Uncategorised

April 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

April 2021 - Issue 199

Building Network of Support for Youth

As we approach the end of this school year we face uncertainty because of the pandemic, because of unequal access to learning resources and opportunities, and because of many other challenges that face all of us.

In the first graphic below I ask "How can we do this better?" That refers to helping kids in poverty move through school, or to any other problem we're facing.

In the following sections I point to on-line libraries where information can be found and used to innovate local and global solutions.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

The ideas and resources shared in this monthly newsletter point to a library of resources that can be used by anyone, in Chicago, or around the world, to help mentor-rich youth programs thrive in all of the neighborhoods where they are most needed.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Where can you find ideas?

While I point to the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web site as a rich resource, within my library I point to other sites which not only are also rich resources, but have more updated, interactive websites, making the information easier to find. Below are a few of those places.

If you know of interactive web libraries that you find useful, please share a link with me on Twitter, Facebook and/or Linkedin. Let's try to draw more users to all of them.

Digital Promise - learning issues

Over 500 public school and district staff members—including teachers, principals, superintendents, and others—from across the U.S. responded to a survey sharing their highest-priority challenges in education. Each circle in this interactive graphic represents a single challenge. Visit the website. Click here.

See blog article where I point to this site.

"Whatever community you are in, you are bound to find something parallel and worth digging into."

That's the premise behind the Education Reimagined organization and website.

Open this link and view the interactive map showing six categories of learning environments, representing ideas that people from anyplace can draw from to improve their own.

See blog article where I point to this site.

World Economic Forum's Strategic Intelligence Map.

This is one of the most extensive, interactive web libraries that I've found recently. It looks like you need to subscribe to use it (not the case a year ago).

However, it's a rich resource. On this page they show the Sustainable Development Goals. Click on any box and go deeper into the library.

See blog article where I point to this site.

Center for American Progress

The graphic above shows the ISSUES page on the Center for American Progress website. Click on any of the categories and the site takes you into articles related to that issue.

If you do search for "Center for American Progress" on the Tutor/Mentor blog you find three articles.

In 2012 I pointed to a blog article about collective impact on their website.

Digital Access and Digital Divide

IDEA 2030 is a research initiative at Tufts University that aims to focus the minds of decision-makers through data-driven insights on inclusive digital economies.

Visit the site and view the webinar held on March 31, 2021. View slides from the webinar (example above) at this link .

View the Digital Divide concept map where I point to this and other resources. click here

"Wondering Why Broadband Access is important to work and learning?"

That's a question educators from around the country are asking in a Shaping.Edu initiative hosted by Arizona State University.

The Shaping.edu group hosts ZOOM events, a Slack channel, and shares on Twitter. Anyone can join them.

See the blog article where I point to this.

Global Issues and Systems Thinking

Sustainable Development Goals

The SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.

The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.

See blog article where I point to this.

Systems Thinking offers a way to reach a shared understanding about complex issues.

At this link I point to an article titled "Covid-19 means systems thinking is no longer optional." The article includes excellent descriptions of what systems thinking is and applies this thinking to the Covid-19 pandemic.

See blog article where I applied this thinking to work needed to help kids in poverty areas move through school and into adult lives.

The on-going challenge of funding the work

Any efforts to solve complex problems are more difficult because of the difficult of finding on-going operating dollars. The traditional philanthropy and government grant process causes competition for funding, which is theoretically good, since the best ideas get funded.

However, as I wrote in this article, when multiple organizations doing similar work are needed in many places, such as non-school tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and other cities, a system that only funds a few, and does not encourage (and fund) constant improvement, reaches only a few of the people who need help.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Resources from Tutor/Mentor:

* List of Chicago area youth Tutor and/or Mentor programs, plus other resources for finding youth programs - click here

* Facebook pages of Chicago area youth programs - click here

* Instagram pages of Chicago area youth programs - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog -click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - This blog article shows short links to each section in Tutor/Mentor library and to concept maps and PDF strategy presentations - click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network - click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

While I point to the same sites each month, they update on their sites regularly.

