The Gift of Chess

The Gift of Chess is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization transforming lives through the universal language of chess.

Leveraging chess as a low-cost high-impact catalyst for change, we distribute chess sets globally, supporting our key initiatives of educational, prison, and refugee outreach.

Our goal is to distribute 1,000,000 chess sets by 2030

All proceeds will go to support Soga Chess. They are on the ground in the DRC and need our help, expanding access to chess for these children.

You can make a difference by donating today to The Gift of Chess.

The Gift of Chess is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization transforming lives through our universal language of chess.

Leveraging chess as a low-cost high-impact catalyst for change, we distribute chess sets globally, supporting our key initiatives of educational, prison, and refugee outreach.

Under the leadership of Tony Ballard, The Gift of Chess looks to expand access to chess sets, chess programs and chess educational materials for those incarcerated across the USA and beyond.

It may be a year, maybe 5, 10 or even 20 but the reality is that a majority of those currently incarnated will be back in our communities. Let’s give them the tools to be successful not only on the inside but on the outside. It makes sense for all of us.

Currently, The Gift of Chess reaches over 250 jails and prisons across the United States.

Every dollar donated will go directly toward supporting our outreach to those who are incarcerated.

$5 will allow us to provide a chess set to individuals across prisons & jails across the USA.

A note from Tony....

Thank you for your support and financial contribution to effect change and Rehabilitation for those in prisons throughout the nation. Your partnership has made you a part of a noble humanitarian effort to promote chess in prisons as a cognitive rehabilitation tool.

A story from our most recent project….

Traveling to Lansing correctional facility was a journey that I had looked forward to. The closer that I got to the facility I wondered about the type of anxiety I would have once I entered the prison. What I noticed after this visit was why I had immersed myself inside of chess so deeply. It was to escape the harsh realities of prison life. As I entered LCF I felt the tension, pain, and stressors of the environment. The same stressors I had felt during my stay there but overcome through my deep immersion into chess. Chess made my mind go into a different place. I was no longer in prison when I played chess, and the circumstances that went on around me did not matter for those hours, most often several hours, that I was “away” deep inside my thoughts in the world of chess. This was my place of solace. I was able to somewhat “escape”. As a result, I developed skills that I see now will benefit me for the rest of my life. It is our goal and mission to help others incarcerated nationwide, starting first here in my home state of Kansas, to learn, develop and cultivate their thinking skills and transform themselves into productive members of society, and model inmates. I am offering them not only a tool but a “way out” mentally and physically. They can find solace in the trenches of chess with one another. They can find skills that would rehabilitate their thinking and mental health. Thus, providing a way out physically that would increase their chances of never returning.

The pictures that were taken by Pulitzer Prize winner Photojournalist John Moore, and up and coming videographer Jamal Dozier, captured these moments that conveyed the power and importance of chess in prisons. These inmates can learn to respect one another and be patient with each other from playing chess. While there, I noticed the prison dynamics. This is the different rival gangs and groups that are normally antisocial towards one another. Yet, for this moment chess brought them all together with a sense of relief, peace, and camaraderie. All conflicts went out the window during the time that we were there. There were no threats or having to look over their shoulders. They were congratulating one another, high-five-ing and

shaking hands.

The Gift of Chess was provided this platform through our partnership with the Kansas

Department of Corrections, steered under Secretary of corrections Jeff Zmuda, and organized by Statewide Gift of Chess coordinator, Captain Kevin Oneth. The Departments motto is to Invest in Individuals and provide opportunities to acquire new experiences and skills to support personal and professional advancement and future success. As well as creating environments for change, well-being, and designing systems that encourage positive behaviors, healthy choices, and self-improvement. We were delighted to see the staff genuinely pleased for the residents and

the positive vibes that permeated the gym. These men were super respectful of the guest that entered the facility, they were hyper- appreciative of the opportunity, and were thoroughly engaged. This was a win-win for all involved. Our partnership with KDOC is the epitome of the motto “Engage and Strengthen Partnerships and to Expand partnerships with individuals and organizations within our communities to support our mission.” We would like the nation to know that this is the new most progressive ideal to change life and its harsh realities for prisoners and their staff alike. Many prisons are experiencing staff shortages, what better way than to occupy residents’ minds through providing them chess and engaging their thoughts and influencing their behaviors through this thought-provoking instrument. Keeping residents busy with playing chess and competing in a non-contact sport is necessary and a brilliant idea to curb prison violence, gang activity and drug usage.

