For immediate release: July 31, 2023
Contact: Cathy Abel, [email protected], 415
Mechanics’ Institute Proudly Announces Grant Support for Girls’ and Young Women’s Scholastic Chess Program
Mechanics' Institute proudly announces grant support from #startsmall, Jack Dorsey’s philanthropic initiative, in support of our Scholastic Chess Program for girls’ and young women’s chess. The impact and benefits of chess for youths and adolescents are several: cognitive development, analytic thinking, social and emotional growth all contribute to success in chess and in life. For girls in particular, strategies, confidence, and learnings through chess can help girls feel comfortable on and beyond the playing board.
#startsmall philanthropic funding will be used to provide chess classes, camps, and tournaments for girls and young women in order to increase their success on the chess playing field. Our program seeks to hire representative women chess coaches and include more role model women on our speaking rosters and in our tournaments. We intend to have professional development for chess staff centering on themes of diversity, equality, and access in order to increase opportunities for all genders in chess.
Reports worldwide indicate that the playing field is uneven and see a lack of visible women and girl players in the chess community, among role models, and an absence of women and girls in formal rankings, and attribute this lack to culture and cultivation. Our goal is for girls and young women to have a growing and equal presence in educational chess settings, rankings, and titles. Through training sessions and chess spaces, girls will be introduced, inspired, empowered, and kept in the game longer through cultivating a sense of belonging in an open community. Communicating between games, playing casual chess, and seeing presentations by top female players will help girls and young women enter mixed tournaments and play with confidence.
Mechanics’ Institute’s Scholastic Chess Program aims to create a chess community, particularly for girls and young women, that allows for learning and growth in the game. Our Scholastic Chess Program aims to ensure the playing field is welcoming, open, and accessible for all young players. Please see https://www.milibrary.org/