Providing Hands-On trade skill opportunities to young people.
Raffle Tickets Starting May 13, 2023
2023 WFTF/Ranken Technical College 1937 Dodge Truck Rat Rod Giveaway!
$20.00 per ticket or 6 for $100.00. Ticket Sales start MAY 13, 2023 and will go until all tickets are sold. Date of drawing TBD -- check back here
Email info@wrenchingforthefuture.com to learn where to purchase tickets.
In mid-February 2023, a group of WF1-F build team members from Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Texas descended on the Ranken campus. Throughout the course of the week, a total of more than 100 students participated and had the opportunity to work with WFTF build team members to learn skills like welding, grinding, upholstery, and wiring.
Students spent the week alongside the WFTF build team members and Ranken automotive instructors to build this one-off truck in just four and a half days. The truck got a new motor, transmission, wiring, front disc brakes, drive shaft, and upholstery, just to name a few, while the students got the hands-on opportunity to use tools they had never used before nd work in a setting typical of a trade occupation.
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Our mission is to show kids there are alternatives and to teach them to work with their hands and build cool stuff.
— Roger E Quast, Founding Board President
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Support future tradespeople
— Erin Quast, Secretary/Treasurer
In order to move our programs forward we need help from generous people like you. A recurring monetary show of support will keep WFTF working with students and keeping the trades alive!
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About Us
UPCOMING SCHOOL BUILDS:
Ranken Technical College - February 20 - 24, 2023 - St. Louis, MO
Northwest Kansas Tech - TBD Fall 2023
We are living in the digital age, where technology opens the door to a wide variety of employment opportunities for future generations. Unfortunately, the advancements in technology leave a void in the workforce that has only been amplified by the widespread removal of vocational classes in high schools. The Wrenching for the Future program is dedicated to promoting skilled labor trades, in lieu of a typical four-year college, in an effort to create more jobs for today’s youth.
The harsh reality is that a degree from a four-year college often leaves the student in a tremendous amount of debt, with a high percentage of graduates still struggling to find satisfaction in their career path. Meanwhile, skilled labor trades are in high demand, offering excellent pay and other great benefits that can provide a rewarding, lifelong career
The Wrenching for the Future organization works through a couple of different programs: Build a Rat Rod in 1 week; WFTF High School Challenge; and hopefully soon a Semi Truck/Trailer with training stations, allowing students to learn about fabrication, mechanics and upholstery, in addition to general problem-solving and creative thinking. A third program is for local mechanic shops to start clubs or workshops to teach kids about the automotive industry and give kids an opportunity to learn to use tools and work with their hands. This last program can be as easy as teaching how to change oil or as difficult as building a rat rod or restoring a car. The level of difficulty will be left up to the coordinators – we just need to see mentors teaching and they will benefit from our access to sponsor materials that are donated or other support opportunities for their local club.
The quick turn-around in most of these programs is practical for both the kids, school/shop coordinator and WFTF, and it allows for a swell of social media activity during the the time the kids are working.
When a 1 week build is finished, in some cases the vehicle is auctioned or raffled off to create a scholarship fund for prospective tech school students in the area where the build took place. A general scholarship fund has also been created and the funding comes from local donors or car shows using WFTF as a benefactor of their proceeds. While these funds help generate a scholarship program, the Wrenching for the Future organization is still in need of monetary assistance or in kind donations to be used for supplies, donor cars, transportation and other purposes along the course of each build. Sponsorship options are plentiful, as the 3 year goal is to have a semi trailer outfitted with training stations that a group of students can complete in an an afternoon and walk away with exposure to many automotive building skills.
At the end of the day, our goal is to encourage youth to participate in a hands-on build hoping that it creates a desire for a career in the automotive field or any trade for that matter. We hope you can join us on this journey to bring shop class back to America one rat rod at a time.
Scholarship Application
Wrenching For The Future is accepting scholarship applications for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Scholarship recipients will be chosen in August 2023
Guidelines
Must be entering or enrolled in an automotive or trade secondary education program at a tech school, community or junior college.
Get directions Amount
$500.00
Contact information
Current Sponsors
Do you want to see your logo here????
We need to thank these sponsors who have donated to Wrenching For The Future in an amount of $500.00 or more. Without your donations and/or sponsorships our programs are at risk. Please consider becoming a sponsor and your business identity can be seen here just like these generous folks!
Sponsorship Opportunites
There are opportunities for your company to be involved in the Wrenching for the Future program, with options for product donations, monetary sponsorships and marketing trade-outs. All contributions go directly toward enhancing the experience for the students and schools, while also providing excellent marketing exposure for your company through social media and print media.
Why you should work with us
Teaching young people how to work with their hands and with tools will ensure the future of our skilled trades and bridge the skills gap.
TESTIMONIALS:
“The week of my build was 100 mph. My car was the first build for WFTF and I kept thinking how are we gonna do this in four days? They brought kids from every class and had almost a quarter of the school helping THE WHOLE TIME, having every single kid that wanted to do something on the car there. It was awesome…a group of guys and women with a passion for cars bringing young kids together and teaching us to build cool stuff with our hands. It was the best week I’d ever had.” – Dylan J.
“My experience with the guys from Wrenching for the Future had a huge impact on my life and
career. When Wrenching for the Future came to my school and built The Ratillac with us, they
taught me a lot about wrenching and welding. The experiences I had building that rat rod
solidified my love for the trades, and welding and wrenching in particular. Those are memories I
will remember forever.” – Caleb B.
Contact Us
Wrenching For The Future is a 501c3 registered non profit charity.