We're proud to support the high school robotics team in North Brunswick, NJ, our home town. It's a well-known fact that America has been lagging in science and engineering education. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), the non-profit organization founded by Dean Kamen, provides high school students with a structured, competitive framework modeled on real-world engineering challenges. The smart, motivated kids of the award-winning Raider Robotix team, embodying the principles of FIRST, work hard and play to win and it shows; their storied awards record includes two World Championships. Wishniak, LLC founder Rick Plavnicky is one of several team mentors and worked hands-on with the team before relocating to Florida. Today he continues to support the team to the extent distance allows. Wishniak, LLC sometimes provides bits of funding, too.
Wishniak, LLC donates hosting and bandwidth to two neighborhoods, providing residents with micro-local news and information. The first was initiated as a personal project by our founder almost two decades ago. The effort was folded into the Company's operations when we acquired the timeoff.org domain. In 2011 we added our second neighborhood.
An off-season fundraising activity created by the Raider Robotix team, this popular summer workshop provides middle-school kids with a program of daily LEGO-based robot-building challenges. Wishniak, LLC donated time, personnel and money to organize and host the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 programs. When we relocated to Florida in early 2013, we necessarily stepped down into a leadership/consultative-only role as we passed the reigns to local (New Jersey) volunteers.