Chessmen Club Of The North Shore Holds Annual Gala

EVANSTON, IL — The Chessmen Club of the North Shore raised over $125,000 its 32nd annual gala March 18 at the Hotel Orrington. More than 300 people attended the sold-out, black-tie event, which honored McGaw YMCA President Mark Dennis, Jr. and Tiffany Rice, founder of the Dajae Coleman Foundation, organizers said.

“Thank you to everyone who supported this year’s gala,” said Chessmen president Andre Wallace. “Through the generosity of our members and friends, the Chessmen can continue to provide needed services to the community.”

Founded in 1958, the Chessmen Club is a non-profit, volunteer run organization. It returns 95 percent of the money it raises back into the community. Money raised at the gala, the group's largest annual fundraiser, will go to scholarships for students of color, holiday food baskets for families and social programs targeting literacy and health.

The group gave special thanks to its company sponsored Chessmen Scholarships this year, including: Infrastructure and Engineering, First Bank & Trust, and Morris Barefield. (Applications for this year's Chessmen Scholarship program are due April 14.)

The gala also serves to honor local residents who make an exceptional contribution to the African-American community.

Tiffany Rice founded the Dajae Coleman Foundation (DC3F) in 2013 in honor of her late son, a 14-year-old ETHS honor student was police said was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity in 2012. Tiffany transformed her grief into good, borrowing from Dajae's most esteemed qualities to create DC3F programming including free and fun community gatherings for youth, tutoring, scholarships for African-American youth, summer reading programs exposing youth to diverse authors and books, and even a book drive this summer which gave away over 700 free books to over 200 youth.

Mark A. Dennis, Jr. is President and Chief Executive Officer of the McGaw YMCA. Prior to the McGaw YMCA, Mark served almost twelve years as the senior pastor of historic Second Baptist Church of Evanston. Currently, Mark serves on the Boards of Presbyterian Homes and Presence St. Francis Hospital among others.

The gala also recognized student community service honorees, Bernard Mason and Laurianne Pene. Both were acknowledged for their work in the community and at ETHS. Mayor Elizabeth Tishdahl and Ald. Delores Holmes were also acknowledged for their years of dedication and service to the Evanston Community.

Top photo: Tiffany Rice (Courtesy Chessmen Club)

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