Chess 4 Charity Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded by two kids in Northern Virginia. It started when co-founders Gabrielle Heller (Gabby) & her brother Garrett Heller came up with the idea to combine Garrett’s passion for chess and Gabby’s passion for helping others, by holding a chess tournament to raise money for charity.
When we held our first tournament, we expected it to be just a one-time thing. We never expected it to become a regular event. But people loved it and asked when we would do it again. So we kept on doing it!
It is now an annual event. We’ve held several events so far attended by hundreds of people each, and we have raised over $55,000 (so far – and counting) for a wide variety of charities. For each event, we select a charity to benefit. So far, we raised money to support the Ronald McDonald House Charities (which house families of kids in the hospital away from home), The Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation, Red Cross Hurricane Relief, and Torch Relay / Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, among others.
We’ve been covered in local and national news. Check out some of the stories on our “News” Tab: Chess4charity in the news
Founders Gabrielle Heller & Garrett Heller are sister & brother, and high schoolers at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology (TJHSST, also known as TJ High).
Management Team:
Gabrielle Heller (Gabby Heller)
Co-CEO, Co-Founder, Co-President & Board Member
Gabrielle Heller has been raising money for those in need ever since she was in kindergarten, when she saw a TV news story about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and was awakened and motivated by the impact it had on people and animals. She decided she had to do something, so she spent hours drawing pictures and then sold her artwork to raise money for the clean up relief effort. Since then she’s had the charity bug, volunteering to tutor younger kids, participating in many volunteer activities like Relay for Life and NeuroInspire, and the Cancer Research Society.
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Garrett Heller
Co-CEO, Co-Founder, Co-President & Board Member
Garrett Heller has been playing in chess tournaments since he was in first grade. He’s played in over 130 tournaments so far and is now rated as a Candidate Master (CM), with a USCF rating of 2128, putting him in the 98th percentile nationally among all chess players, and the 99th percentile for players under 20 years old. He’s ranked #2 in the State of Virginia and #31 in the USA for his age group. He’s finished in the top 10 every year since 2011 in State and National tournaments.
