Aren Emrikian, a New Trier High School senior from Wilmette, is hosting two fundraising events Oct. 23 and 24 to benefit the MATHCOUNTS Foundation.

The first is a charity chess simultaneous exhibition on Friday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. Emrikian, who won a World Chess Federation Under-8 gold medal as a 7-year-old, will take on up to 25 players at once. Seats require a $50 donation, with all proceeds going to the MATHCOUNTS Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides math programs for students in grades 6 through 8. Players must bring their own boards.

The next morning, Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m., Emrikian hosts a Math-A-Thon open to middle school students and younger participants. The competition features a Sprint Round of 30 problems in 40 minutes with no calculators, followed by a Countdown Round where the top six scorers face off head-to-head while parents watch. Prizes go to the top six finishers. Entry requires a $45 donation, and 100 percent goes to the MATHCOUNTS Foundation. Each donation covers one student's entry to an official MATHCOUNTS competition.

Both events take place at St. John's Lutheran Church, 1235 Wilmette Ave., across from the Wilmette Public Library.

Emrikian founded Kids Inspire Kids, a free math circle for middle schoolers, in June 2024. The program meets weekly or biweekly at St. John's and draws about 11 to 12 participants per session. He also launched the MATHCOUNTS Club at Chute Middle School in Evanston ahead of the 2025-26 school year. His mother, Ani Emrikian, told The Record North Shore in August it was Chute's first math club in more than 15 years. Four students from that club competed in the official MATHCOUNTS Competition Series last season.

Emrikian raised just under $1,500 for the foundation last year. His goal this year is $5,000, he told North Shore Weekly.

"In my opinion, every child has potential," Emrikian told The Record North Shore in August. "And so some kids really enjoy doing math, but they don't have that access to resources like I did because I had the privilege of going to Wilmette Junior High."

To register for the Math-A-Thon, families donate online and type the student's name in the comment field. Parent volunteers are needed to help grade tests; interested volunteers can email [email protected]. Problems from the Math-A-Thon will be reviewed at the next Kids Inspire Kids Math Circle session on Saturday, Nov. 7.

To reserve a seat at the chess simul, players donate $50 through the Kids Inspire Kids website.