My name is Nick Mueller. I'm the founder and coach of Cochise Chess, the only bilingual chess nonprofit in the United States that serves a whole rural county. We bring chess education to communities in rural Cochise County, Arizona with an emphasis on public libraries and schools.

I started Cochise Chess in June of 2022 because the kids in my area were like my childhood self. They didn't have much access to quality activities during the summer. And so, in collaboration with the Copper Queen Library in Bisbee, Arizona, we quickly became the library's most popular program. A year later, we gained 100 members. Three months after that, we stood at 200 members. I expect that we will reach 300 members by the end of this year as word about the chess program -- and tournament -- spread.

With your help, I aim to raise enough funds to pay the nonprofit's expenses through the spring of 2024. The amount is $6560. Raising at least that amount by the end of the year will allow the Cochise Chess team to focus on delivering much-needed chess education at six locations throughout the county, including a county-wide tournament.

Any additional funds raised will go toward serving more locations in Cochise County, which is no small feat. The county covers a similar area to Connecticut and Rhode Island combined!

We have filed to become a 501c3 nonprofit, yet it may take six months for that paperwork to be processed. Your support will help us keep the pawns pushing across boards all over Cochise County.

If you'd like to learn more about us, check out our website (first link up above) or the feature that the regional newspaper wrote about Cochise Chess (second link above). You can also check out our Facebook and Instagram.