Change Makers

We are a team of volunteers at the nonprofit program called Chess Without Borders. Our group of youth and adult mentors work together to direct humanitarian service projects since 1999. The program combines learning chess with service and philanthropy. We are a group of enthusiastic volunteers who have reaped rich and unexpected rewards from engaging in long standing service projects. The inspiration for this work came from following the example of Sam Oliver, a dedicated community volunteer who has made a deep impression on the many lives she has touched through her years of humanitarian service. Service learning is a creative, powerful, educational experience bringing rich dividends for both the givers and receivers. We hope to transform the existing program into a national digital product making it possible for users to create or participate in service projects locally as well as globally. The app will list the programs that need help and the volunteers will sign up matching their service with their choice of time and service. After the service ends the volunteer can describe the impact of the service and document the time of service.

From preliminary research it is evident that few such applications are available. Yet such a program can transform service learning into a data driven documented experience that can be used by hundreds of nonprofit programs or companies to find volunteers and for volunteers to find the projects of their choice. The impact of their service will be useful to all parties concerned as well as schools, colleges and learning institutions that support service learning by giving students credit for their work.

Making the service learning process digital can help volunteers select projects from a global roster of needs identified on the app. For example, if a program wanted to raise funds for a charity in India that was listed on the app they can raise funds or contact them and create a project in the US or anywhere in the world to support them.

Many opportunities become possible when creative people come together. This app includes youth who are curious and entrepreneurial by nature and use service learning as an educational adventure.

Watch this short video to see how youth were impacted through service:

The product will be made in partnership with Juicedapps, an app design and development company based in New York. For information www.juicedapps.com

Youth Team

Nabeel Rasheed, Eleanore van Marwijk Kooy, Tobias Schwartz, Prashanth and Pranav Ramachandra, Rohan and Vishal Ahuja, Siddharth Gehlaut, Ethan Gagliano, Aryan and Ayushi Shah, Sanjaya and Sahitya Maheshwaram and Jack and Jane Bradley, Sophia Cai, Prathik Kandimalla and Jeeven Srivastava

Adult mentors

Zein Bertacchi and Dr Kiran Frey

Please feel free to give us feedback on your ideas for our project. We are exploring methods to deliver the best product possible to advance service learning.

Dr Kiran Frey