Williamsburg school’s champion chess team turns to crowdfunding

Despite the best efforts of the cruel realities of the New York City budgeting system, Williamsburg’s IS 318 refuses to die. After the news broke about the team being on the chopping block, they’ve held free screenings of the documentary about them, Brooklyn Castle, to raise awareness of their plight. And now that you all know how great they are and how bad things look for them, they’re now asking you to open your wallet and help crowdfund them into this year. Won’t you help?

IS 318 is seeking $67,784.99 to fund their program for the year, because the city won’t do it. The money will go towards things like chess boards and chess sets, license training for chess instructors, entry fees into tournaments and membership in the Marshall Chess Club. In the appeal for funding, the organizers of the funding drive note that the chess wizards put more than 12 hours per week into their mastery of the game, and come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to kick the crap out of better-funded chess players around the city.

So help them out, because these kids are too good to lose their chess program just because we’ve given luxury housing developers too many tax breaks, and we don’t want them hustling people in the park to fund the program.

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