While many of the nation's education programs suffer losses in funding due to the economic downturn, the New Year has brought hope to a unique project focused on outreach to underserved communities. The Hip Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is proud to announce that it has been chosen by the Mitchell Kapor Foundation to receive a coveted Community Grant.

"This community grant will allow us to take our first steps toward making this a coast-to-coast teaching/learning community," Said HHCF CEO Adisa Banjoko. "If we are going to promote unity and non-violence in our schools and communities we need to bring educators together to build a playbook of classroom strategies."

The Hip Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is a non-profit organization that fuses music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non-violence. Recently the HHCF launched a "Life Strategies" pilot program at John O'Connell High School, San Francisco, CA. and the Ryan Academy High School in Norfolk, VA.

The Hip Hop Chess Federation has hosted celebrity chess events for underserved youth to share the benefits of incorporating chess tactics into their personal journey. Past participants in HHCF events include Josh Waitzkin, RZA and GZA  from Wu-Tang Clan, DJ QBERT, Immortal Technique, Rakaa from Dilated Peoples, Paris, T-KASH, Opio and Casual from Hieroglyphics, San Quinn, Sunspot Jonz, Amir Sulaiman and MMA star Ralek Gracie among others.

Mitchell Kapor Foundation Director Cedric Brown stated, "The Mitchell Kapor Foundation is a San Francisco based family foundation. We work to ensure fairness and equity, particularly for low-income communities of color. We support organizations and activism that illuminate and mitigate the conditions and dynamics of inequality which particularly impact vulnerable communities."

"The Hip Hop Chess Federation is extremely grateful to receive this support from the Mitchell Kapor Foundation" Banjoko said. "This is a fantastic way to start the year. It is extremely hard for non-profit organizations to survive in this economy. Amid school closures nationwide and the slashing of valuable education programs, The Mitchell Kapor Foundation shows us the importance of supporting multi-disciplinary efforts like ours. We hope this generosity inspires others to follow their example as we focus on expanding our pilot program across the nation."

View Hip Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) Song for 2009, The Commitment by Sabac Red:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPEUMUjSRNQ