Genius Garage

In 2023, Genius Garage followed the 2022 shift in strategy by spending more focused effort on a smaller group of students, allowing more one-on-one mentoring and teaching. We started the year by preparing the lotus formula car project as well as the daytona prototype which provided the students with a great opportunity for chassis restoration and engine-building skills. With the purchase of the 1997 dodge viper in 2022, we initiated a fundraising sweepstakes to create a more sustainable donation model. Unfortunately, due to the high costs of advertising, a majority of our raised funds were insufficient to cover the cost of the car, so the viper was defaulted back to the original funder and the winner of the sweepstakes was issued a check as an alternative. The team participated in multiple events this year including the vintage races at road america and the m1 concourse where the team ran both the lotus formula car and the daytona prototype. The lotus provided multiple engineering challenges for our students throughout the year and will continue to do so for future students. We also accepted a new young student to the design program where we are focusing on the indycar project as well as the go-kart initiative. By sparking the interest in these younger students, students learn the value of philanthropy and have been encouraged to continue the cycle and give back to their community. Lthough the past few years have been challenging for the program, the students were still given as many opportunities as possible, with many of them getting relevant and fulfilling jobs in the workforce.