* Philanthropy and Covid-19: Measuring One Year of Giving. Issue Lab report. pdf. click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - Covid-19 resources - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find activities for youth - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth web site, click here; blog -click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project web site - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center -click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

*Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles-click here

Please help update this cMap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes.

About this newsletter.

While I try to send this only once a month, I write blog articles weekly. Throughout the newsletter I post links to a few of the articles published in the past month or earlier. I encourage you to spend a little time each week reading these articles and following the links. Use the ideas and presentations in group discussions with other people who are concerned about the same issues.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

May 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

May 2021 - Issue 200

Celebrate Tutor/Mentor Programs

For the past few weeks I've been seeing posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from various Chicago area youth tutor and/or mentor programs that invite people to participate in on-line year-end celebrations and that draw attention to program participants and graduates.

I point to a few of these in the graphics below and provide links to my lists of programs, so that you can visit their websites, join in the celebrations, and become a volunteer and/or donor to help them repeat this cycle again in the 2021-22 school year.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Year-end celebrations

Below I show Twitter posts from Chicago Lights, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, Highsight and Bottom Line. These are just a few that I've seen from Chicago volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor programs who post regularly on Twitter.

I attended the Highsight event on Zoom. Others are still upcoming. Having led a tutor/mentor program with seniors graduating every year, I really appreciated the stories told by Highsight seniors and alumni.

See the Twitter list pointing to Chicago area programs Click here.

Visit @tutormentorteam on Twitter and scroll through my posts to see how I ReTweet announcements from many Chicago programs.

Chicago Tutor and/or Mentor Program Links Library updated

Currently there are 186 organizations listed in the web library I started building via the Tutor/Mentor Connection, back in 1994. Each year I open each link to make sure it is working, to try to see if the program is still operating, to update myself on the work being done and how the organization shares information on its websites. I just completed that process.

As I did this I created JPG images of the home pages of a few programs and shared these on Twitter, along with a link to the organization's website. This is part of the long-term strategy that I stated in 1993, aimed at increasing visibility for every tutor/mentor program in the region, with the goal of drawing a more consistent flow of dollars and volunteers to each program, based on the information they share on their websites.

I maintain three lists to help draw attention to Chicago area programs. The main one is on the Tutor/Mentor Connection website. Click here to view.
I also plot locations of these organizations on a map of Chicago, which you can find at this link.

I also host a list of the Facebook pages of most of these organizations - click here

And I host a list of Instagram pages - click here

Links to programs shown below: Chicago Scholars, Cluster Tutoring, Blessed Sacrament Youth Center, Tutoring Chicago.

More posts by Chicago programs on Twitter

Programs shown: Actuarial Foundation, Breakthrough, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, MapsCorps These are just a few of the youth tutor, mentor & learning programs serving Chicago.

Help Me Maintain and Share this Information

Anyone who has a computer can spend time viewing the lists of Chicago area tutoring and/or mentoring programs that I hosts.

That means individuals, or groups, could adopt sections of the city and suburbs, and build a deeper understanding of what programs exist and what they do. They could check my list for accuracy, or to tell me to add and/or delete or to fix broken links.

They can also create and share images to help build visibility and draw volunteers to programs.

You don't need to ask for permission. Just start doing it. I'll know you are taking this role from your email messages to me, and your posts on social media.

How Well Is USA Achieving the Global Goals? Poorly.

I watch several ZOOM events monthly. One using the hashtag #InTheRed provided information showing performance of every state in the USA against each of the 17 Global Goals. See data and view webinar on this website.

View blog articles where I point to several on-line events from the past month.

