Volunteer Opportunities for ChessKids!

ChessKids are pretty awesome. They love helping their community through volunteerism. Many schools and programs (such as Scouts) require volunteer hours to qualify for advancement or certain honors. So what does a ChessKid do when the world shuts down and the library, aquarium, senior center, or other facility where they used to volunteer closes its doors to them?

Hampton Roads Chess Association, a 501(c)(3) serving an area of southeast Virginia, recognized this problem and the potential to help our ChessKids help us carry out our mission of bringing the life benefits of chess to people of all ages and abilities throughout our region. A win-win (or in chess language, a 1-1 split result)!

In September, we launched a formal Youth Leader Development Program, or YLDP, for middle and high school students who desired to earn volunteer hours, gain experience for potential future employment as a chess coach, or simply gain self-confidence and public speaking skills. Almost 20 kids applied and were accepted after submitting applications with a short essay and completing a Zoom interview. To make it official, we gave each kid a snazzy polo shirt.

Each youth leader was then assigned to a coach in one of our live virtual classes. The kids' job is to help with classroom management such as taking attendance, admitting students from the waiting room, and keeping order in the classroom. 

Once a quarter at a minimum, we ask the coaches to assign a class for the youth leader to teach on their own. Some kids are assigned a certain portion of the instruction each week, and some have stepped up to sub for an absent coach on occasion. In one case, due to a difficult scheduling block, one of the older and more advanced youth leaders actually was assigned his own class to teach independently for the whole year at one of our schools!

In addition to helping coaches in the virtual classroom, our YLDP kids act as peer tutors for the students in their classes or in other classes depending on alignment of schedules.  The kids get together one-on-one over Zoom and help the students with any chess concepts and homework they are struggling with.  

As assistant coaches and tutors, our young volunteers have been a tremendous asset to our program!

Outside of YLDP, we came up with another opportunity for kids of any age to volunteer through our Zoom Chess Pals for Seniors program. Prior to COVID, we were just starting to schedule our first on site chess classes in a couple of local retirement homes. Of course, these programs were the first victims of quarantine. Still desiring to serve our senior population with our favorite mind-sharpening game, we matched kids with senior citizens for one-on-one instruction over Zoom and for the companionship of weekly meetings and practice time together. 

Many of the kids are using what they know best to teach their pals -- ChessKid! Our Zoom Pals program was even featured on the local news!

HRCA is a Certifying Organization for the President's Volunteer Service Award. With Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels (required hours based on age), we are able to recognize all of our youth (and adult!) volunteers with a beautiful certificate, medal, and letter from the President at the end of every year!

HRCA is routinely contacted by parents of ChessKids from coast to coast seeking volunteer chess opportunities and in particular wanting to be part of our Zoom Chess Pals for Seniors program. My answer is always the same -- sorry, our program is only open to local kids, but I strongly encourage you to create your own volunteer program!