Kreis Enderle Continues Its Support for STEM Education in Kalamazoo County With BBQ & BOTS for the Stryke Force Robotics Team

As part of its long-standing and ongoing “Kreis Enderle Gives Back” initiative, Kreis Enderle is proud to once again sponsor Stryke Force 4-H FIRST Robotics Team 2767, a local competitive robotics club open to all Kalamazoo-area middle and high school students, including public, private, and home-schooled students.

As a FIRST^® Robotics Competition team, Stryke Force annually challenges high-school students to raise funds, market their brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against other teams from Michigan and around the world. The program gives participants hands-on experience in computer-aided design, 3D printing, coding, and building of competition robots, which then compete in state, national, and international competitions. Stryke Force Team 2767 is a former World Champion and recently placed second in both the Kettering University All-Star Invitational and the Indiana Robotics Invitational.

Stryke Force has been actively participating in robotics since 2009 and has adapted two in-house teams for 5th and 6th graders and 7th and 8th graders, called NRG (Next Robotics Generation) and VEX. These programs teach younger students skills to help prepare them for the high school team as well as great teamwork habits they can apply to many settings. Through these three teams, Stryke Force delivers for all ages throughout the community.

On August 15, 2024, Stryke Force held a fundraising open house and BBQ, catered by Travelers Craft BBQ, at its club facilities in Kalamazoo. Several Kreis Enderle representatives and prospective members attended this fun event, which raised funds to support the team and its efforts in upcoming competitions.

Stryke Force students and mentors helped run tours throughout the building and set up several demonstrations. Attendees could view the drive team’s latest robot and a display of earlier robots, view spare robots built by the build team, check out scouting iPads, see the team’s business presentation, and even drive a prototype bot. They also displayed some past VEX robots for younger students interested in the middle school team.

The firm is proud of Team 2767’s recent successes and looks forward to many more in the years ahead. Through our “Kreis Enderle Gives Back” program, we continue to show our dedication and commitment to Stryke Force and the community. For more information about Stryke Force, please visit their website: https://www.strykeforce.org/