May 6 article - click here

April 1 article - click here

Does your city have someone doing what I do?
If not, borrow from my history and create your own
Tutor/Mentor Connection type strategy.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Enough Is Enough. Adopt this Strategy - click here

How Would YOU Visualize these Ideas? - click here

How will Changing Demographics Affect Chicago Tutor and/or Mentor Programs? - click here

Follow Negative News with "The Rest of the Story' - click here

Other Resources from Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC websites:

* Planning resources, such as "How to Start a Tutor/Mentor Program - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - This blog article shows short links to each section in Tutor/Mentor library and to concept maps and PDF strategy presentations - click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network -click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here

Please help update this cMap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes.

Chicagoland Resources & Announcements

* We Will Chicago - citywide planning initiative - click here

Future Leaders in Planning - CMAP Summer Programs Opportunity for Youth. Apply by June 11 - click here

* What is Wireless Industry Doing to Connect Kids? Learn from CITA website - click here

* Turning America's Digital Divide into Digital Dividends. Visit Digital Planet website. click here

* Philanthropy and Covid-19: Measuring One Year of Giving. IssueLab report. pdf. click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find activities for youth - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth website, click here; view blog - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project web site - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

June-July 2021 eNews

June-July 2021 - Issue 201

Get to Know Chicago Tutor/Mentor Programs

In the May newsletter I shared screen shots from Twitter and Facebook of 12 Chicago area tutor and/or mentor programs. I feature a few more in this issue.

I point to these and other programs as an example of what others can do to help well-organized, volunteer-based youth tutor and/or mentor programs attract attention and resources needed to provide on-going services. I provide links to my lists of programs, so that you can visit their websites, learn what they do, and become a volunteer and/or donor to help them continue in the 2021-22 school year.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Programs Telling Stories of Student Success

Below I show Twitter posts from Chicago Lights, Highsight, PEAKChicago, Cluster Tutoring, HighJumpChicago and College Mentoring Experience.

Use lists of programs hosted by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

I maintain three lists to help draw attention to Chicago area programs. The main one is on the Tutor/Mentor Connection website. Click here to view.

I also plot locations of these organizations on a map of Chicago, which you can find at this link.

The image below shows a list of the Facebook pages of most of these organizations - click here

You can also find a list of Instagram pages on the site - click here

Help EACH youth program attract and retain needed talent.

Below are two of many graphics you can find on Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC websites and blogs. These visualize a goal of helping programs attract people with many different skills and talents, representing every business and civic sector, who help build and sustain well-organized, long-term, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs reaching k-12 youth in high poverty neighborhoods.

Read series of blog article focused on "talent needed". click here

Engage youth and volunteers in understanding
and solving complex problems.

One of the best ways to build a relationship between a youth and an adult is to focus on an issue beyond their immediate life that they can learn about, and perhaps become involved with.

The Tutor/Mentor library has sub sections with links to many research articles, and to websites that are hubs of information for specific issues.

Dig through the T/M library often to find these sites.

One sub-section focuses on race, poverty and inequality. Help volunteers, donors and youth educate themselves, then educate others.

Find links to sections of the library in this article.

Learn Ways to Expand Volunteer Recruitment Success

After a year of remote learning most site-based tutor and/or mentor programs are now ramping up plans for face-to-face sessions starting in the new school year. They are all looking for volunteers!

Now is the time for good planning and for enlisting business, media, faith groups and others to help "spread the word" and point potential volunteers to your websites.

Visit this section of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC site for tips on recruiting volunteers.

Learn how other cities might duplicate what Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC does in Chicago. click here

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Expanded Role of Volunteer in Tutor/Mentor Programs - click here

Juneteenth - Year-Round Learning - click here

Climate Crisis: Environmental Racism - click here

"Why not me?" IWU Commencement - click here

Planning Cycle for Youth Tutor and/or Mentor Programs - click here

Digital Divide resources - click here

Thoughts about maps - click here

Other Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Looking for a Chicago youth program? Use the links in this concept map - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network - click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

*Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles-click here

Please help update this cMap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes.

