Help Learners Chess fully fund all of our need-based scholarship requests this school year! All donations up to $1,000 matched in November, 2018!!!
In our community many families are struggling to make ends meet for so many reasons:
- Some are pursuing higher education and are not yet able to bring in enough income to afford chess club.
- Many others have recently lost a job.
- Many have had a recent healthcare crisis.
- Many others are single parents or grandparents doing everything they can to provide for their kids on limited incomes.
But they still do what they need to do to get their kids into chess: They ask for help!
No matter the reasons, at Learners we believe that no child should miss out on the opportunity to learn chess!
Double your donation today!
Thanks to a very generous local donor, every dollar donated up to $1,000 will be matched through the end of November!
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Here are some example applications we have received:
- “Single mom of 3 children. Minimal child support. Have to pay rent, utilities, phone bills Before children can do activities. I would like my Children to try and experience new things, but unfortunately it is very hard for me to afford after school clubs or extracurricular activities for all 3 of them and many times they are not able to do something they would like to try because I just do not have to funds to pay for it…She likes to try new things and Chess would help her focus on something. She needs structured activities that force her to think ahead. Chess is perfect for that. She has never tried chess before but is interested in trying it. I think she would enjoy it and it would good for her to learn.”
- “$940 per month Social Security $200 per month Welfare $1140 per month is my entire income and I do not receive any housing assistance so I pay $525 for rent. Needless to say, money is very tight at our house….I believe that chess helps him learn to deal with other kids. It helps him learn how to lose without crying. (He) is very smart and it helps him to challenge his brain even more. He loves chess and he wants to be in chess again. It helps him to explain himself more fully.”
- “I am a single mom of four wonderful active kids. I have a traumatic brain injury that had left me unable to work full-time. I work hard but there are so many bills…(no) child support. Due to all the factors I will be filing bankruptcy this year. As you can guess I have to pay rent, utilities, school fees, kids clothes and food and upkeep of the house and yard. This is just alot for one person….(He) is passionate about chess. He is more excited to go to chess class then just about anything. It boosts his self-esteem and gives him a constructive way to use his intellect . Plus Learners chess had been amazing at teaching mindfulness to (him)… he loves chess so much that he is more open to trying mindfulness. I see him use it to calm himself quite often.”
- “(His) father recently lost his job, so we’re down to a single income. Between rent, car payments, food, and student loans, there is nothing left for extra-curricular activities. Financially, things are really tight right now so we’ve made a lot of sacrifices to ensure that we have the basics for our family. (He) really enjoys chess, but it won’t be feasible this semester. It’s very difficult for us to ask for help, however, the benefits of chess outweigh the costs to my ego… (he) really enjoys chess. I encourage this because of the benefits chess can have on his cognitive development. He’s a bright kid who needs to be kept challenged, chess provides that for him. He also struggles some with self-confidence and chess has been shown to increase self-confidence. He’s able to spend quality time teaching his little brother to play with him and playing with his dad.”
- “Being a mother of 4 and my income it just doesnt cover the extras that kids need to help progress in life and have a childhood . money is super tight but at least i manage to keep roof over head and cloths on back and food on table . i may have late payments but they eventually get caught up . anyhow i was working 2 jobs to be able to have those extras but that started effecting my kids negativly so i stopped …I truly believe chess could be fabulous for (him) because it could give him a whole new set of skills he’s lacking . he has behavior issues now and than and lately they’ve improved and i would love for him to stay on the same track . staying focused and learning strategy could extremly benifit (him)”