Fundraisers / Mah Jongg with a Mission
Mah Jongg with a Mission, 
MAHJ with a mission
A morning lesson for beginners, an afternoon of open play for everyone, lunch and a cocktail hour. Every ticket supports breast cancer screening in our community.
The Forks Cafeteria, 339 S. Brooks St., Wake Forest
Registration is open.
Every tile funds a screening
Proceeds from the day, after costs, go to breast cancer screening assistance, so women in our community can get a mammogram whether or not they can pay for it.
The Wake Forest Rotary Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 27-2887516), sells the tickets and gives the proceeds to local health care partners, restricted in writing to breast cancer screening.
New to the game? Come for the lesson. Already play? Bring a friend and play all afternoon.
Pick your ticket
Learn & Play
$75
- 10:30 beginner lesson with instructor Janice Press
- Lunch
- Coached afternoon play at beginner tables
- Cocktail hour and prizes
Limited seats. You will need the 2026 NMJL Card. No card? Add one when you register and receive it at the lesson.
12 seats left
Play
$50
- Lunch at noon
- Open play all afternoon
- Cocktail hour and prizes
The club provides the sets. Tell us your level when you register. No 2026 NMJL Card? Add one.
96 seats left
Sponsor Table of Four
$500
- A reserved table for four
- A bottle of wine or champagne at the table
- Recognition at the event and on materials
Includes four Play seats. Send guest names any time before the event. Guests without a 2026 NMJL Card can add one.
6 tables left
Part of each ticket is tax-deductible: the amount paid minus the estimated value of the meal, refreshments and lesson. A 2026 NMJL Card is $15 and is not deductible.
About the 2026 NMJL Card
American Mah Jongg is played from the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) Card, which lists the winning hands and changes every year. Every player needs the current one. Players who already have the 2026 NMJL Card bring it; those who do not add one at registration and receive it at the lesson or at check-in. The 2027 NMJL Card is released in April.
How we play
- Official National Mah Jongg League rules and the 2026 NMJL Card: American Mah Jongg, no house rules.
- The instructor's rulings at the table are final.
- About four games an hour.
- The club provides the sets; you are welcome to bring your own.
How the day runs
Beginners spend the morning in a lesson, then play at their own tables with the instructor coaching. Experienced players arrive for lunch and play open games all afternoon. Everyone shares lunch and the cocktail hour.
- 10:00
- Check-in opens for beginners
- 10:30
- Beginner lesson for Learn & Play ticket holders
- 11:30
- Check-in opens for all players
- 12:00
- Lunch
- 1:00
- Open play. Beginners at their own tables with the instructor until 3:00; all other tables until 3:30
- 3:30
- Cocktail hour: beer and wine, desserts, raffle drawing
- 4:00
- Closing: thanks, prize baskets, Best Beginner, door prizes
- 5:00
- Event ends
Lunch and the cocktail hour
Lunch at noon
Finger foods from The Forks, served along the wall so the play tables stay set.
Chicken salad on mini croissants, pimento cheese and country ham biscuits, chicken tenders, deviled eggs, sausage balls, fruit skewers, lemon bars, pecan tassies, sweet and unsweet tea, lemonade, coffee.
Cocktail hour at 3:30
Beer and wine with desserts. Banana pudding cups, pound cake bites, brownies, a fruit tray and a cheese board, with the raffle drawing.
Cash bar poured by club members: wine $7, beer $5. 21 and over, ID required.
Menu subject to change.
A bucket for every prize
Drop your tickets in the buckets for the prizes you want. Tickets are $5 each, five for $20, or an arm's length for $25, sold on the day at check-in, lunch and the cocktail hour. Cash or card.
- Mah Jongg set with racks and case, drawn last
- Restaurant night out
- Wine basket
- Spa or salon package
- Pink basket
- Beach weekend
Friendly competition
No bracket. Each table keeps a simple tally, and the top totals take home prize baskets at closing. Every player gets a small Mah Jongg gift at check-in.
- Most Mah Jonggs
- Table tally
- Most closed hands
- Table tally
- Jokerless hand
- Declare one in the afternoon
- Best Beginner
- The instructor's pick
- Door prizes
- Every player gets a ticket
Sponsor a table
$500 reserves a table for four with a bottle at the table, and puts your name in front of the room and on every event material.
Sponsor a tableTake a vendor table
Up to eight vendor tables at $100: a 2x6 ft table in a 6x6 ft area along the path for check-in, lunch and the cocktail hour, plus a listing on event materials. Every vendor gives a door prize for the players' drawing.
Apply for a vendor tableGood to know
Do I need to know how to play?
No. Choose Learn & Play: the morning lesson starts from the beginning, and the instructor coaches the beginner tables all afternoon.
Do I need the 2026 NMJL Card?
Yes. Every player, beginner or experienced, needs the 2026 NMJL Card, because it lists the hands we play. If you have one, bring it. If not, add it for $15 when you register and receive it at the lesson, or at check-in for Play and sponsor guests.
Which rules do you play by?
The official rules of the National Mah Jongg League and the 2026 NMJL Card: American Mah Jongg, with no house rules. The instructor's rulings at the table are final. Expect about four games an hour.
What should I bring?
Your 2026 NMJL Card. The club provides the sets; you are welcome to bring your own set and mat (tell us when you register).
Can I come with friends and sit together?
Yes. Everyone in one order is seated together. Friends registering separately? Name them under "Anyone else you would like to sit near?" on the form. Four friends can also take a sponsor table.
Is my ticket tax-deductible?
In part. The deductible amount is what you paid minus the estimated value of the meal, refreshments and lesson. The 2026 NMJL Card is not deductible. Your receipt comes from the Wake Forest Rotary Foundation.
What is the refund policy?
Tickets, sponsor tables and vendor tables can be refunded in full until Saturday, February 13, 2027. Email the club to ask. After that date there are no refunds, but you can give your place to someone else: email us their name and we will update the list. If the club cancels or postpones the event, everyone gets a full refund. Card payments go back to the card in 5 to 10 business days; cash and check payments are refunded by check.
Where do I park?
The Forks Cafeteria, 339 S. Brooks St., Wake Forest. Free parking in The Forks lot; enter through the main entrance.
Where do the proceeds go?
To breast cancer screening assistance for women in our community, through local health care partners, after the costs of the day.
Who do I ask about anything else?
Call the club at (919) 745-0377 or email wakeforestrotary@gmail.com.
The Forks Cafeteria
339 S. Brooks St., Wake Forest, NC 27587. Free parking in The Forks lot; enter through the main entrance. Questions: (919) 745-0377 or wakeforestrotary@gmail.com.
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