My name is Dejan Radic and I run the Chess program at Terry Fox.  I just wanted to take a few minutes of your time to say thank-you. Every year, I run a chess club which meets twice a week for lunch.  Years ago, it started out as a small make-shift club, which attracted a handful of kids just looking for a place to hang out during lunch and maybe play some chess.  At the time, I had barely enough sets to run the club, and they quickly got damaged, lost, or stolen.  In short, I was worried that the club would fold before it even really got started. So, I asked PAC for help, and received a small amount to replace lost, damaged, or stolen sets.  The funds certainly helped, and without it the club would have certainly folded.  Let's face it, at the time, chess at Fox was not as popular as say Football or Basketball, for example. The next year, we tried again and saw a modest improvement in participation and interest.  Soon, the club grew and housed a dozen or so kids.  With more and more kids coming, however, more and more sets were being damaged, lost, or stolen.  So, again I asked for PAC to help, which they did!

Eventually, due to the growing interest in our club, I started a chess class called Chess 11.  This class helped bolster interest in chess and we saw a modest club grow into something out of control!  We had to move to a bigger classroom, and had to ask PAC again for assistance in purchasing more sets--which they so graciously did.  It seemed like every time I asked PAC for help, they stepped up and helped.  Our chess club is now the biggest club at our school!  But this would not have been possible without the help from our PAC.

I just wanted you to know how grateful I am for all the help you've given us over the years.  It seems that with every year our club gets bigger and bigger, and with more and more chess sets getting damaged, lost, or stolen, PAC was/is always there to help--and for that I'm eternally grateful.  Many of our kids now have someplace to go to for lunch: a safe and quiet place where they can socialize, be together, and play chess.  And this was/is all possible because of our PAC.  And I know that this year our kids will be eager and looking forward to another year in our club, and I know that this year I'll probably ask for help again in replacing lost, damaged, or stolen sets (from last year).  And I know that, again, our PAC will be there to help us out, as always.  I can't tell you how much good you've done for our school, our club, and our chess program in general.  We still may not be as popular as Basketball or Football, but try telling that to about 50 kids in our school that support our club day in-day out, rain or shine, whether I'm there to let them in or not! Thank you a thousand times!  You have made a tremendous difference in our school. Looking forward to working with you again,

 Dejan Radic.