Elementary school children are at a critical age for the formation of essential skills and behaviors. According to numerous studies, activities of high stimulation promote not only the activity and development of the frontal lobe, the region responsible for higher-level thinking, through the rapid increase in the amount of neural connections, but also allow for their emotional and psychological maturation.

The complex game of chess is known to foment the growth and development of indispensable abilities, including patience, diligence, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making in young minds. Moreover, these benefits are regarded as a gateway to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

Chess for Humanity runs the Rook ‘n’ Roll Chess Program in various schools in the DFW area in collaboration with volunteers from St. Mark’s School of Texas and other Dallas institutions.

We work with young minds in a safe, happy, and comfortable social environment to accelerate the progression of their psychological, emotional, and mental capabilities, improving their abilities to concentrate, follow directions, plan ahead, and succeed in school and in life.

A typical chess club program meets once a week after school for about an hour, devoting half the time to instruction, including lectures and practice positions, and the other half to friendly play against other club members. We always work to include life skills development segments into our programs.

In the coming school year, we are expanding our initiative to many more institutions and require funds to purchase chess sets and other necessary equipment to serve the students and the community. Since Rook 'n' Roll is Chess for Humanity's biggest program, it has the most volunteers and requires the most benefactors to run successfully.

We hope to be able to serve the DFW children as well as possible, and we would really appreciate contributions toward this effort.