Spotlight

‍Need:

The retirements of long-time and founding coaches combined with the graduation of experienced students, posed a significant challenge for the robotics team at Saint George's School. To further empower the students, foster their skills in robotics, and ensure the team's continued progress and success in robotics competitions, there was a pressing need for additional assistance and resources.

Action:

The PMMI Foundation, the charitable foundation of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, took action by providing a matching grant through the PMMI U Skills Fund to support the growth and development of the Saint George's School robotics team. With the assistance provided, Saint George's School addressed several crucial requirements to enhance its robotics program.

Having recognized the advantage of separate robots for prototyping and practice driving - the grant enabled Saint George’s School to acquire a second set of swerve drives. Furthermore, the funds were invested in essential raw materials, technology, and equipment, bolstering their manufacturing capabilities. An exciting development, made possible by the grant, was the acquisition of a cutting-edge 3D Carbon Printer, empowering the team to print Carbon Fiber and various other materials, and revolutionizing their design and production possibilities.

Result:

With the support of the PMMI Foundation through the PMMI U Skills Fund, these new resources played a crucial role in advancing the students' knowledge, allowing them to evolve and compete at a high level throughout the season.

What Can You Do:

PMMI demonstrated its commitment to empowering Saint George’s School robotics team and enabling them to overcome the challenges they faced, supporting their continued progress and success.

Any PMMI member can have these types of results for your local schools. Created by PMMI, the PMMI U Skills Fund is a resource intended to help you form meaningful partnerships with regional two- to four-year colleges, universities, and/or technical/vocational schools, as well as other educational programs in your area. The PMMI U Skills Fund will match your company’s contributions up to $50,000 per year to fund regional education programs of your choice. Whether you partner with a school to help strengthen an industry-related program, join forces with a STEM summer camp, coordinate a group of students to bring to PACK EXPO, or choose to invest in the future workforce in multiple ways throughout the year, the PMMI U Skills Fund is here to assist you with the financial obligations that come from these types of initiatives. For more information and to apply, contact Kate Fiorianti, senior manager, workforce development, PMMI at kate@pmmi.org or 571.266.4406.