Chicagoland Resources & Announcements

* We Will Chicago - citywide planning initiative - click here

* New Broadband Access map from Biden administration - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find map of activities for youth - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Educational Opportunities map - click here

* Mapping Covid Recovery Project - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth website, click here; blog -click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center -click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

Connect with Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and each other on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Find links to my social media pages here.

Mission, History, Strategy and Introduction to founder, Dan Bassill

On the right side of the home page at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net are links to pages that will give you a deeper understanding of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and its founder, Daniel F. Bassill.

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

August 2021 T/M eNews

August 2021 - Issue 202

Help Mobilize Volunteers and Donors for Local Tutor and/or Mentor Programs

Every August since 1975 I've launched a volunteer and student recruitment campaign to draw volunteers and youth to tutor/mentor programs I led in Chicago.

In 1993 when I formed the Tutor/Mentor Connection, this outreach expanded to support more than 120 non-school, volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs.

While we published a printed directory from 1994 to 2002 our lists of programs has been available on the Internet since 1998. Anyone can use it to help draw volunteers, youth and donors to youth programs in every part of Chicago or in other cities.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Programs Telling Stories on Social Media

At the right I show a Twitter list including more than 170 Chicago area youth programs. I host a similar list for programs that use Facebook, and that use Instagram.

In addition, I host a list of Chicago area programs on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website.

Visit the home page of the T/MI website. On the left side, under HOT LINKS, you'll find links to each of these lists.

Go to: www.tutormentorexchange.net

Enlist local businesses, media, faith groups and public leaders as partners to help mobilize volunteers and donors.

Below is a copy of a Volunteer Recruitment ad that appeared in a Chicago newspaper in 2006, pointing to the list of programs hosted by the Tutor/Mentor Connection. If multiple companies, businesses, faith groups, etc. created and published similar ads throughout August, more people would be reached and motivated to search out youth tutor and/or mentor programs to support.

If you're involved in advertising sales for local media, create a template and go to local companies to encourage them to post these ads, with their company logo shown in the middle, such as in this example.

In November a similar ad campaign could be repeated, but this time focused on year-end fund raising.

While individual youth programs could adopt this strategy to draw attention to their own programs, the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC seek to support EVERY volunteer-based youth tutor, mentor and learning program within a geographic area such as the Chicago region. Others can duplicate this strategy in cities across the world.

Tune up your website! Make sure visitors find information that motivates them to support you.

How well does your website or blog inform potential volunteers, donors or student participants?

I created this "shoppers guide" to offer suggestions for what you might want to show on your web site. These are also suggestions for information you'd want to connect to evaluate your program and constantly try to improve its impact.

If you're a communications professional, web designer, advertising writer, etc. you might offer your talent to help local programs build and maintain more powerful websites. Many don't have the money to hire people to do this work.

How Many Programs are Needed in Chicago?

In late July the Chicago SunTimes pointed to 15 Chicago community areas as having the highest number of shootings and homicides in 2021, calling them "High Priority" areas.

The Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC created a presentation showing how the SunTimes maps, and the Tutor/Mentor Chicago Programs Map could be used in an analysis intended to build and sustain programs in each of these community areas.

View some of the maps in this article - click here

View each maps in this T/MI pdf - click here

Putting Data to Work for Young People

Every Hour Counts, along with the Wallace Foundation, has released a new framework for measurement and continuous improvement of afterschool systems, programs and support for youth.

It's part of an extensive library on the Wallace Foundation website. View the report - click here

I found this in my @tutormentorteam Twitter feed. It's a continuous source of new resources that can be used to help youth throughout the country.

All Students Deserve Enriching, Authentic Relationships

New article from the Gates Foundation supports mentoring and points to a Christensen Institute playbook on how to build and strengthen students' networks.

Read the article and follow the links. Click here.

