The Board Room Camp

The Board Room Camp is a project set to serve young people of color, ages 6-17. When the questions, 'Why are you standing on this corner?' or 'Why are your grades so bad?' are asked, the answer we usually get is, 'There is nothing else to do,' or, “I'm bored.’

The Board Room Camp is a program designed to engage young people of color through the game of chess. Our plan is to offer a safe place or places of meeting in which individuals can gather and engage in positive alternatives to just hanging out. Having access to this type of program will also provide those in the community a new opportunity to engage with one another. The Board Room is designed to be a social and intellectual gathering within the community.

Not only will The Board Room act as a safe place to engage and interact within the community, the game of chess being introduced to some can be a life-changing experience. Chess has been proven to be a powerful tool to help in developing creativity, strategic thinking, planning skills, conflict resolution, high order thinking skills, and memory. Individuals begin to become confident and their mental attitudes are changed by this sort of thinking.

We hope to especially create a curiousness with families with younger children to start them at an early age learning a thinking sport that will help them develop mentally and intellectually. For the older participants, chess can reduce stress around exam time and help increase concentration in studies. Chess can lead to success.