One east Sunrise 9-year-old boy was on his way to becoming another young offender statistic when a free chess class helped to redirect him. Funded in part by a Broward Sheriff’s Advisory Council grant and administered in partnership with the Broward Education Foundation and the National Scholastic Chess Foundation, the program brings chess instruction and activities to at-risk youth as well as to youth detention facilities in Broward County. This young man had been ostracized in his community because his father had murdered a neighbor. He had to change neighborhoods and schools, but his participation in the chess program helped him to cope. After two years of participating, he is now among the nation’s top 100 11-year old chess players.

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Another elementary student spent her Saturdays enjoying the chess instruction as a way to escape the stress of her family’s housing crisis. The positive social interactions in a non-judgmental environment provided invaluable benefits to this vulnerable child.