The Newark Chess Club is celebrating 10 years of work in the community with a gala celebration, December 10 at Newark Museum. The Newark Chess Club is a mentorship program whose goal is to transform the lives of Newark youth, teaching strategic theory and thought through chess, along with creating mentor/mentee relationships for adults and children.
Speaking about Newark Chess Club’s inception, Executive Director D. Oliver Scipio said matter-of-factly, “We wanted to start a mentorship program. I got a call from a friend of mine saying his nephew tried to rob a store in the mall in CT. That kid needed a mentor who wasn’t a criminal. And he needed to learn how to think things through. Chess provides that.”
Newark Chess Club started volunteering at West Side HS, then went to Central and Shabazz HS. Then Eagle Academy approached the organization to bring the progam there. At the end of the year, they created a tournament with approximately 150 students, held at the Boys & Girls Club on Avon Ave. The Eagle Academy students got knocked out within the first couple of rounds. That was an experience that they would not take lightly. The next year, the final match of the tournament was between two Eagle Academy students.
Newark Chess Club has worked with approximately 3,500 youth over the past decade. Currently working with 40 schools throughout Newark, mostly elementary, as welll as city recreation centers, the program teaches young people to:
- Think before you move / Think before you act
- Understand the consequences of your actions
- Trust your instincts
- Develop patience
- Be focused
- Match your goal with a plan
- Be adaptable to disruption
This year’s gala celebration will honor Mayor Ras. J Baraka, Newark Chess Club board member Juba Dowdell, as well as one of the parents of Newark Chess Club.
Executive Director Scipio said he would love to see one of Newark cultural or corporate anchors implement a volunteer program for their employees.
For more information, to sponsor the gala or purchase a ticket, go to the Newark Chess Club website at newarkchessclub.org, and follow them on social media @newarkchessclub
