The Silver Knights Alzheimer’s Charity

Saving Lives One Game At A Time

The Silver Knights is an informal nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing Alzheimer’s disease by teaching adults (generally from 40 years old and above) in the United States how to play chess for FREE.

Research shows that people who play chess are 60 to 75 percent less likely to get Alzheimer’s than those who just watch TV (something very common in some nursing homes). Statistics say that this year alone we can potentially save more than 200,000 of our loved ones from getting this monstrous disease. Yes, a practical "cure" by prevention for Alzheimer's has been found! We use chess because it is the "Gold Standard of Mental Exercises ." We also generate crossword puzzles and encourage reading as this too helps prevent Alzheimer's.

----------------------HOW TO DONATE:--------------------

You can make a donation by sending a check to “The Silver Knights Charity” and mail it to 6854 East Kelton Lane Scottsdale, AZ, 85254-1524. You will receive a "thanks!" on our Awards page. Or you can use your credit card and donate through PayPal on the right side of this page. Or you can donate USED COMPUTERS AND LAPTOPS, Chessmaster and other game software, lightly used chess sets, chess books, chess magazines and chess awards (metals and trophies) by mailing them to Silver Knight Headquarters at the address above. If you are in the Phoenix Metro Area we will be happy to stop and pick them up. Call- 480-948-4315. Unfortunately no donation is yet tax deductible.

Here are some of the awards given to the Silver Knights! Click the thumbnail for a larger image.

Dr. Robert Sherman on Christmas Eve got a perfect score on his quiz to earn a framed certificate that says he has learned all the rules of chess! For more information click HERE. Read this article from The Alzheimer's Weekly By Roberta Bienenfeld and this article from the East Valley Tribune by John Leptich. A new blog post was entered on by Mark's Chess Blog by Mark Weeks entitled: Elsewhere on the Web : Checking Alzheimer's so be sure and check it out!

Check out this video of Patrick Ellis on the CBS affiliate channel 5 KPHO of Phoenix, Arizona!!

I speak to caregivers and to the elder-care medical community and have the chance to visit many facilities. Chess is a great idea–and other board and card games. Men don’t usually enjoy the arts and crafts or music time, and I do believe that some of the Alzheimer’s games are condescending. They have a sense when things aren’t “right.” Learning a skill–even if you have to relearn it over and over is rewarding–and for those with mild dementia–it can even keep the “beast” at bay.

Carol D. O’Dell

Author of Mothering Mother: A Daughter’s Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir, available on Amazon.

Our organization is not about people teaching chess. It is about expressing love. It is about your parents, and grandparents, who have a monster sneaking up behind them with intent to rob them of their memories and then steal their ability to move their bodies and finally take their lives. If we love them, don't we have to intervene?

As Silver Knights we stand between that horrible monster and your parents fighting to protect them. We not only want to add more years to their lives but also more life to their years. The fun and camaraderie of a chess club is one of the things that make life worth living.

Although chess is a lot of fun and adds joy to the lives of our students, the primary reason for this organization is to save lives. The research says that if we teach chess to 100 people who are 65 years old we save 25 lives!

That bears repeating because it is so important. The statistics say that if we teach a class of 100 people who are 65 years old, that we have saved 6 of your parents and grandparents from contracting and dying from Alzheimer's! Should all of those seniors reach the age of 85, we have saved 25 lives! This organization is not about chess, it is about saving lives. If you go into the nursing homes and assisted living facilities like we have and see the devistated lives, you know how important our charity is. This is why our work is so vital and why we need sponsors and volunteers!

We know that the Internet is full of scammers and we want you to feel 100 percent comfortable that you are giving to a worthy charity, so please CLICK HERE for some of our references.

We Need Sponsors and Volunteers

SPONSORS:

We need sponsors who we call “Nobles” who care about the elderly to help finance our work. It costs us about $100 in materials to train each student in our 1 year course (52 lessons). We are an all-volunteer force who have exhausted our personal funds and now need sponsors to step up and help us pay for the chess sets, and flash cards, and trophies, and demonstration boards, and metals and lesson plans, and the certificates needed to run the program. You can become a Noble for a donation as little a $3 per month for a year or a one time donation of $25. Even children can become a Noble! You will receive an award next to your name on our awards page called the Hall of Honor!

