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Boards and Money needed for Students

Posted By: phil Simborg
Date: Thursday, 13 May 2010, at 12:52 p.m.

In Response To: Boards and Money needed for Students (Matt Cohn-Geier)

Jason, I think you are missing the point of my argument. I have no problem with people thinking that nice boards are not important. I have a problem with people who do nothing but criticize and find fault and undermine others who are trying to do what they think is good for the game, or for kids.

If you said that you were working to raise money to give free rides to kids with Leukemia to go Great America, and I responded: “Great America isn’t really going to help these kids and there are better things you can do with your money,” would that bother you? Here you are, doing something you think is helpful and worthwhile, and someone has to open their big mouth to suggest it’s a waste of money.

I might have sent you a donation to take those kids to Great America, but someone made me think, maybe this isn’t worth my time or money to help?

I hope this will give you some insight into what my complain is. This is not about whether nice boards are good or not (or whether Great America is good or not)--everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion….but it’s about expressing that opinion at that place and time to deflect people from helping. I was about to lay out over $1,000 for boards, and thanks to a few nice people that I listed, I will only be laying out about $500.00 out of my pocket.

I, and Perry, Joe Russell, and Don Berecz happen to think that decent boards (how decent is a $40 board by the way) is important to these kids and will encourage them to stay with backgammon. We have been working with these kids first hand and see the difference. You, and others, don’t have to agree, and you don’t have to help, but you also don’t have to be negative about what we’re doing.

I gave 3 backgammon boards away Monday night to 2nd and 3rd grade kids at a Children’s Night I helped run here in Chicago. These were $15 boards I bought at Toy’s R Us. You should have seen how excited there were to have their own backgammon boards! Up until then, they only got to play once a week at their club meeting on the boards provided by the organizer. Now they will be playing at home with their parents. My only regret was that I didn’t have 12 more boards for the rest of the kids. (I am going to get boards for the rest of those kids, by the way.)

Again, if you don't think it's a good use of time and money to buy or subsidize boards for kids, fine. Just stay out of my way trying to get help from people to do this. We're talking over 60 boards JUST for the students at GSU this summer and fall, and there are other programs all over the country. Even if the students are not subsidized at all, we want to put boards in their hands right away and possibly include literature and information that will encourage them to start playing on line and in live events and stay active in Backgammon.

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