NORTH AMERICAN SCRABBLE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
FOUNDATION FOR YOUTH LITERACY
WHO WE ARE AND
WHAT WE DO
The primary focus of the NASPA Foundation for Youth Literacy is to help and encourage students who benefit from playing word games. To give as many children as possible the opportunity to expand their word skills, the Foundation provides funds to those who are financially in need, as well as to those who have excelled. The Foundation helps with travel expenses, awards, and more, so that students can have the opportunity to compete in local, state, regional, and national SCRABBLE events.
The NASPA Foundation for Youth Literacy is a 501(c)3 private nonprofit organization started by Chris and Carla Cree in 2013. They are respected players on the SCRABBLE® tournament circuit who, over the years, have provided support and leadership for numerous SCRABBLE events and are both Trustees serving the North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA). Establishing the Foundation for Youth Literacy has become their way of contributing to the community with a new, compelling method of helping students exercise and expand their literacy skills.
Playing word games such as SCRABBLE® builds language and math skills and reinforces teamwork and character. If you would like to help students take their skills to the next level, please see the Donate page for details about supporting this valuable literacy initiative.
Avid Scrabble players and Foundation for Youth Literacy founders Chris and Carla Cree.
Spellbound
Word games such as SCRABBLE® accomplish so much! Educators agree with NASPA Foundation for Youth Literacy — that playing SCRABBLE truly engages students, producing long-term improvement in both language and social skills.
Indeed, we've had great success using SCRABBLE competitions to improve reading capability for children who struggle with skills most people take for granted. Even students with dyslexia, for instance, can benefit from School SCRABBLE.
When the timers start ticking, teams get down to business. Students become engrossed in the focused interactions during the game, the problem solving, the competitive spirit that energizes a team, all that spelling — and there's even a lot of math mixed in, too. This is exactly what the Foundation wants each participating student to experience.
Not Just Another Spelling Bee
For adult volunteers in the program, watching the evolution of young School SCRABBLE players as they learn the ropes and master advanced word skills has been a truly rewarding aspect of the Foundation's youth tournament initiative.In fact, quite a few of these players have emerged onto the adult tournament scene as formidable National SCRABBLE Tournament competitors!
You Can Help
You, too, can play a part in bringing this instructional interactivity to students looking to excel in a fun and productive program. Any contribution you provide the NASPA Foundation for Youth Literacy will help these students succeed.
Please see our Donate page for more information or contact us today to see
how you can help.
There’s competition. There’s teamwork.
There’s strategy. There’s even math and spelling. And over 1 million students in 20,000 US schools are doing it—playing SCRABBLE that is. But it’s not your grandma’s SCRABBLE. Teams play fast and score big using words like QWERTY and ZA.
Kathy Hummel, Coach
NASPA FOUNDATION
FOR YOUTH LITERACY
Board of Directors
Chris Cree Elizabeth Phifer
Mary Rhoades John Chew