Reach out and give support to Chicago youth tutor and/or mentor programs. See how I pointed to a few in this May 2021 eNews.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Response to Chicago Violence: Do the Planning - click here

Give Olympic Gold Medals for Ending Poverty - click here

Multi-Site Youth Programs in Chicago - click here

Take a Tour of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website - click here

Racism and the Economy - Get Informed - click here

Network Building: Learning from the Past - click here

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words - click here

Mentoring As a Workforce Development Strategy -c lick here

Other Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network - click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

Chicagoland Resources & Announcements

* We Will Chicago - citywide planning initiative - click here

* New Broadband Access map from Biden administration - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find map of activities for youth - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth website, click here; blog - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

*Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles-click here

Please help update this cMap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes

Learn how other cities might duplicate what Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC does in Chicago. click here

Mission, History, Strategy and Introduction to founder, Dan Bassill

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Sept 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

September 2021 - Issue 203

Back-to-School Learning Resources

As you read this newsletter every volunteer-based youth tutor and/or mentor program is seeking new volunteers and enrolling students. During September there will be training and orientation sessions and, hopefully, by the start of October youth and volunteers will begin weekly sessions that will last through the school year, and beyond.

In this month's newsletter I'm pointing to homework help resources that anyone can use throughout the year, as well as training resources to help volunteers and parents.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Resource to help youth and volunteers find tutor and/or mentor programs.

In addition, I host a list of Chicago area programs on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website.

Visit the home page of www.tutormentorexchange.net and on the left side, under HOT LINKS, you'll find links to each of these lists.

Training resources for volunteers and parents

Visit this section of the Tutor/Mentor library and browse three sub-sections of training resources available for tutor and mentor volunteers, as well as parents.

Homework help, learning resources.

View this concept map to find sections of learning resources in the Tutor/Mentor web library.

Categories include:

math science
written skills
literature and arts
social science
multiple subjects
extra curricular

Point Volunteers to On-going Learning

Volunteers who connect with youth in organized tutor/mentor programs can have a much greater impact beyond the regular time they spend with youth. Point them to libraries with information about poverty, segregation, structural racism, inequality, etc. and encourage them to read and discuss this information. The longer a volunteer stays involved, and the more informed she is, the more that volunteer will do to help the youth and the program.

Service learning loop video - click here

View Law, Justice, Poverty library map.

Tell your story on social media

In the Tutor/Mentor web library I point to more than 2000 websites. As I update the library I look for Twitter accounts, then add them to my own lists so I can constantly follow their work.

Here's a Tweet where I shared the Twitter handles for more than 50 organizations doing some form of service learning, thus giving attention to each one.

My goal is to help build a community of people working to help kids to careers. They need to follow and learn from each other. Others can look at links in the library, or other libraries, and do the same type of network building.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Enough Is Enough - Adopt this Strategy - click here

On-Going Cycle of Problem Solving - click here

Learn from 1990s Tutor/Mentor Connection newsletters - click here

Share News of Youth Tutor/Mentor Programs - click here

Take a Tour of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website - click here

A Look at Purpose Driven Boards - click here

Invitation to Universities - click here

How Many Youth Programs are Needed? - click here

Thoughts about maps - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network - click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

Chicagoland Resources & Announcements

* Austin Coming Together resource newsletter - click here

* Heartland Research and Policy - new county well-being index - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find map of activities for youth - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth website, click here; blog - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here

Please help update this cmap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes

Learn how other cities might duplicate what Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC does in Chicago. click here

Mission, History, Strategy and Introduction to founder, Dan Bassill

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

October 2021 T/M eNews

October 2021 - Issue 204

Are We Reaching Youth in Every

High Poverty Area?

By now, mid October, volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor programs that work on a school calendar year have finished most of their volunteer and student recruitments, orientations and training and kids and volunteers are meeting weekly.

In this month's newsletter I'm asking how many youth are being reached by these programs and how programs are communicating their strategies.

Take a look. Use this as a conversation-starter in your own community or NPO program.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

New location of Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program List

The website where I've hosted my library is going off line. That means I need to find a new place to host the library....without any funds to do that.

