Thanks to a grant from the local Ronald McDonald House Charities, the T-Bots are now on more even footing with other, larger schools. This summer, with the help of Jason Sadowski, the T-Bots were given a grant of $10,000.

“I was at McDonald’s, and I was eating before I headed over to work. I saw a group of people in suits walking around, so I figured they must have been some sort of important group,” senior chief public relations officer Matthew Crawford said. “I didn’t know it was Mr. Sadowski.”

The grant started with a chance meeting at a local McDonald’s between Crawford and Sadowski. After over a year of communication between Sadowski and the T-Bots, the grant was finally written by T-Bots mentor Nathan Upchurch. The grant was approved by the local branch of the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“I go to McDonald’s a lot, probably too much to be healthy, and people always make fun of me for going there,” Crawford said. “Now I can tell them that my McDonald’s paid off.”

The money will pay off by going to some much needed items for the team: a 3D printer, a rolling tool chest and various tools.

“The money for the tools and tool chest is greatly appreciated,” junior chief creative officer Alex Markham said. “It’ll help a lot with organization.”

As the man in charge of the design and development of the robots, Markham has felt the need for the new equipment directly. With tools like a 3D printer, the team will be able to make parts for the robot immediately, instead of ordering them. The benefits are not solely for the members of the robotics team, either.

“We feel a responsibility to share the engineering knowledge that we are exposed to with as many people in our community as possible,” senior chief executives officer Selwin George said. “[This] has been our mission.”

For three years in a row there have been robotics workshops held at the Texarkana Public Library. The grant money does not go directly to these workshops, but it will offer more opportunities for everyone involved. While the team itself is not changing, with the grant, they will be able to expand their program and efforts.

“If I had to describe what we’re going to do with the grant,” George said. “It’s going to be do what we do as T-Bots, just $10,000 better.”