Today we’d like to introduce you to Candace Davenport.
Hi Georgia, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Dermott, Arkansas. I am the Founder and Director of the Critical Thinkers•Problem Solvers• Readers (CPR) Children and Youth Chess Club. My mother and father separated when I was only 2 years old. At the time that my parents separated, my 7 siblings ranged from 1 year old to 13 years old. My father was a single parent but we were well raised and all finished high school and some went on to college and a few owned their own business. All had great jobs. After High School, I attended college in Monticello, Arkansas for a couple of years and then moved to Little Rock to stay with my brother and sister-in-law. Shortly after coming to Little Rock, I was hired at Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. I worked there for 41 years and retired in 2017.
I am the proud mother of one child who graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a degree in Economics. In 2014, he went back to school to become an RN and in 2016, he obtained his Nursing Degree at UAMS College of Nursing.
My love and compassion to help others who are less fortunate than myself started at Hoover United Methodist Church when my child was 4 years old and I was 36. It was there that I first became involved in the church ministry. I fell in love with outreach ministry, as Hoover was the first church that I had ever attended that had a visible outreach ministry.
Doing my time as an active member of Hoover UMC I served in many capacities but my heart went out to the children. I loved organizing the yearly VBS (Vacation Bible School) for the children. I initiated a scholarship fund for high school graduates to assist them in furthering their education and also initiated and oversaw the Church School for Children.
I also served several years in many roles on the Board of the church non-profit, Better Community Developers (BCD) Inc. whose mission is to improve the quality of life for low-income, underserved, disadvantaged, and at-risk children, youth, and families in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was well known for my ability to solicit volunteers from inside and outside of the church for the many projects and initiatives that Hoover Church and BCD had going on.
After my Pastor, Rev. William Robinson Jr retired, I had the idea to start a children’s ministry that would be close to home and also within walking distance of a church. While still contemplating the children’s ministry, I met the then 7-time Arkansas State Chess champion, National Master Tony Davis and he introduced me to the game of chess. He talked about the benefits of kids learning the game of chess. After researching information about chess, I learned that chess is a game that teaches life skills. I particularly help in improving kids’ grades and build up their self-esteem and confidence in themselves. I immediately decided that I wanted to start a community children’s chess club.
I continued my research and found that there was no such clubs in Little Rock other than the chess clubs in Schools that mostly catered to the gifted and talented kids. I wanted to start a community chess club that would be open to all kids. I located a church and started a pilot chess club there. However, I immediately found out there were not enough children around the neighborhood of the church, so I begin to search for another place to run a community chess club.
After visiting Mosaic Church in 2012 and getting involved with their children’s outreach ministry, volunteering to help with a reading program for approximately five little kids who lived in an income-based apartment a couple blocks from the church, I decided to ask one of the Mosaic church pastors about starting a club there. And to my surprise, they said yes! Mosaic is a church that is open to its members being able to use the gifts that God has given them, to build up the Kingdom. They allowed me to start the chess club there, even before I became a member, and even before I knew how to play the game.
In addition to Chess Master Tony Davis, God has blessed me throughout the years with awesome volunteers who love the game and were grateful for the opportunity and a platform to teach the game to other kids. Ironically, when I was growing up, my father taught all of us how to play checkers. We played the game with him regularly. All the while, he played the game, he would share stories with us about his life, as well as teaching us about life in general. It was always my intention to use the chess club as a mentoring tool for children. That is what makes us different from other chess clubs.
With the chess club, I started with 6 kids but we have now taught chess, throughout the years, to hundreds of kids. Before the pandemic, more than 50 kids were coming consistently to the club every Tuesday along with several volunteers. All workers at the chess club are volunteers. They come from all walks of life, from different professions, teaching the children chess or just playing the game with them. The one-on-one time, while a child competes against an adult (such as a doctor, policeman, lawyer, engineer, etc.) is PRICELESS!! Not only did the volunteers play chess with our kids, some came as motivational speakers.
