TLC Fundraiser Benefits MVHS Robotics Team

By CRAIG HIGGINS

The Progress

The Moapa Valley High School Robotics team got a boost to its budget last Saturday, thanks to a fundraiser sponsored by Teen Leadership Corps (TLC).

A group of conscientious local middle- and high school teens, TLC is a 4H organization which works to sponsor events that help the community. In this case, a “Drive-In Movie” event brought out about 40 people for an evening of film, popcorn, and colorful glow sticks.

The event occurred on a grassy hill in back of the Clark County Fairgrounds. Event-goers brought their own lawn chairs and blankets, situating themselves in front of a padded viewscreen that resembled a bouncy-house add-on. For a small donation, the crowd enjoyed Disney’s Big Hero 6, an animated feature about a middle-school boy and his friends who develop their own robots and high-tech devices, battling evil as a sort-of ad hoc superhero team.

Energy levels peaked just prior to the showing, with random children doing cartwheels backdropped by darkening skies of early evening. Between handing out glow sticks and collecting donations, a few members of TLC discussed their organization’s community role.

Wearing a TLC t-shirt, TLC member Katelyn explained that they, “get together once a week get help for different concerns they have.” Recent sponsored events included a community mental health resource fair and the Fight the New Drug porn-awareness presentation for teens and their parents.

But last week’s fundraiser took on a sense of urgency due to MVHS robotics team’s recent triumph: an appearance at the world robotics championship held in Dallas, Texas.

According to TLC’s Shay Adams, a junior at MVHS, the team is privately funded and spent most of its annual budget getting to the competition. “We wanted to help them regain what (money) they’ve spent by going to that tournament,” Shay said.

TLC also plans a second fundraiser for the team which will occur later in the summer. “The second one will be a water day,” Shay said. “There will be games involving water … mostly sprinklers. (We’re) trying to cooperate with the temperatures in the Valley in planning activities.”

As the film began, MVHS Robotics team member Isaac Thompson thanked the crowd for their continuing assistance. “We really couldn’t do it (have robotics) without the support of the community,” he said.

The future roboticist then sat down near the screen as the movie started.
With the crowd curling glow sticks into colorful bracelets, a kid on screen defeated a mobster with nothing but a set of gyros and magnets topped by a cartoonish face with a goofy grin. While Big Hero 6 takes place in a big city, there’s no telling what dreams may have taken off here in the Valley thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of the youth, both in their building skills and community outreach.