Creating an atmosphere that fosters intelligence and celebrates good decision making, has the great potential

to influence the rest of the population; your strongest leaders in these environments will begin to encourage positive/smart behavior and shunning behaviors that are disruptive and harmful for expansion of other opportunities. This in turn protects the staff who come into these facilities each day to do their job, expecting to return home to their families. Chess is an activity that demands thinking and causes each environment where it is played to become quiet and academically sound. Thus, the energy level is lowered and the potential for outburst is highly unlikely. As mentioned earlier it is also a non-contact, highly competitive sport. Many a times I have witnessed fights over basketball or any other contact sport in prisons many times.

From New York City to Ikorodu!

The Gift of Chess is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization transforming lives through the universal language of chess. 

The Gift of Chess distributes chess sets and technology, leveraging the power of chess to create community, expand opportunity and connection, and ultimately change lives.

 

Last summer, the Gift of Chess donated 10,000 sets and access to chess technology to students across NYC. 

After a successful start in NYC's schools, the Gift of Chess has now expanded to include four separate initiatives - youth education and global, elderly, and prison outreach. 

Our names are Maxwell Obando and Zachary Hunter. We are seniors at Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, PA. In coordination with The Gift of Chess, we are raising funds to donate chess sets and other technologies to underprivileged communities in an attempt to expand their opportunity. The Gift of Chess is a "501(C)(3) charitable organization transforming lives through [the] universal language of chess." It "distributes chess sets and access to chess technology, providing an equal opportunity to learn chess and benefit from the many life skills the game cultivates."

Here is more information, I'm not sure if it's relevant to the GoFundMe: We are hosting an in-school chess tournament with $5 entry fees, 100% of which will go to the Gift of Chess through this GoFundMe.

You can make a difference by donating today to The Gift of Chess.

The Gift of Chess is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization transforming lives through our universal language of chess.

Leveraging chess as a low-cost high-impact catalyst for change, we distribute chess sets globally, supporting our key initiatives of educational, prison, and refugee outreach.

New York City has received over 40,000 migrant refugees from Latin America in the last year. Many of these are children.

Before even stepping foot in NYC, these families went through unbelievably terrible months or years, crossing jungles on foot, risking being attacked by bandits who rob, rape and kill travelers, and sleeping on the streets. Some had to make their way across multiple countries to reach the border. Many lost at least one family member on the way. And when asked, the parents have said that they did all of this for the children, to give them a future that would be unattainable in the collapsing nations they fled, and that incredibly, they would do it all again because their kids are everything to them. But schools were caught off-guard and the city was caught unprepared, and many institutions have had to scramble to respond. And although shelters were found, and kids were enrolled in school, after-school meals and safe activities were not available.

The Gift of Chess and some Spanish speaking Stuyvesant High School students who founded unidospodemosmas.com recognized this need and stepped in. Since January 9, 2023, we have opened an after-school program in a large church room which is walking distance from many of the shelters. Spanish-speaking staff, an artist from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and Spanish-speaking high school volunteers have been dedicating their afternoons teaching chess and math to the kids. The community has grown in just weeks with kids and their parents becoming "regulars"; Even better, some of the kids have taken to chess so well that a few weekends ago, two kids won first place in a weekend chess tournament!

In just weeks, this chess program and these New Yorkers are tangibly offering the kids and their families safety away from the streets and a bridge to America. Many people have opinions about these migrants, good and bad and in between, but the reality is that these children are here now and if New Yorkers don’t step up to help them at this crucial time, these kids are vulnerable to gangs, crime, drugs, and abuse.

Sadly, the program received a one-time donation and is in desperate need of support. Rent in midtown is expensive (!) even after being given a deal, our chess coach needs to be paid, and a couple of pizzas a day add up. Please help us keep going for another 3 months!

We ask that you take a minute to watch a video of our program and the amazing work the volunteers are doing. This unique program will potentially provide a blueprint to other US cities and states on how to respond to our migrant crisis in a way that helps the children in the short run and all of America in the long run.

A message from Alfred:

Hi, welcome to my fundraiser for The Gift of Chess. I'm going to be volunteering with them, and I hope you'll consider helping this group, which is bringing chess to refugee and disadvantaged communities by teaching children.

You can read more about what they're doing here: