Go Volunteering for the DC Area Go Volunteering for the DC Area
Page updated 11/05/2014 - spineyone@yahoo.com.
OUTREACH ARCHIVES:
Rockville Barnes & Noble (discontinued). Monthly demonstrations/lectures were held from September 2000 to about September 2001. Store located at Randolph Road and Rockville Pike. Every 4th Monday of the month. 7-9 PM. Organized by John Goon. Staff contact: Ester Simmonds, Rockville Barnes & Noble Community relations Manager.
Lake Forest Mall Food Court (discontinued). Casual drop-in play was available on Monday evenings from 7 to 930. Collaborated with chess community. Hosted by Todd Heidenreich and John Goon.
Capital Children's Museum (discontinued). Taught First Capture Go to children and Museum staff circa Jume 2000. Downtown DC location. Conducted as part of Japan exhibit. Local volunteers supported the effort. Organized by John Goon.
Rockville Chess and Go Group (current, active as of 2014). Weekly meetings. Friday nights, 7 to 11. Opened June 22, 2001. Original meeting site was 401 South Horner Lane. Volunteers taught Go to East Rockville and beyond. The group attracted a good following of young children and older students from the neighborhood. Drew players from Montgomery College and nearby public and private schools. The Rockville Rotary Club Foundation provided $500 grant to establish the site. Go and Chess are played infrequently now, having given ground to more popular mainstream and Euro games. The group now meets in the Rockville United Church at 355 Linthicum Drive, Rockville, MD. Hosted by John Goon, Eric Engelmann, and others.
Montgomery County Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity (current, active as of 2014). The Arthur Lewis Go Club opened on September 12, 2001. The Center was located in the Wheaton business district within two blocks of the Wheaton Metro station. It now meets every Tuesday in the Mid-County Community Center at Queensguard Rd in Aspen Hill, MD. It has hosted special outreach activities, workshops, tournaments, professional visits, etc. The County and the American Go Foundation provided $3900 in seed grants to start this program. Volunteers, especially students, are still needed to help promote Go. Hosted by Todd Heidenreich. See links to DC area Go Clubs below for details.
Robert Frost Middle School Chess Group (discontinued). This school group formed in the Fall of 2000. Go volunteers attempted to collaborate with them in 2001 on Mondays from 7 to 8 PM. The connection ended after a few meetings. The Chess organizer was not interested. The school is located off Scott Drive in Potomac/Rockville. John Goon and Mike Pak participated for the Go community.
Sandy Spring Friends School (discontinued). This private school is located near Olney MD. They started an informal Go club in the Fall of 2000 and persisted for several years. The school was supported by the local Go community on a number of outreach demo projects. The Go program ceased with the graduation of its most avid members. The contacts were Chris Spears, David Hickson, and the A. Modak family.
Frederick Go Club (discontinued). This fledgling club started around 2000, and held a few meetings in the local big book store, but was unable to take root due to the untimely passing away of the organizer, Bob Mills. Mark Thomas, a Frederick Middle School student rejuvenated the Club for a short while in 2008 with support from the local pan-Asian community association, Life and Discovery, headed by Elizabeth Chung. It lasted one year.
Hebrew Day Institute (discontinued. unable to follow up).
Metropolitan Police Boys & Girls Clubs of DC (discontinued). A pilot weekly go program in Anacostia that started in February 2001 and concluded in May 2001. Unable to garner appreciable interest from the community. Volunteers were Brian Kleiner and John Goon.
DC Public Schools (discontinued. no interest expressed). Liaison needed to propose and coordinate pilot programs with school administrators. Contact John Goon for more information.
Chinese Community and Cultural Center (discontinued. inital contacts made, but no sustained follow up). A part time coordinator and liaison might have been useful to develop and implement pilot teaching programs at local Chinese language schools in MD and Northern VA. Not pursued.
Washington School of Chinese Language and Culture (current, active as of October 2014). This school began holding Go classes every Sunday during the school year at the Wootton HS. Start up was in Fall 2001. The weiqi class enlisted volunteers to serve as assistant instructors and they are still needed today. Contact Juan Pablo Quizon for more information. demongo@capitalgo.org.
Hope Chinese School in Potomac Maryland (current, active as of October 2014). Contact spineyone@yahoo.com for more info.
Chinese School at the Walter Johnson HS (curent. active as of October 2014). Contact spineyone@yahoo.com for more info.Web Researchers and IT Support. Help needed to locate schools and organizations receptive to Go demos, and private/public foundations with an interest in Go/Chess mission. Contact spineyone@yahoo.com for more information
October 2000:
Capital Children's Museum. Conducted two week Go demo program. Last two weeks of October. Downtown DC. Contact John Goon at 301-315-8297.
Rockville Senior Center. Workshop. Conducted Oct. 11 and 18 by John Goon.
NOVA Quarterly Go Tournament. TD: Allan Abramson.
November 2000:
December 2000:
12th Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. At the U of MD, College Park, MD. Date: 12/9-10. Place: Tortuga room of the Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Directed by Ken Koester. This tournament was sponsored by the Greater Washington and University of Maryland Go Clubs.
January 2001:
NOVA Quarterly Go Tournament. TD: Allan Abramson.
February 2001:
Rockville Senior Center. Go Demo. Held on Feb. 7, 1130 to 1330. Organizer: John Goon. Rockville Senior Center project manager: Ms. Chris Veirs.
March 2001:
Hope Chinese Language School of Gaithersburg at Ridge View MS. They were looking for instructors to teach in Fall 2001. Saturdays for one hour.
Rockville Chinese Cultural & Community Center at Tilden MS. They conducted a Go demonstration/talk in March and considered setting up a teaching program in Fall 2001. This did not materialize.
March 31. Cherry Blossom Festival. The Sakura Matsuri Go demonstration booth was manned by Mark Laing, Bruce McJelton, and John Goon.
NOVA Quarterly Go Tournament. Organized by Allan Abramson and Directed by Chuck Robbins.
April 2001:
April 14. Japan Bowl. Sponsored by the Japan-American Society of Washington DC. Go demonstrations/lectures were given by Mark Laing, Craig Hutchinson, and John Goon.
May 2001:
26-27 May 2001. Maryland Open. Contact: Keith Arnold.
29 May 2001. 6 to 830 PM. Gaithersburg Senior Center Dinner and Games Night. Go volunteers needed for demo booth. Contact: John Goon.
June 2001:
SPARKS Go Demo. The SPARKS Program provides disadvantaged students in the Kensington MD area with focused attention and mentoring. Contacts: Josh Lieberman or Todd Heidenreich.
July 2001:
July 15 - Hillandale Swim Club. Go demonstration from 4 to 6 PM. Contact: John Goon.
NOVA Quarterly Go Tournament. TD: Allan Abramson.
US Go Congress. York, PA. Contact Keith Arnold.
August 2001:
September 2001:
LINCOLN PARK CC (inactive). Pilot New Start Introductory Go/Chess Program. Worked with community activists. Contacts: Brian Kleiner and John Goon.
ARTHUR LEWIS GO CLUB at the Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity opened on Sep 12. This program was, and is, exceptionally resourced. Volunteers were needed to sustain the weekly meetings, monthly workshops, information management, grant writing, and ethnic community liaisons.
DREAM WIZARDS STORE (inactive). The store on Parklawn Drive offered Chess and Go play during the week. The Go playing date/time was every Tuesday from 6 to 8 PM. Volunteers provided a presence while the store expanded its marketing of the game. The sale of Go equipment was brisk for a while.
CHINESE CULTURAL FESTIVAL (inactive). Go demonstration booth opportunity in downtown DC. Sponsored by the Greater Washington Chinese American Community. Contact: John Goon.
ADELPHI ES. This Prince Georges County school requested weekly volunteers to set up and sustain a Federal/State supported after-school program for the 2001-2 school year. Contact John Goon for details.
WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. Meets every Sunday at the Wootton High School on Wootton Parkway. A 14-week Weichi class for high schoolers started in September 2001. A 7-week class will begin in November. Contact: Instructor John Goon. Classes last for one hour during the mid-afternoon. Class size varied from 12 to 20. The class was also taught in the Spring of 2002.
OTHER SCHOOL NEW STARTS DEPENDING ON INTEREST DEVELOPED OVER THE SUMMER 2001. Explored prospects at Redland MS (Gaithersburg), Magruder HS (Gaithersburg), LuxManor ES (Rockville), Chelsea School (Silver Spring), Richard Montgomery HS (Rockville), Clopper Mill ES (Germantown), Albert Einstein HS (Kensington), and several Chinese Community Language Schools (located at Hoover MS, Ridgeview MS, West MS, and Tilden MS).
October 2001:
City of Gaithersburg Introductory Go Class. Contact: John Goon.
NOVA Quarterly Go Tournament. TD: Allan Abramson.
November 2001:
ARTHUR LEWIS GO CLUB Beginners Workshop and an Open House Tournament.
December 2001:
MID-ATLANTIC GO TOURNAMENT. Date, time, and site pending. Likely location will be the University of Maryland at College Park.
Work in progress.
Links to Other Local DC-MD-VA Area Go Clubs...
Created on October 15, 2000. Revised Nov 16, 2014. Mail comments to spineyone@yahoo.com.