From 1pm until 4pm

At Porter Sanford III Performing Art and Community Center

3181 Rainbow Dr., Decatur Georgia 30034

Registration is free and limited you must RSVP to Attend info@besomeone.org

Jennifer Hudson / 770-465-6445 / info@besomeone.org

ATLANTA – Orrin "Checkmate" Hudson, founder of Be Someone Inc., a crime and violence prevention non-profit that uses the game of chess to mentor young people, explains, "We must give our young people hope. When they have no hope, we all lose."  Hudson, who has devoted his life to teaching young people they have the power to be happy and successful, adds, "Many young people do not know what it means to believe in themselves. They have never been taught that they can achieve or succeed."

Hudson speaks from experience. "I know firsthand what it’s like. I am a former gang member from Birmingham’s housing projects. I shared a small home with six brothers and six sisters. You do the math. It was not easy and I almost didn't make it.  But I did! Now, it’s my turn to help."

Hudson asks the question how can we stop the cycle of defeatism and teach our young people that they matter? He has an answer, "We do it one youngster at a time."  And that is what the organization he founded, Be Someone Inc., has been doing since 2001.  He is up to 75,000 students who have experienced his motivational instruction.  He pledges to reach 1 million before he turns the mission over to others.

Hudson's non-profit is based in Stone Mountain. At his training facility, teens learn to reach for a bishop, a knight, or a pawn, instead of a gun. Be Someone Inc. has used chess to bring students the life-affirming message of “Peace, Positivity, and Purpose” for almost 20 years. Hudson emphasizes he is  creating a new currency called KASH - Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, and Habits - in order to change lives for the better and teaching proven concepts such as "brains before bullets" and "pants up, heads, grades up, never give up."  He speaks in a language young people understand. 

Here are more details about Hudson and the upcoming free and open to the public event:

Interviews:  Orrin Hudson
Visuals:  Students learning on a life-sized chess board
Contact:  Jennifer Hudson 770-465-6445 info@besomeone.org

More information is available at www.besomeone.org