(Posted 9/22/2019) Ed Brown is running a chess program for a youth detention center in Washington, and is looking for some volunteers to grow the program.

In his words, "As for the program it’s a new/growing, bi monthly chess program on Wednesdays which lasts an hour and a half. You’d be working with a maximum of 8 young people due to the detention center structure. There is room for creativity in how you run the program however I’ve made chess puzzles (particularly mate in 2) and a ladder ranking system mainstays. Both are very easy to manage. I’m looking for intermediate and above chess players with a passion for mentoring. Bonus points for people of color, people with experience serving folks with high levels of trauma and people with advanced chess ability. My goal is to move to a weekly chess program and have a pool of volunteers that can grab shifts as they please. So you would not to have to attend every week by any means.

To join the volunteer pool I’d like to meet up with anyone that’s interested to tell them more about the program and see if it’s a good fit. From there they’d have to complete an orientation with the detention center and boom, they’re ready to play some chess with awesome kids/teens! I’ll be providing support on the programming and chess skills as needed. Any questions or interested folks should email me at eestesbrown22@gmail.com."

(Posted 3/9/2019) My name is Benjamin, I am from France and I work at ANDEO – International Homestays in Portland, a non-profit organization where our mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding through international friendships. At ANDEO, we place high-school students and their teachers in host families in the Oregon-Washington state areas for really short stays. I saw you have a great chess club and I believe that some of your members in your chess community would be interested in hosting one of our high-school students who loves... chess! I have one French high-school student, Alexandra, 16, arriving with her class on April 9th for an educational stay for a little less than 3 weeks. Alexandra is going to shadow a high school student during weekdays, and will enjoy to learn more about her host-family and the US culture during evenings and weekends. Because Alexandra plays chess in her chess club at her French high school, I think it would be a perfect match with one of the families of your chess community. I have to say that it's always a dream for French students to enter the US for the first time! Let's make this dream come true! We are transparent. You might wonder if this opportunity generates costs. It does not and it is completely free of charge. Our mission is to promote international friendships. I believe that connecting high-school students from different countries is a great way to increase cross-cultural understanding. Overall, we are looking for one host family that has a teen (or teens in their neighborhoods) that would be interested in hosting for three weeks only. It’s a short commitment for a lifelong international friendship!

Info.: Please contact Benjamin Pocheron, benjamin@andeo.org, ph. 503-875-5288. He can provide you with Alexandra's short letter and picture board.