I've already moved my list of 150+ Chicago area programs to a new location. Open this link to see the page shown in the graphic. Save the link for future use.

Map showing Chicago Area Tutor and/or Mentor Programs

I've used maps since 1993 to show where volunteer-based tutor mentor programs are located in the Chicago region. See the current map in this blog article.

Maps can also be used to determine where programs are most needed, based on indicators like community health, poverty levels, school performance, etc. I show a variety of platforms that can be used for such an analysis in this concept map.

Based on the number of youth in a high poverty area, how many non-school programs are needed?

Using data maps and my list of Chicago tutor mentor programs neighborhood planning teams should be doing an analysis to determine if there are enough programs to reach a minimum of 25% of the k-12 youth in the area.

This blog article offers thought starters. Apply these ideas in any city, not just Chicago.

How do tutor and/or mentor programs communicate strategy?

I've used these two graphics since 1990s to communicate the design of an on-going, mentor-rich program and roles volunteers and others can take daily to draw attention and resources directly to youth programs in their city.

Both of these use the "hub and spoke" design. The "hub" represents a youth and the 20-25 years it takes to move from birth-to-work. The spokes represent the range of adults available to model career opportunities and help youth move through school and into jobs.

View these in this set of blog articles.

Fix how programs are funded

In order for long-term tutor/mentor programs to be available in more places the way programs are funded needs to change. Short term competitive grant programs only reach a few kids in a few places for a few years, and with only part of the money needed.

If you've led a non profit you understand this problem. Take a look at this article and begin to think of ways to change this system.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Building Segmented Understanding of Youth Serving Programs - click here

Building a Knowledge-Based Ecosystem - click here

Learn from 1990s Tutor/Mentor Connection newsletters - click here

Building the Network - click here

Take a Tour of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website - click here

20 years after 9/11. What have we learned? click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network - click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here

Please help update this cmap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes

Resources & Announcements

* America's Promise 2021 Grad Nation report - click here

* Racism and the Economy: Focus on Wealth Divide. Oct. 20 event hosted by Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis - click here

*Heartland Research and Policy - new county well-being index - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find map of activities for youth - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth website, click here; blog - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

Learn how other cities might duplicate what Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC does in Chicago. click here

Mission, History, Strategy and Introduction to founder, Dan Bassill

Each year I invite supporters to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC by making a gift in recognition of my December 19th birthday. This year, I'll be 75. Please help, if you can.

Make a gift at this link.

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

November 2021 T/M eNews

November 2021 - Issue 205

Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your Holidays.

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, then the year-end holidays. I wish everyone a full season of health and happiness.

Being in good health, with shelter and ample food, plus caring friends and family is a blessing. However, many don't have as much food and shelter or support as they need. Our planet is stressed in many ways.

In this month's newsletter I'm pointing to lists of youth serving organizations, and events like Giving Tuesday, and encouraging you to offer whatever support you can to those who need extra help.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Use these resources to find Chicago area youth programs.

Visit this page and browse my lists of Chicago area youth tutor and mentor programs.

Visit this page and browse lists of other youth serving programs, in Chicago and in other states.

This map shows non-school tutor and/or mentor programs in the Chicago region. Support programs in different places so that youth in every community area have access to tutor and mentor support.

Help new programs grow where more are needed.

Giving Tuesday is November 30.

Here's the website for GivingTuesday, USA. It includes a map showing many campaigns, but not much for the Chicago area. While Forefront has offered training sessions, I'm not aware of anyone in Chicagoland taking the lead in promoting this event, or hosting a list of participating non-profits. Are you?

Share links on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook to share any campaign info you are aware of.

Are you aware of these data tools? Are you using them?

The image at the left is from a new Chicago Community Data Portal. It's one of three new tools that I've seen this month to help you understand where people need extra help.

These are:

* University of Chicago To&Through - click here

* Chicago Community Data Portal - click here

* Computer Science in Education - click here

I point to these in this blog article and encourage users to create on-going stories using these tools.

