I am writing this month to ask for your help on an important project. Since 2011, The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) has supported FIRST® teams throughout the state with an investment of just over $1.2 million dollars. These funds have helped make the FIRST programs available in more Oregon schools, reaching nearly 9,000 students. This is less than $150/student invested from state funds, leveraged several times over through corporate donations and in-kind contributions of thousands of volunteers. 

Unfortunately, the state budget of Oregon is facing a massive $1.6B shortfall (The Oregonian, 2/22/2017). As a result, the ODE funding dedicated to FIRST programs is at serious risk of exclusion from the budget for this biennium. We need your help as citizens of Oregon in making the case to our legislators the value of this program. 

Please take a moment to express your support of FIRST programming in Oregon to your legislators. You can write a letter, place a call, or post to their Twitter or Facebook feeds. Tell them who you are and what FIRST means to you. Please contact them before April 21, and be sure to send a copy of your message to ORTOP. Find your legislators at gov.oregonlive.com/legislators. Feel free to contact me with questions or if you require assistance.  Thank you for your support, 

• A middle school student that had a hard time connecting and now is a leader.
• A high school student that had no desire to be on a robotics team and now embraces it.
• A college student that is majoring in Engineering or related field because of  FIRST .
• A successful Engineer, Programmer or Scientist that loves their job and attributes some of their skills and success to  FIRST .
• A Mentor/Volunteer/Coach that is passionate about  FIRST --  Tell us why.