Youth Volunteers Host the Ex-prisoner Christmas Lunch Again

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." — Zig Ziglar

For the last 8 years youth volunteers at Chess Without Borders have raised funds to make it possible for 150 families of ex prisoners to enjoy a Christmas lunch and for their children to receive gifts every year. These efforts are done in collaboration with Salem United Methodist Church in Barrington. Every year in December about 15 volunteers drive to Chicago to serve lunch and share a meal while listening to inspiring testimonials of how some of them have overcome impossible odds to turn their lives around. Watch this video of the lunch from a few years ago:

For the students at Chess Without Borders the act of raising funds encourages them to understand the people they are reaching out to and how their efforts impact the lives of others. The advantage of long term projects enhances the depth of their understanding and establishes clear goals as 17 year old Sid Gehlaut said, "I already asked all my friends to donate their winter stuff from last year". Through action students also develop rare qualities of drive and empathy for the people they help, as 14 year old Ethan Gagliano told his mom during a fundraiser, "I feel more motivated when I do things for others rather than myself". Learning from service projects is not limited to youth but adults gain valuable experiences as well. With all the attention on superagers (people who lead high functioning lives at 80 and beyond) one of the top 3 traits for reaching this goal is being social and having a purpose driven life. https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/...

Service Projects also instill a sense of pride in youth as they are driven to excel as they discover skills they hardly knew they had as Paari Dhanasekaren said after a fundraiser, "I didn't realise we could raise so much money selling Zein's Magical spices". Students become highly motivated to reach goals for a project and surprisingly find unusually creative ways of raising funds. For example a few months ago students asked their mentor, a talented cook, Zein Bertacchi to "cook up something" so they could raise funds and she created her Magical Spices. Other students have explored their talents in technology and the arts to drive projects.

At Chess Without Borders youth volunteer over a period on several local and global projects and become affiliated with the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too.

The PVSA honors the volunteers who are using their time and talents to solve some of the toughest challenges facing our nation. This years honorees are Paari and Varun Dhanasekaran, Dimitri Diyadawagamage, Sophia Genega, Anthony Zhu, Srinivas Jaganath, Johnny Dawson, Jack Weed, Brennen and Joelle Moy. Since its inception in 2000 Chess Without Borders has donated over $220,000 to various charities.

Please help to make this a successful event in any way possible: by donating gently used winter clothes or toys for kids or by joining a team serving lunch in Chicago or donating money to CWB.

Reach out at chesswob@gmail.com