You may have heard of First Tee NWA, a non-profit organization that strives to shape the lives of young people from all walks of life by reinforcing values like honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgement. I recently had the opportunity to learn about a new program they are developing. They have created the first ever First Tee Mobile Unit in NW Arkansas!
As part of their youth development program, First Tee NWA wanted a way to better help underserved communities and kids who didn’t have a way to get to their facilities. So, they developed a Mobile Unit that will go out into these communities and serve the youth right in their own neighborhoods. Eventually, First Tee NWA hopes to have several vans they can send out into the community, but this Unit is the first one to pilot the new program.
Participants will have the opportunity to interact through music, sports, classes, and meals. The program includes 4-week classes that each group of participants (15-20 youth) will get to participate in. The curriculum includes classes such as character development, social and emotional learning, and financial literacy. If any of the youth have needs the First Tee NWA program is unable to address, such as a need for counseling, the First Tee NWA team will provide connections to one of their many community partners.
A lot of work has gone into creating a Mobile Unit with all the features needed for this program. The van has been equipped with a sound system, TV, microwave, air frier, lights, play station, etc. But a unique challenge was encountered when deciding how to power the systems in the Unit. There are many power options that would work for short periods of time, but something was needed that would allow the power to last for the duration of the program activities.
At Purkeys, we had the opportunity to participate in creating this power system! Our Vice President & General Manager is involved in several community programs and he heard about the Mobile Unit and found out they were looking for a solution that would allow the Mobile Unit to be efficiently powered. As Purkeys specializes in keeping batteries charged and protected, he offered the services of our knowledgeable Engineering team to help develop a battery pack system for the Unit.
The Purkeys Engineering team very much enjoyed working on this project. They considered the power needs of the van and then created a mobile battery pack unit that will allow the Unit to run for 4-6 hours on a single charge, all without draining the vehicle batteries! When asked about their experience working on this project, the Engineers were very excited and proud to have been a part of this project and to have created such an efficient and helpful solution.
If you would like more information about how Purkeys can help keep your batteries charged and protected, contact us here.