Community Outreach
We are a family driven by our value of community in the Cedar Valley. To show our passion, we make sure to emphasize the importance of STEM through our displays, showcases, and volunteering events.
CMS
John Deere’s Engineers Week
February 15, 2024
Members of the Swartdogs had the opportunity to tour John Deere’s facilities with employees. Students also shared their knowledge and memories of robotics with the employees there.
Hosting Hansen FLL Team
Deceber 13, 2023
Conferences interfered with one of our local FLL Explore Team’s competition so we hosted them at our buildsite. We listened to their presentation, demoed our robot, showed our buildsite, and celebrated with them.
FLL Explore Expo
December 30, 2023
Teammates from our team ran concessions, a robot demo, and field reset. We also partnered with FLL Explore teams while they had their competition and showed them what FTC and FRC had to offer.
Trunk or Treat
October 29, 2023
Our team joined other CFHS clubs and students to hand out candy to our community for Halloween. Our trunk theme was Swart-zombies and we ended up being voted in the top 3 for best trunk.
Fall Can Drive
September 16, 2023
At our annual Fall can drive we worked hard to raise money for our competition season. We encouraged our community to recycle their cans and bottles for us to sort.
Back to School Nights
August 21, 2023
Swartdogs displayed past robots to students at our local junior high schools for their back to school night. We also answered questions asked and spread the word about FIRST programs in our community.
Camp Liberty
July 11, 2023
Our team visited Girls Scouts Camp Liberty where our Head Coach and team member are camp counselors. At the camp we presented information to help the campers gain their Junior Robotics Badge. The campers also actively interacted with our robot by driving and analyzing the mechanics and also talking with team members through a meal.
Sturgis Falls
June 25, 2023
We attended our annual city celebration where we got to interact with community members along with our local FTC teams. Directly talking to visitors and showing them first hand STEM. Kids who were interested in driving our robot were also able to interact with the robot.
Camp Invention
June 13th, 2023
Our team chatted with 4th-6th graders at Lincoln Elementary. This gave us a chance to talk to many kids curious about STEM and the varying aspects of robotics. Answering every question concerning our robot and game for the year. Lastly, the students were able to operate the robot and see the robot up close.
ELP Fair
May 23, 2023
Demoing our robot at our school’s ELP Fair allowed us to interact with young minds who may be interested in joining FRC in the future.
Open House For Community Members
May 22, 2023
We hosted an open house where we got the opportunity to interact with families, potential sponsors, and community members with the goal of making them aware of what we have accomplished as a team.
FTC to Buildsite
May 8, 2023
We invited our local FTC teams to get a tour of our buildsite, drive our robot, and play a fun bingo scavenger hunt game!
Volunteering at NEIFB
May 4, 2023
By volunteering at our local food bank we were able to package 871 pounds of cereal which will be given out to families in our community in need.
FLL Explore Expos
April 25-26, 2023
We ran 2 FLL Explore Expos as a way to connect with our FLL students. We also demonstrated our robot for these students and taught them how to drive it.
9th Grade Orientation
April 17, 2023
We had a blast demonstrating our robot for 9th graders at our high schools orientation!
STEM Fair
March 21, 2023
NEED TO WRITE STILL
John Deere’s Engineers Week
February 21, 2023
By attending John Deere’s Engineering Week we were able to interact with one of our biggest sponsors and other FIRST teams.
Charged Up Kickoff
January 7, 2023
Holding a local kickoff paired with our sessions around topics such as programming, awards, and game strategy was a great way to excite students and mentors alike for the new season!
FRC Team 8737 Visits Buildsite
January 6, 2023
When FRC Team 8737 arrived in Cedar Falls a day early for the new season kickoff, they got in touch with us and asked to have a tour of our buildsite.
FTC League Meet
December 10, 2022
Having a presence at our local FTC League Meet helps students know what their next step might be in FIRST. It also serves as a fundraising opportunity for us through our concession stand.
FLL Explore Expo
December 10, 2022
We ran an FLL Explore Expo for our FLL students so they were able to showcase their hard work to their parents.
FLL Regional Qualifier
December 3, 2022
Running the annual Regional FLL Qualifier for our FLL students allows us to create a space where students can showcase their hard work as well as allowing us to interact with future FRC students.
Southdale Assembly
November 29, 2022
We were able to be apart of a leadership assembly at a local elementary school to talk about our district’s leadership program, The 7 Habits of Happy Kids.
Cub Scouts Visit Doghouse
November 18, 2022
We invited a group of cub scouts to visit our buildsite and helped them to earn their Engineering Merit Badge.
Fall Can Drive
November 18, 2022
Twice a year, we host a can drive to help fund our team and encourage our community to recycle their cans and bottles.
Back to School Nights at Junior Highs
August 22, 2022
Every year, we attend both of our district’s junior high back to school nights to reach students and recruit new members.
Sturgis Falls
June 25, 2022
Every summer at our town’s celebration, we organize a FIRST demonstration so that community members of all ages can see our robot in action and learn how they can get involved.
Spring Can Drive
May 14, 2022
Twice a year, we host a can drive to help fund our team and encourage our community to recycle their cans and bottles.
FTC Visit to the Doghouse
March 3, 2022
Our Cedar Falls FTC teams came to visit to see what FRC is about.
FLL Explore Expo
December 11, 2021
We held one of several FLL Explore Expos where students served as ambassadors for teams!
FLL Regional Qualifier
December 4, 2021
We ran 2 FLL Regional Qualifiers, a morning and afternoon session. This was our 13th year of the event.
FLL Explore Build Site Visit
November 30, 2021
We had multiple FLL Explore teams visit our build site to learn more about robots and our team.
Can Drive
September 25, 2021
We collected cans from our community to fund our competition season.
LEGO Sorting
August 16, 2021
We helped our school district’s FLL Coordinators by sorting LEGO to prepare for the upcoming FLL seasons.
Boy Scouts
July 12, 2021
We showcased our robot at our local Boy Scouts camp to help them earn their Robotics Merit Badge.
Sturgis Falls Celebration
June 27, 2021
At a community celebration we have an entire area dedicated to FIRST with FTC and FRC demonstrations while we talk to our community about opportunities in the program.
9th Grade Orientation
April 27, 2021
We demonstrated our robot and talked about opportunities in FRC to the incoming 9th graders at our school.
Can Drive
April 17, 2021
We held a can drive for people around the community to drop off cans. We also offered to pick up people’s cans from their house.
FLL Recordings
February 1, 2021
We used our build site for local FLL teams to record match videos for their virtual competitions.
Western Homes
January 30, 2021
To entertain the residents of our local Western Homes, we built snow sculptures in their courtyard for Covid safe outreach.
Trunk or Treat
October 31, 2020
We handed out candy to the children of the Cedar Falls community for our schools Trunk or Treat event.
John Deere Engineering Week
February 19, 2020
Along with other FRC, FTC, and FLL teams, we demonstrated our robot during John Deere’s Engineering Week, showing John Deere employees what FIRST is about.
Lasagna Dinner
January 25, 2020
We hosted a Lasagna Dinner for our community where we served dinner and showcased 4 of our past robots. We talked with attendees about FIRST and FRC and our past achievements.
Cedar Falls Tourism Display
January 9, 2020
Cedar Falls Tourism invited us to showcase our team along with information about FRC and the Iowa Regional in one of their display cases.