The chess club was approved to participate in the LRSD tournaments. They have won many team trophies and the kids have received many individual medals and trophies. The club has received several awards including the MLK Community Service Award and, the KARK Pay-it-4Ward Award, and has been highlighted in the news on several occasions and featured in the Arkansas Democrat Newspaper in February 2020. Recently, our coach and coordinator of the chess club in Pine Bluff, Laverne Tyler received the MLK Community Service Award and I was surprised with the MLK Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, just recently, I received the NAACP Community Service Award.
When the COVID pandemic hit, we were the only children focus club that was able to continue How was that? Well, immediately following our closing, I was contacted by National Chess Master, Alex King of Memphis TN who was looking for someone to play in an online tournament that he was putting together that would consist of teams from all over the USA and when he found out we were an all kids chess club he not only allowed them to compete in his tournament on his team, he also volunteered to teach them chess lessons once a week and he set up more online tournaments that they could compete in.
NM Alex King also initiated 2 week-long, virtual chess camps that included our chess kids. They got the opportunity in these camps to be taught by National Master Chess Players and some expert High rated players. In 2021, the chess club kids got the opportunity to compete in an international online tournament sponsored by an individual in California who had heard about our club. We won the overall 1st-place trophy. Our chess club was the only club participating from the USA. 8 other countries participated with a total of 30 clubs within those countries.
In 2022, one of our chess club students, 17-year-old William Donham, became the 2022-2023 Arkansas state Chess Champion, beating out adults more than twice his age. He has been a member of our club since he was 11 years old. This was big for Chess in Arkansas.
From 2013 to this date, we have taught over 500 children the game of chess and have introduced hundreds of other kids to this game of life. In addition to our club in Pine Bluff under the leadership of Coach Laverne Tyler, we have partner with community centers, libraries, and other organization to host chess clubs. Our goal is to introduce and teach as many children as we can this game of chess. We want children to especially become better thinkers, more focused, problem solvers and have the ability to plan ahead and not jump to do the first thing that pops in their head. We want them not only to be champions on the chess board, we want them most of all to be champions in life.
Benjamin Franklin who was a chess player and an advocate of chess said it best.
“Chess teaches foresight, by having to plan; vigilance, by having to keep watch over the whole chessboard; caution, by having to restrain ourselves from making hasty moves; and finally, we learn from chess the greatest maxim in life – that even when everything seems to be going badly for us, we should not lose heart, but always hoping for a change for the better, steadfastly continue searching for the solutions to our problems.” -Benjamin Franklin
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been relatively smooth sailing ever since God gave me the vision for the chess club and to use it as a mentoring program, I have seen that He (God) has provided everyone and everything I need to run it. And that I am grateful as it is an all volunteer program
We have had people from as far as California reaching out to help and donate chess supplies, be volunteer chess coaches, etc. The parents are very helpful and supportive. Our church leadership staff are available to provide any support we need.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I retired from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield after working there for 41 years. Working for the company has been a joy as I love people. After retirement, I became more focused on promoting chess in the State of Arkansas
.We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Most people don’t know that when I started the chess club, I knew nothing about chess and as of now I only know the basics of chess. I am still learning some basic strategies and tactics. I have had many 6-year-olds beat me in the game.
I think the thing that sets me apart from others is how I manage to get volunteers to help with any project that I am passionate about. I love to listen to people I love to hear their stories as everyone has a story. Listening helps build relationships. I will ask people to help or volunteer and I don’t mind them saying they can’t, it does not hurt my feelings because I feel God is going to send who He wants to send in the end. My job is to just be willing to ask.
When I retired, I started bowling I love it. I utilize it as my exercise program I bowl at least 3 times a week with people I met at the bowling alley and I bowl at least 10 games each time I go to the bowling alley. I also joined a Senior Citizen bowling league
I want to thank you on behalf of myself and our Chess Club, Critical Thinkers•Problem Solvers•Readers (CPR) Community Chess Club for allowing us with the platform of telling my story
Pricing:
- There is no fee for kids to be a member of our chess club.
- When we host chess tournaments, the fee per child is only $10.00
- We provide all the supplies they need at our club. They do not have to purchase anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cprchessclub.com
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.
com/groups/2295371797449798/? ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF
