Nonprofit writing and tutoring center 826CHI has a simple but effective mission: make a wide variety of services not only accessible to Chicago grade school students, but free of charge as well.

Funding for the increasingly popular programs at 826CHI, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., has been largely successful due to the unique fundraising programs it offers, said 826CHI co-director Mara O’Brien.

Last year alone, 826CHI served more than 7,000 Chicago area students, while the field trip program allowed CPS teachers to take students to the 826CHI writing center-located in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago-filling up all 100 spots in less than two weeks, O’Brien said.

A mustache-a-thon, where participants raised money to support the growing of their mustaches, a secondhand attire-themed prom for adults and the writing center’s espionage-themed gift shop, The Boring Store, are just some of the ways 826CHI has previously funded their programs.

A Scrabble for Cheaters tournament is 826CHI’s newest venture to be held at the writing center on Oct. 18, allowing teams to purchase officially sanctioned cheats for the tile-based word game.

“We are fierce competitors here at 826 Chicago,” said Patrick Shaffner, the outreach coordinator. “The competitive air that goes along with the tournament will be rich and ripe for the breathing.”

The tournament is open to any two-member teams “willing to put their tiles on the line,” according to official tournament rules, which require teams to have matching attire for tournament day.

Pledges can be made for participating teams at the writing center’s website, 826CHI.org, by donating money for a variety of one-time-only cheats. For example, $50 can buy a team a vowel tile, $150 can add 10 points to increase a letter score, $400 can allow teams to reject an opponent’s word and $500 grants a team authority to create a word as long as they make up a definition.

826National operates six other nonprofit writing centers across the country. The organization seeks to get grade school students excited and motivated about creative writing, free of charge. Many of the centers are popularized by their unique blend of fundraising activities.

Its Los Angeles branch held a miniature-golf-for-cheaters tournament a few years ago, while the New York City chapter hosted a Dungeons and Dragons tournament for girls in May, said Scott Sceley, the executive director of 826NYC.

The Scrabble for Cheaters tournament, which was originally held in the New York City writing center in January, was a huge success, hosting more than 80 participants and raising more than $20,000, Sceley said.

“There were so many participants that they had to do it in heaps,” he said. “There wasn’t enough space … we had to cap it at one point.”

Teaching effective writing styles to grade school students is a difficult process for CPS teachers to do alone, O’Brien said. Testing requirements that force teachers to teach writing in a mechanical way makes getting students excited about creative writing a struggle, she said.

“[CPS] schools are doing the best they can, but it’s one of the areas that could use the extra help,” she said. “We try and make it creative and fun for [students] without the structure of school assignments.”

826CHI provides in-school projects, sending volunteers to CPS schools to offer support for teachers as well as a field trip program, where teachers can bring their classes to the 826CHI writing center. Drop-in tutoring and workshop classes are also available at the center that houses their gift shop, The Boring Store, which sells published work students at the center have created.

The tournament didn’t go off without controversy in New York City, however. Hasbro, the makers of Scrabble, threatened to sue 826NYC in January for unauthorized use of their board game name.

“Our lawyers told us we could never [host a Scrabble-themed fundraiser] again because Hasbro has been really aggressive about who uses their name,” Sceley said. “We were very worried about it.”

Although 826CHI has had difficulty contacting Hasbro, Shaffner said, the tournament is worth the risk. 826CHI has also posted a disclaimer unaffiliating themselves from Hasbro, according to their website, 826CHI.org.

Patrick DiMichele, a resident of Wicker Park who works at a marketing communications firm, said he is participating in the tournament because he is impressed with 826CHI’s unique educational outreach.

“It’s an interesting cause,” he said. “826Chicago does great things in the neighborhood.”

The deadline for teams to sign up for the Scrabble for Cheaters tournament is Sept. 21.

For more information, visit 826CHI.org.