All of us are familiar with this scenario: You have tickets to an event and then something comes up. So, after making an attempt to give them away by contacting a few friends, you finally give up and the tickets go unused.

Alamo resident and Monte Vista High School senior Jack Chabolla, 17, the son of Mary and Greg Chabolla, found a way to put those unused tickets to good use by selling the donated tickets, with all the proceeds going to College is Real, (CIR), a nonprofit organization founded by Alamo resident Brad Blake. The group provides academic counseling, tutoring, mentoring and scholarships for underprivileged athletes at Richmond High School. I've written about the organization over the years and you can also learn more by going to their website, www.collegeisreal.org.

Jack became aware of the wonderful things CIR was doing because his father, Greg, sits on the CIR board and Jack had the thought that many companies and individuals have season tickets for sports, concerts, plays, etc., that sometimes go unused.

"Jack thought this was a huge waste of value and opportunity, just like the way he saw the students at Richmond High slipping through the cracks," said Greg. So, this past April, Jack formed a nonprofit organization called, "Tickets to College," which is designated as a venue to convert donated tickets to cash, with 100 percent going to CIR, which in turn enables the

Advertisement
organization to continue with its mission, especially with scholarship funding. Jack designed his website, www.tickets-to-college.com, and with his social media networks began spreading the word about CIR and Tickets to College, even contacting corporations all over the state, requesting any unused tickets, which Jack personally picks up, even at the last minute.

"I love the feeling of giving back, because growing up in our affluent communities, sports and college are taken for granted, unlike the students at Richmond High," Jack told me, who shared that recently he attended a Giants game, which was "sold out," only to look around and see hundreds of open seats, which would have been revenue for College is Real.

Jack is quite devoted to helping CIR with his Tickets to College efforts, as evidenced by his website: "All of my time, transportation and supplies are contributed by me. There is no charge to anyone, and I am not reimbursed for any expenses. All I really need is a steady supply of tickets to sell. If you or your company have tickets of any kind, would you consider contributing to the success of Tickets to College by donating some tickets?"

I understand that Jack has made contact with almost 3,000 companies and has been successful in his collection and selling of tickets not only in our neck of the woods, but in Southern California as well. He has had such a positive response that some companies have committed to donate tickets on a regular basis. To date, this 4.0 honors student athlete, (football and crew) has obtained and sold tickets to the Sharks playoffs, a Bruce Springsteen concert, Giant's baseball and the Alameda County Fair, to name a few. Jack is contemplating making Tickets to College a long-term program by handpicking his successors, perhaps through some sort of competition.

"CIR is a great organization doing some pretty amazing things, and I'm thrilled Jack is helping out with his novel idea and hard work," said Greg. "He continues to amaze me with his devotion to this important cause and his commitment to giving back to the community," he added.

Way to go, Jack! Keep up the hard work, and I look forward to an update.

Contact Caterina Mellinger at around- alamo@hotmail.com.