The mission of FIRST isn’t just to build robots and attend competitions, but to create positive change in the community. Since 2018, Team Voltage 386 has continued to improve our community outreach efforts every year to make a difference by promoting STEAM and encouraging the next generation of leaders. We seek to spread our values and knowledge beyond our team through our outreach events and robot demonstrations, striving to be role models in our community. 

Sparky's Stupendous STEAM Camp
We have hosted Sparky’s Stupendous STEAM Camp since 2022 to encourage and involve incoming elementary and middle school students in STEAM activities. Every year, we see our camp expand to host more students from around Brevard County and include more activities to engage student interest. Participants learn technical and soft skills from the camp mentors, and are introduced to STEAM programs they can get involved with, inside and outside of FIRST. ​
Toys for Tots
We started collaborating with our local Toys for Tots distribution center in 2022 to collect and distribute toys to families in need for the holidays. In 2022, we collected 102 toys and several of our team members earned the ‘Toys for Tots Commander’s Award’ for over 20 hours of service at the distribution center. In 2023, we hosted our toy drive with Melbourne High School’s National Honor Society and collected 666 toys, continuing to volunteer at the local distribution center. In 2024, we collected 

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Beach Cleanups
Living on Brevard’s beautiful Space Coast gives us the unique opportunity of having close access to Florida’s beaches. To give back to our community and instill values of responsibility and duty, we have started beach cleanups as a monthly outreach. Starting in 2025, our team has collaborated with Keep Brevard Beautiful to clean up our beaches.

STEAM Outreach Events
When attending STEAM outreach events, we do a robot demo to teach people of all ages the concepts we use every day to build our robot. We also have two additional activities to teach other robotics-related principles. Our paper circuits consist of 2 LEDs, copper tape, a button battery, and a fun design on a paper base to teach the concept of a circuit. This is our main activity we take to STEAM outreach events, including local Maker Faires and elementary school STEAM nights. Our binary bracelets use black and white beads to represent 1s and 0s to help kids understand binary when translating their initials into ASCII.
FIRST Lego League
FIRST LEGO League hosts teams of students ages 9 to 14 who are challenged to design their own solution to current scientific problems and build robots that perform autonomous "missions." In the process, they develop valuable skills such as teamwork, responsibility, and time management, as well as discover exciting career possibilities in science and technology.  We started and have continued to mentor the FLL team #54375 Little Volt 7 for over five years. Starting in 2023, we began to mentor three more pre-existing local teams: #49997 Coral Coders , #54615 Undersea Empire, and #58761 Seas the Future. In 2024, team members helped create a new FLL team: Team #68786, the Green Goblin Galactic Guardians. Each year, the FLL teams have garnered awards in Robot Design, Core Values, Engineering Excellence, and Top Robot Scores at the Qualifier, Regional, and State levels. Since 2011, we have also hosted the FLL Voltage Challenge, now a Regional Qualifier event. Our entire team and other alumni come together to make this event a success year after year, with 17 teams participating in 2022. In 2024, we ramped up the competition, hosting it at Rockledge High School and hosting 48 teams within the span of one day. 
NASA House Team
Team Voltage became a NASA House Team during the 2023-2024 season. This gives us unique opportunities as a FIRST team, with access to the NASA build space for making parts and watching the Kickoff at Kennedy Space Center. It also allows us to collaborate with our sister team and another NASA House Team, The Pink Team 233, at various outreach events. Starting in 2024, Team Voltage has participated in the Kennedy Space Center Fall Fest, an opportunity to showcase our robot and its skills to the employees of the facility. 
Women in STEM Movie Night
Starting in 2023, Team Voltage has hosted a Women in STEM movie night. Meant to inspire young girls to pursue a career in STEM and foster involvement in our community, the event recognizes a phenomenal woman who works in a STEM and invites them to come and speak to the young audience and spark their interest in the opportunities presented to them. 

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FIRST Impact Award
Team Voltage has submitted for the FIRST Impact Award since 2018, an award that recognizes the team that is the best role model for other teams and to represent FIRST per event. Each year, the Team Operations subteam leads the process. Entirely student-led, students pitch and edit the Impact video footage, write the Executive Summaries and Impact Essay, and create an invigorating Impact Presentation to show to the judges.  

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Woodie Flowers Award and Dean's List
The Woodie Flowers Award celebrates a mentor at each FIRST event through a student-submitted essay about the mentor’s accomplishments in motivation through communication and encouraging students in developing their communication skills. Team Voltage 386 has several outstanding mentors, who all can’t be submitted and recognized for their dedication. 

In 2023, our software mentor Debbie Bernier won the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award at the Orlando Regional. Here’s what our students had to say about her:
“Her patience, encouragement and direct engagement makes a significant impact, making everyone feel comfortable to share their ideas and included in team discussions.” “Her belief in students has helped us become better communicators. She teaches us to relay our thoughts and ideas effectively, which plays an important role in our team’s efficiency.”

In 2024, our electrical mentor Joe Bernier won the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award at the Tallahassee Regional. Here’s what our students had to say about him:
“Joe is inspiring. He’s a key figurehead in creating our robot, running our events, and troubleshooting at competition, but is also approachable for students. His mentorship has given our alumni greater confidence and technical skills in the workplace and beyond. His patience and commitment stand out, making him invaluable.”


In 2025, 

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