Cybertronic Penguinz is a FIRST robotics (new window) team located in Calgary, Alberta. With 10 team members ranging from grade 8 to 10, the team builds robots that compete in competitions across the province.

A big part of the club is also about giving back to the community. So, when they learned about the Clubs That Care (new window) initiative, and the opportunity to build assistive devices for Canadians with disabilities, it made a lot of sense to get involved.

“It’s really important for us, because we’re pretty fortunate to be able to do what we do,” says Ken, a grade 10 student and team captain (pictured above). “It’s really important for us to be able to make sure everybody in the community can have the same privileges as we do.”

With many of the skills — like 3D printing and soldering — overlapping between robotics and building devices, it was a perfect fit. With the Clubs That Care micro-grant, the team was able to purchase another 3D printer, filament, and the materials they needed to run build events.

For their first event, the Cybertronic Penguinz worked together to adapt 10 toys. For their second event, the team opened it up to the public and built 20 switches.

“We enjoyed it,” Ken says about the team’s build events. “It was fun — quite relaxing compared to robotics.”

Ken, who plans on going into medicine in the future, says he “most definitely” recommends Clubs That Care to other youth leaders who are looking to make a difference, noting that the Makers Making Change (new window) team was “very supportive” through the whole process.

With 30 devices under their belt, the Cybertronic Penguinz are just getting started, with the club planning to do more device builds when the robotics season ends.

This post originally appeared on the Makers Making Change (new window) website.