Stellantis Media Site FIRST Robotics Teams Gear Up for “First Stronghold” With $250,000 From FCA Foundation                                                Contact:                                                             Jon                         Malavolti                                                                                                Shawn                         Morgan                                                                                                                                                                                   FIRST Robotics Teams Gear Up for “First Stronghold” With $250,000 From FCA Foundation                                           Grants enable Arizona, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan teams to compete for robotics championship                                                                                                                                                           January 5, 2016,                                                                                                                      Auburn Hills, Mich.                                                       -                                               The FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of FCA US LLC, today announced $250,000 in grants to FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9-12) and FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7-12) teams in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. The grants will offset the costs associated with items such as registration fees, parts and materials and team apparel for an estimated 650 students.“The real-world experience that students gain through their participation in FIRST programs is invaluable in preparing students for the future,” said John Nigro, Vice President - Product Development, FCA - North America. “We are equally proud of our employees who generously give their time and skills to help mentor students and serve as competition coordinators.”    The FCA Foundation’s grant announcement coincides with the official start (Jan. 9) of the 2016 FIRST Robotics design and build season. During this six-week phase, teams will build, program and test robots with the guidance of adult mentors. It’s estimated that more than 3,100 teams comprised of 78,000+ students from around the world will compete for glory in First Stronghold, this year’s design challenge. Teams that win their regional qualifiers will compete for the 2016 FIRST Championship at the Edward Jones Dome, April 27-30, in St. Louis.VIDEO: View teaser for the 2016 FIRST Robotics Competition game: https://youtu.be/FVLdJdoKK2E “We are proud to support an organization that taps into such formidable minds and encourages deeper levels of ingenuity within the pillars of STEM,” said Lesley Slavitt, Head of Civic Engagement, FCA US LLC, and CEO of the FCA Foundation.52 FIRST Robotics Competition teams received $4,800 grants from the FCA Foundation: Arizona   Kingman High School Bionic Bulldogs, 60     Illinois   Belvidere, Belvidere North &  North Boone High School (4H) Flying Monkeys, 3352     Indiana   Lewis Cass Jr.-Sr. High School (Walton) Iron Kings, 5402 Northwestern High School (Kokomo) CyberTooths, 3940 Western High School (Russiaville) Panthertech, 292     Michigan   Almont High School Shock and Awe-sum, 4961 Ann Arbor Huron High School Rat Pack, 830 Avondale High School (Auburn Hills) RoboJackets, 3538 Berkley, Hazel Park & Shrine Catholic High Schools Da Bears, 247 Birmingham Seaholm & Birmingham Groves High Schools Maple Machine, 2960   Bishop Foley Catholic High School (Madison Heights)  Foley Freeze, 910 Bloomfield Hills High School Bionic Black Hawks, 2834 Brandon & Holly High Schools Truck Town Thunder, 68 Capac Community Schools Metal and Soul, 2604 Cardinal Mooney Catholic (Marine City) RoboSapiens, 4779 Chelsea High School Technical Difficulties, 1502 Dakota & Chippewa Valley High Schools (Macomb) Cougars, 5650 Dundee High School-Dundee ViBots, 4395 Ferndale High School IMPIS, 1025 Genesee Robotics Area Youth Team (Fenton) G.R.A.Y.T Levathons, 1322 Goodrich High School *More Martians, 494 / Martians, 70 Grand Blanc High School EngiNERDs, 2337 Gross Ile High School Wired Devils, 5498 Hartland High School Electro Eagles, 3536 Imlay City High School Spartronics, 5048 Lake Orion High School Dragons, 302 Lapeer County Ed-Tech Galaktech Invaders, 3535 Linden High School Robo Eagles, 3568 Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences (Armada) Fighting PI, 1718 Mercy High School (Farmington Hills) The Riveters, 1481 Monroe County Intermediate School District Virus, 3547 North Branch High School BroncoBots, 5201 Notre Dame Preparatory (Auburn Hills) Killer Bees, 33 Oakland Tech Northeast (Pontiac)  Juggernauts, 1 OSMTech Academy at Clarkston High School Team RUSH, 27 Our Lady of the Lakes (Waterford) Lakers, 5053 Oxford Community Schools TORC, 2137 Pontiac High School Wings of Fire, 51 Rochester Adams & Stoney Creek High Schools Adambots, 245 Rochester High School The Feds, 201 Skyline High School (Ann Arbor) Eagle Imperium, 3322 South Lake High School (St. Clair Shores) Cavbots, 5214 South Lyon Community Schools & South Lyon Robotics Flying Toasters, 3641 Southeastern High School of Technology (Detroit) Jungaleers, 4851 St. Clair High School Flurb, 5843 Stevenson, Henry Ford II & Utica High Schools Crevolution, 2851 Stoney Creek High School (Rochester Hills)  CyberCats, 5436 Trenton High School Torque-Nados, 5090 Walled Lake Schools The Monsters, 308 Warren Consolidated Schools Steel Armadillos, 818 Waterford Kettering High School The Captains, 309813 Michigan-based FIRST Tech Challenge teams received $400 grants from the FCA Foundation:  Bloomfield Hills Middle School *No Limits, 8593 / Mechanical Monkeys, 7047 Goodrich Middle School Martians, 5289 Home Middle School (Fenton) Lightning Boltz, 5954 Imlay City Middle School I-Spartans, 8615 Life Learning Community School (Ann Arbor) GearCats, 7305 Linden Middle School Roboeaglets, 7031 Marysville Middle School Jr. Vibots, 8688 North Branch Middle School *NBMS 7065, 7066, 7067 and 7068 Our Lady of the Lakes (Waterford) Lakers, 7583*Teams share a single grantAdditionally, First in Michigan was awarded a $1,600 grant to support its First Lego League program, which introduces students (grades 4-8) to the fun and excitement of science and technology; and $60,000 in grants were awarded to 12 Ontario, Canada-based FRC teams, bringing the total amount awarded by the FCA Foundation for the 2015-2016 academic year to $310,000. “Since 1995, the FCA Foundation has awarded more than $2.6 million in grants to FIRST programs,” Slavitt added.                         FCA FoundationThe FCA Foundation is the charitable arm of North American automaker FCA US LLC, a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. The FCA Foundation invests in U.S. charitable organizations and initiatives that help empower people, build strong, resilient communities and generate meaningful and measurable societal impacts. In support of these objectives, the FCA Foundation focuses on the following foundational pillars: youth development, education, support for military, veterans and their families, and community service.