Bottles-4-Bots: Burlington’s newest robotics organization to host bottle drive fundraiser

Burlington Community Robotics (BCR) will be running its first fundraiser on Saturday, July 6, with the Bottles-4-Bots bottle drive to support the new organization.

Volunteers will collect empty alcohol cans and bottles from houses that affix the group’s yellow flyer to their front door and place empties on the front porch, or they can be dropped off at 4401 Corporate Dr. Unit 6, Burlington Auto Works, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The organization is hoping to raise $8,000 through the bottle drive to cover the startup costs of the community-wide robotics group.

BCR was founded in May 2024 after M.M. Robinson High School ended its robotics program. Mentors who took part in teaching the students and helping them compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition through the high school wanted to continue giving students a chance to learn STEM skills in a hands-on environment,

“As mentors, we didn’t want to see that opportunity lost,” Jason Patel, one of the directors at BCR, said. “Most of our mentors are either alumni of the program themselves, or parents who have seen the positive impact that being part of the team has had on their children. We’ve all made FIRST Robotics a priority in our lives each year because we see the opportunities, skills, and experiences it gives the students. It was natural for us to want to see the program continue.”

The M.M. Robinson team was seeded first in its field at the World Championships this year and finished as a top-50, globally-ranked team.

The high school was one of only three schools in Burlington to have a FIRST Robotics Competition team, leaving six schools without an opportunity to participate. BCR will give students across the city a chance to take part in hands-on learning even if their school doesn’t have a team.

BCR is hoping that the bottle drive will help to overcome the biggest hurdles the organization currently faces.

“The biggest challenge in establishing a community team is finding and equipping a space to run the program from,” Patel said. “To provide hands-on learning experiences that will prepare students for the technology they may encounter in the workplace, we need industry-standard machinery and tools and a space to house them. The good news is that for the most part, this is a one-time startup cost. From our past 17 years of running a team, we know that the program is financially maintainable once it’s up and going.”

The team has more than 120 years of combined experience between the mentors and volunteers in the robotics field.

With the new team being open to students from all over Burlington, Patel hopes to reach new people and make the robotics community larger.

“Our team has always operated as an inclusive space where all students can pursue or discover their passion for STEM,” he said. “There is a place for everyone on our team, and we are thrilled about the prospect of being able to grow our reach to more students.”

BCR is also taking donations through their website for anyone who wants to support the organization but doesn’t have any bottles to donate.

Learn more here.