazel Park and Shrine Catholic High Schools – Da Bears, 247 Birmingham Seaholm and Birmingham Groves High Schools – Automation Nation, 2960 Bishop Foley Catholic High School (Madison Heights) – The Foley Freeze, 910 Bloomfield Hills High School – Bionic Black Hawks, 2834 Brandon and Holly High Schools – Truck Town Thunder, 68 Capac Community Schools – Metal and Soul, 2604 Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School (Marine City) – RoboSapiens, 4779 Chelsea High School – Technical Difficulties, 1502 Dundee High School – Dundee Vi-Borgs, 4395 Genesee Robotics Area Youth Team (Fenton) – GRAYT, 1322 Goodrich High School – Martians and More Martians, 494 and 70 (Note: Teams will share a single $5,000 grant) Grand Blanc High School – EngiNERDs, 2337 Hartland High School – Electro Eagles, 3536 Imlay City High School – Spartronics, 5048 Lake Orion High School – The Dragons, 302 Lapeer County Ed-Tech – Galaktech Invaders, 3535 Linden High School – RoboEagles, 3568 Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences (Armada) – Fighting Pi, 1718 Marysville High School – ViBots, 5167 Notre Dame Preparatory (Auburn Hills) – Killer Bees, 33 Oakland Tech Northeast (Pontiac) – The Juggernauts, 1 OSMTech Academy at Clarkston High School – Team RUSH, 27 Our Lady of the Lakes High School (Waterford) – Lakers, 5053 Oxford Community Schools (Oxford) – TORC, 2137 Pontiac High School – The Wings of Fire, 51 Rochester Adams and Stoney Creek High Schools (Rochester Hills) – Adambots, 245 Rochester High School (Rochester Hills) – The FEDS, 201 Skyline High School (Ann Arbor) – Eagle Imperium, 3322 South Lake High School (St. Clair Shores) – The Mighty CavBots, 5214 South Lyon Community Schools and South Lyon Robotics – The Flying Toasters, 3641 Southeastern High School of Technology (Detroit) – JungleBots, 4851 Stevenson, Henry Ford II and Utica High Schools – Crevolution, 2851 Walled Lake Schools – The Monsters, 308 Warren Consolidated Schools – Steel Armadillos, 818 Waterford Kettering High School – The Captains, 3098

The Chrysler Foundation awarded a $750 grant to each of the following FTC teams (all in Michigan): Bloomfield Hills Middle School – Mechanical Monkeys, 7047 Home Middle School (Fenton) – Lightning Boltz, 5954 Life Learning Community School (Ann Arbor) – The GearCats, 7305 Linden Middle School – Battle Blazers, 7031 Our Lady of the Lakes (Waterford) – OLL Laker Bots, 8133

Additionally, FIRST in Michigan will receive a $2,500 grant to support its FIRST LEGO League program, which introduces students (grades 4-8) to the fun and excitement of science and technology.

Additional facts about The Chrysler Foundation's support of FIRST:

In 2014, The Chrysler Foundation awarded grants to 41 U.S. and Canadian-based robotics teams. 34 of those teams were based in the United States: 1 in Arizona; 1 in Illinois; 2 in Indiana; and 30 in Michigan, which led the nation in the number of registered FIRST Robotics Teams; 14 of the 41 teams sponsored by The Chrysler Foundation (12 Michigan and 2 Canadian teams) qualified to compete in 2014 FIRST Championship. Overall, 400 teams competed in the FIRST Championship; Team RUSH, CSM Tech Academy and Clarkston High School, Clarkston, Mich., received the prestigious Championship Chairman's Award. Camron Razdar, a member of Team RUSH, was one of 10 National Dean's List Winners. 70 U.S.-based Chrysler Group employees served as FRC team mentors; employees also supported regional and district events as competition coordinators and event volunteers. Since 1995, The Chrysler Foundation, a FIRST Founding Sponsor, has invested more than $2.3 million to support FIRST programs in the United States and Canada.