In today’s society, many people are often quick to demonize the idea of private companies, large corporations and capitalism in general. According to an article by the Hill published in 2021, 46% of 18 to 34 year olds have a negative view of capitalism. And while it is possible that there is some merit to that sentiment, it must be acknowledged that corporations also do a lot of good for society. For the last 14 years, I have been part of an organization called FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” FIRST is an international non-profit that works to provide pre-k through high school students with engaging, hands-on robotics programs that excite them about STEM and teach them life skills. FIRST is a phenomenal organization that has impacted the lives of many students, including myself. However, FIRST as an organization and many FIRST teams are largely propped up by the support of corporations.
One example of a corporation that has supported the FIRST programs is Sikorsky, an aircraft manufacturer and a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin provides high school FIRST robotics teams money if they have a mentor who is part of the company. While I cannot say the company’s exact rationale for this, I imagine they do it to get their name out to youth who could one day be employees, reward employees for doing good or just to make a positive impact on the community. My team in Wolcott had many mentors who worked at the company, and therefore received both financial support and mentor aid from Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky. This helps give students the ability to learn from industry experts and helps teams through the grants they receive.
Another example is Raytheon Technologies, which has several subsidiaries in Connecticut, including avionics company Collins Aerospace and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. Raytheon Technologies follows a similar funding model to Lockheed Martin. The grants that the company provides are substantial, and go a long way to monetarily help the teams. OTIS Elevator is a third example that has recently started several FIRST teams for young students in Bristol.
One could argue that these companies are doing this for selfish reasons. For example, there are a lot of alumni from my high school’s robotics team who went on to work for Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky. Therefore, the company benefits from supporting these teams as a means of recruiting to potentially attract quality employees. That being said, it doesn’t diminish the fact that Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky is still doing a good thing for the community. Many of the people I know who graduated from my high school’s robotics team and work at either of these companies participate in the program as mentors.
To be clear, this is not a defense of all corporate activities. Many of these companies do not engage in business that is intrinsically beneficial to society. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies are defense companies, and whether you think they help or hurt society, they benefit from war. This article is not to say that doing good is an absolution of any wrongdoing a company may have done; rather it is to show that despite a negative sentiment toward corporate America, companies are still capable of having a positive impact.
Overall, FIRST is a program that works to do good by giving students a place to learn real-world skills, work with industry professionals and get excited about science and technology. But such a program is expensive, both for FIRST as an organization and for the individual teams who compete. For that reason, it takes the support of larger corporations to back the program and make an impactful experience for students possible. This argument is not meant to portray corporate America as the hero—there are certainly companies that could be making more positive contributions to their communities. Rather, it is meant to show that many of these larger companies do financially back community enrichment that results in a lot of good, including the efforts that FIRST makes. So maybe they aren’t entirely evil.