July 2023 One Move at a Time: Henry Lien and ChessPals

Welcome to July 2023 edition of One Move at a Time, the show where we highlight people and organizations that are advancing our US Chess mission statement to Empower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chess. This month's guest is Henry Lien (LEAN), a 17-year-old from the Bay Area of California who started a free afterschool chess program for students living in low-income areas. Henry was selected for the 2023 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards – a national prize recognizing teen leaders who are changing the world. The awards recognize 15 Jewish teen leaders across the United States each year for their commitment to social justice work. Tikkun olam is a Jewish value meaning ‘to repair the world.’”

Henry will receive $36,000 in recognition of his work leading Chess Pals.

Henry started ChessPals in 2018 so that more kids, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background, can learn and play chess. Since then, his organization has provided free chess education for over 800 children in eight elementary schools and three city-run camps across three school districts in Marin County, California. ChessPals has five additional chapters throughout California, Texas, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. A majority of students in ChessPals classes are first-generation Latino students.

Learn more about the Diller Teen Awards: https://dillerteenawards.org/
Instagram: @dillerteenawards
Twitter: @DillerAwards
Hashtag: #DillerTikkunOlamAwards

Learn more about ChessPals: https://www.chesspals.org/
Instagram: @chesspals
LinkedIn: [ChessPals]@ChessPals

Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.