Intentional Innovation Foundation (IIF) transforms students and our community into evangelists for science and technology by providing them life-changing opportunities to experience science and math as a thrilling, challenging competition and by operating and sponsoring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education activities on the Virginia Peninsula. Our specific missions:
1. We mentor and support the ongoing operations of Triple Helix, the Menchville High School Robotics Team in Newport News, VA.
2. We are the presenting sponsor of the Rumble in the Roads, an annual community robotics tournament.
3. We are contributing sponsors for several local youth robotics teams.

IIF recognizes that developing the future engineering workforce requires a culture shift that makes engineering "cool" again. We believe that when science and math is experienced as a thrilling, challenging competition, it's a powerful tool for engaging our students and producing STEM leaders.

Shipping for Rumble in the Roads playing field

The Rumble in the Roads is an offseason FIRST Robotics Competition tournament which will feature more than 30 high school robotics teams from Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia in a day of intense competition in November 2017. The fourth-annual event is a collaboration between three Hampton Roads FRC teams, including two teams in Newport News, with contributing sponsorship from corporations, small businesses, and universities on the Virginia Peninsula.

Intentional Innovation Foundation is a contributing sponsor to the Hines Middle School FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams and the Lee Hall Elementary School FLL team, providing funds to enable the purchase of equipment and registration for competition. In 2016 Triple Helix donated robotics equipment to the new FLL team at Warwick River Christian School and provided mentor support, technical resources, equipment, and developmental competition experiences to the FRC team at the Heritage High School Governor’s STEM Academy. At the conclusion of the most recent season, Lee Hall coach Matt Wilbur stated, “Thanks for the FLL team support this year. We ended up 2nd overall in Division I at the Norview tournament. The kids also did well with their project presentation, and…they got very high marks for that and were in the running for an award. Overall, I think that it was a very successful season for the team.”

Triple Helix maintains a strong relationship with these Peninsula organizations as we continue to spread a passion for STEM learning throughout our community:
-- Junior Woman’s Club of Hilton Village (students and parents support the club’s annual dinner theater event by serving as waiting staff)
-- Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering (CHROME) club at FIRST Baptist Church Denbigh (the team conducts an annual demo for the K-8th grade students)
-- Peninsula Jaycees (the team conducts an annual demo for the 6-8th grade girls)
-- AFCEA Tidewater (the team participates in the annual social and networking event at Langley AFB)
-- Virginia Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament (the team provides setup and teardown volunteers)
-- Salvation Army (our students ring bells in Newport News each December)

Intentional Innovation Foundation will use the requested funds to pay all shipping costs for the official FIRST Steamworks playing field used at the Rumble in the Roads. The field is provided, at no charge, by FIRST Chesapeake in Mechanicsville, VA.

The Rumble in the Roads strengthens and grows existing local FIRST Robotics Competition teams by providing them an experience that simulates a regular-season competition. With this opportunity to practice, these teams of high schoolers will be more competitive in the next intense build and competition season because they will better understand the mechanics of a tournament. Our experience in the FIRST Robotics Competition has convinced us of a strong link between team competitiveness and multi-year sustainability.

Some attendees of the Rumble in the Roads are pre-rookie teams, which plan to enter FIRST for the first time in the upcoming season. To help these teams acclimate to competition, event managers pair them with veteran teams who share knowledge, experience, and resources like drive teams, pit crew members, and drivetrains. Their registration fee is also waived.

Currently registered for the November 2017 Rumble in the Roads are 5 Hampton Roads teams, including 3 from the Virginia Peninsula.

The FIRST Robotics Competition is an effective mentor-based program in which young people discover and develop a passion for science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM). The Rumble in the Roads is one venue where these students will win recognition, gain self-confidence, develop people and life skills, make new friends, and perhaps discover an unforeseen career path. Community-led events like the Rumble in the Roads give students the opportunity for year-round engagement and exposure to unique engineering learning opportunities; the Rumble is the only event of its kind in Hampton Roads.

The Virginia Peninsula will benefit by a bolstered and diverse new community of scientists, engineers, and technologists. Rumble in the Roads competitors like Triple Helix have been recognized for their leadership in successfully encouraging young women to pursue higher levels of education and STEM careers by increasing the participation of female students, encouraging their role in leadership positions, and providing opportunities to become engaged in the engineering design process. Menchville HS principal Bobby Surry often cites Triple Helix as the school’s most powerful “magnet” for attracting high performing students from around the school district and providing avenues for them to succeed. 92% of Triple Helix students pursue college educations, with 80% pursuing STEM-related careers. Graduating seniors have reported that their Triple Helix Robotics experiences award them “a glimpse into the type of job I want to have professionally, a more complete understanding of project management, friendships that I will never forget, and leadership skills to take into college and the workplace.” Students leave the team with “valuable relationships with mentors who work in industry” and “the confidence to pursue an engineering degree!”

The fourth-annual Rumble in the Roads is a collaboration between these groups:
-- Triple Helix, FRC Team 2363, Menchville High School, Newport News (provides overall event management, conducts most volunteer recruitment, handles team registration)
-- Blackwater Robotics, FRC Team 1610, Franklin (provides certain key volunteers, runs and maintains event website)
-- CAT 5 CyberCanes, FRC Team 5957, Heritage High School Governor’s STEM Academy (liaises with venue)

While simultaneously competing in the tournament, all three of these teams provide volunteer labor to execute the event; they are a significant fraction of the 70+ volunteers needed for event success.

The majority of the event planning is conducted in email and via chat-based collaboration tools including Slack and Google Hangouts. Shortly before the event, groups of key volunteers are briefed in a series of meetings conducted by video chat.