In addition to chess we also plan on bringing other mind expanding games to help those who don't care for chess. Chess however will always be our foundation because it is the gold standard in mind exercise. To become a Noble, simply make a donation with PayPal in the upper right and corner today. To learn more about the importance and benefits of becoming a Noble, please CLICK HERE.

Our SPONSOR-A-SENIOR Program:

For only $10 per month for a year you can Sponsor-A-Senior in a nursing home, or assisted living facility or hospital with an entire year of chess fun! You will get a photograph of your senior along with a "Thank You" email from your senior and reports every 6 months to tell you how he or she is progressing. To find out how to Sponsor-A-Senior, CLICK HERE. We now have a way to teach chess to the elderly who live too far away from a Silver Knight to participate in our regular program! It's The Silver Knights Face-To-Face Computer Online Chess Course! By using interactive face-to-face computer software you can talk to your coach and see him live and ask questions while learning chess! This brings a chess coach into every living room, assisted living facility and nursing home across United States.

To achieve our goals and provide chess to every adult who wants to avoid Alzheimer's by learning chess, we will need funding for computers, webcams and headsets for the elderly who are not blessed to have the equipment. These will be loaned to each student for the duration of the class. If you would like to participate by having a Silver Knight teach you chess on your computer please CLICK HERE for the application form and you will be put on a waiting list.

HOW TO DONATE:

VOLUNTEERS:

We need "Silver Knights" who know the rules of chess but need not have a rating to volunteer a couple of days per week to teach the elderly within 5 miles of your home. We provide documents and training. Do you know the rules of chess and have patients and love for our beloved senior citizens? To find out more about becoming a Silver Knight and to get an application form please CLICK HERE.

We need “Silver Squires” who know the rules of chess but need not have a rating who would be willing to go to a local nursing home within 5 miles of your home a few hours per week and just play with the elderly who already know how to play. Does that sound like fun to you? To find out more about the Silver Squires and get an application form, please CLICK HERE.

We need “Silver Pages” who will help the Silver Knights in non-chess-playing ways. If you have a spare ½ hour per month to donate, we can certainly use your help! If you would like to find out more about becoming a Silver Page and get an application form, please CLICK HERE. With your help The Silver Knights will be able to fight for your loved ones and help keep them safe from this horrible monster called Alzheimer’s!

THE SILVER KNIGHTS/CafePress ONLINE GIFT SHOP:

How would you like to get your Christmas shopping done by choosing from more than 100 customizable products in the comfort of your home and donate to the Silver Knights Charity all and at the same time! All you have to do is go to our Silver Knights/CafePress Online Gift Shop. A small donation is included with each product. We really do have more than 100 products that you can have customized to the occasion with the text and artwork you want. Or you can just give us the idea our artists will go crazy creating something wonderful for you at no extra charge!

Please don't wait until the week before Christmas to order. It takes about a week for our artists to create and post your products. All profits go toward helping the elderly by prevent Alzheimer's as well as giving them a lot of fun!

You can go to our Online Gift Shop HERE or browse the products right HERE on our site.

• All you have to do is pick the products you would like to purchase. (Click the picture of the teddy bear for a closer look)
  
• Then email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and let us know what text and artwork you would like. Let’s say you want a Teddy bear that that says “Happy 1st Birthday Amanda!” Circled with hearts and flowers.
  
• We create the artwork at no extra charge and post it in the “Finished Custom Art” section. If it is exactly what you want, you purchase it by putting it in the shopping cart.
• If it is not quite what you want...email the corrections to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call us at 1-480-948-4315.
• We will repost the changes and let you know when they are ready to purchase. ***Always make sure that the order is EXACTLY the way you want it before purchasing.*** You can even zoom in and see a close-up of the artwork you want before purchasing (click on picture of the artwork.) After purchasing it is too late to adjust the artwork.
• Once you purchase your products CafePress takes over and does all the printing and shipping so after you purchase the product, if you have a question about shipping, or delivery please call CafePress at 1-877-809-1659.
• Thank you for doing your shopping year round at our store and making a difference in the lives of our students and making it possible for us to save many more.