40 by 40 - Good Deed 21

Last night, a friend posted on Facebook about an extraordinary group of kids from her son's school that are trying to travel to California for a world robotics competition. The group - named the Syntax Errors - competed in their first-ever competition a few weeks ago and qualified for the Vex World Championships in California in April. This the first time a team from New Mexico has been invited to the world competition, and it's the only team invited from the state this year.

What makes this group pretty special is that they come from a very small, urban, tuition-free public charter school with very limited resources. The team worked hard to build and program their robot, completing it in only 12 weeks. And here's where it gets really amazing - one-third of the students on the team qualify for Special Education.Although the Syntax Errors did not score the most points, or win the most matches, they did impress the judges with their team spirit. When there were setbacks, they persevered. When the field needed reset, they were the first to volunteer. When another alliance won the match, they were giving high-fives all around. According to the judges, the Syntax Errors exemplifies what it means to be a team. 

These kids need to raise $8000 to make this journey, so after reading the post, I immediately sent a little money their way. It wasn't much, but I hope it helps them make this trip and continue their pursuit of science, math and learning!

Read more about them (and donate to the cause, if you'd like) on their blog.