Time is running out for the CK Cyber Pack to finish building for the upcoming FIRST Robotics Competition.
Adult lead mentor Scott St. Amand says there are about 30 students involved in this year's competition, as well as a few adult mentors.
This year the CK Cyber Pack will create a lifting mechanism that pulls a robot 5 ft off the ground.
At this point, St. Amand says they're working on finalizing the design and building stage.
However, they're currently facing a financial issue.
"Our budget is at almost $15,000 per year," says St. Amand. "This year we're running a deficit of about $3,000 currently just to finish this year -- but we also have to save money for next year to start-up."
He adds start-up costs for next year is about $7,000.
To help with the financial burden, student team leader Austin Formagin created a GoFundMe page.
"We are one of seven community teams that are completely community funded," says Formagin. "All other teams are funded by schools, and school boards, or huge companies like Ford."
Formagin adds being involved in this group and working on these types of projects allows students to gain valuable skills they can take into post-secondary school.
"I've built [on my] mechanical skills if I want to go into mechanical engineering, design skills for computer-aided design and engineering; I've also built business skills, and public relation [skills]," says Formagin. "It's a great experience as a student."
The deadline for building is February 20. After that, the Ck Cyber Pack will get ready for their first competition in Waterloo on March 23.
Anyone willing to donate to the CK Cyber Pack can visit the GoFundMe page by clicking here.
(Video courtesy of Union Gas via YouTube.)