Social Investment from Exelon to Chess Without Borders

The nonprofit program, Chess Without Borders received a $10,000 grant from Exelon to continue its unique mission of combining chess education with service and philanthropy.

From its inception in 1999, Chess Without Borders has challenged itself to developing intellectual and emotional skills through learning chess. In 2006 Grandmaster Yury Shulman joined the program continuing to invest in helping youth volunteers discover their talents and use their creativity to raise funds for charities. After years of service some of these teenage volunteers qualify to attend the Youth UN Assembly each year where they meet other youth leaders from around the world.

The program has raised $156,000 for local and global charities demonstrating the difference youth can make in the world when they stay alert to issues around them and work within a team. The volunteers are a diverse group of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities and religions. Chess Without Borders is deeply integrated in local communities creating many leadership opportunities. Last month a chess tournament was held at Roslyn Elementary School in Barrington where funds from food sales were donated to buying outerwear for students at Sunny Hill Elementary school. Elementary school student Milana Carse led the project. The tournament before that held at Countryside School raised funds for protecting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Middle School students Pranav and Prashanth Ramachandra studied this problem and shared a 5-minute introduction on this subject at the tournament.

In addition to short-term projects for the last 10 years Chess Without Borders supports a computer center in the Sarika Vihar slums of Delhi, India. As a result, over 300 youth who would never have access to computers now have a chance to learn technology. Station Middle School student Ethan Gagliano volunteered to lead a long distance project for bringing more tech education to these children from the slums.

Ten years ago, District 220 alum, Nina Sethi was volunteering in India as a teacher when she met 4-year-old Meher who was badly burned in a fire. Nina invited Chess Without Borders to help Meher receive medical help. Volunteers Maggie Gruber Black, Brian Gruber and Drs Pradip Sethi and Kiran Frey traveled to India to meet Meher. Her intelligence and spirit in spite of her deformity convinced the volunteers that corrective surgery would alleviate some of her physical handicaps. Chess Without Borders embarked on a journey to raise funds for her plastic surgery and to support her education. Since 2008 many other volunteers have visited Meher and the Maggie Gruber Computer Center In India allowing an exchange of ideas and a unique learning environment.

This journey of reaching out beyond all borders has transformed many lives both at home and in India.

This gift from Exelon will be used to continue support for the humanitarian work as well as bring chess to underprivileged schools.

A chess program for behaviorally disturbed youth at Riverside Psychiatric Hospital has helped to reduce anxiety and bring focus to a population in need of innovative techniques for treatment. This gift allows continuation of this program. Other chess programs are planned and are in the process of being implemented.

If anyone has creative ideas or would like to travel to India and visit Meher or the computer center please email Kiran Frey @chesswob.gmail.com

www.shulmanchess.com

Presidential Award Winning Youth Volunteers who make these programs possible are: Toby Schwartz, Ethan Gagliano, Pranav and Prashant Ramachandra, Prathik Kandimalla, Jack and Jane Bradley, Vishal and Rohan Ahuja, Eleanore van Marwijk Kooy, Aryan and Ayushi Shah, Jack Giordano, Abhijeet Gehlaut, Nabeel Rasheed, Sanjaya and Sahitya Maheswaram, Arnav and Adu Batta, Dominic Oetinger, Stephen Zhu, Veer Gupta and Duniya Diyadawagamage.

Welcome to our new volunteers Jessica Suh, Joelle and Brennen Moy, Divine Mugawa who will join the award winning team

Dr Kiran Frey

Eleanore van Marjwik Kooy