Kids need consistent support. So do youth serving organizations.

I've used this graphic many times over the past 12 years to visualize the role each person can take to help mobilize volunteers and donors to support youth tutor, mentor and learning programs in all parts of the Chicago region.

You can point people you know to the lists I share above and encourage them to shop and choose one or more to support this year and in coming years. Here's one example.

Tutoring Chicago seeking more volunteers. What about your program?

I saw this post from Tutoring Chicago on LinkedIn. I saw a similar post from Cluster Tutoring recently on Facebook.

What about your program? Do you still need more volunteers? Where are you posting notices?

I host a list of Chicago area programs on my Twitter feed, so I can see what's being posted each day. Sadly, too few are using Twitter.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Strong headwinds swamp efforts to help kids in high poverty areas - click here

Racism and the Economy: Focus on Wealth Divide - click here

My Memories of General Colin Powell - click here

Understanding Participation in Movement Building - click here

Take a Tour of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website - click here

20 years after 9/11. What have we learned? click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Hashtags I follow on Twitter. Use to expand your own network - click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here

Please help update this cmap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes

Resources & Announcements

* Forefront GivingTuesday training resources - click here

* National Mentoring Summit, Jan 26-28, 2022. Registration open. click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find map of activities for youth - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth website, click here; blog - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

Learn how other cities might duplicate what Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC does in Chicago. click here

Mission, History, Strategy and Introduction to founder, Dan Bassill

Visit http://www.tutormentorexchange.net and view pages that will give you a deeper understanding of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and its founder, Daniel F. Bassill.

Each year I invite supporters to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC by making a gift in recognition of my December 19th birthday. This year, I'll be 75. Please help, if you can.

Make a gift at this link.

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

2021 T/M newsletters

Below are links to all 2021 Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC newsletters.

You can also view past newsletters by opening the newsletter archive link.

Dec 2021 - click here
Nov 2021 - click here
Oct 2021 - click here
Sept 2021 - click here
Aug 2021 - click here
June-July 2021 - click here
May 2021 - click here
April 2021 - click here
March 2021 - click here
Feb 2021 - click here
Jan 2021 - click here

Dec 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

December 2021 - Issue 206

Happy Holidays. Happy New Year.

It's been a difficult year for most people and a tragic year for many. I dream that the Holiday Season brings hope, happiness and good memories and that the new year leads to better things for all.

In this month's newsletter I'm pointing to my lists of Chicago and national youth serving organizations, and encouraging you to offer whatever support you can to help one or more of these programs continue their work in 2022.

I am also pointing to some wishes that I feel would result in more consistent support for youth serving programs. Take a look. Please share with your friends and family.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Use these resources to find Chicago area youth programs.

Help spread the word! Help attract year-end and 2022 donors and volunteers to youth tutor, mentor and learning programs throughout Chicago and in other cities.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) was created in 1993 to help draw greater attention and a more consistent flow of operating resources to EVERY volunteer-based tutor/mentor program in Chicago. Anyone can use this list to learn about programs in Chicago. And, anyone can use this list to learn about youth programs beyond Chicago.

Anyone can create a T/MC type intermediary for other cities by borrowing ideas from the www.tutormentorexchange.net website.

My Holiday and 2022 Wish List

Wish #1: The Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC will be adopted by one or more universities or institutions who will carry forward work started in 1993.

These blog articles show that vision. click here

Wish #2: Leaders at the Federal Reserve Banks and other industries will adopt the commitment shown in this concept map and create a version that they host on their own website.

January 2022 Tutor/Mentor News

January 2022 - Issue 207

Celebrate Mentoring. Support Youth Programs

Happy New Year to all who open and read this monthly newsletter. It's January, so that means National Mentoring Month.

As I do every month, this newsletter focuses on sharing ideas that help build and sustain mentor-rich, volunteer-based youth programs that reach K-12 youth in high poverty neighborhoods.

Take a look. Please share with your friends and family.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Celebrate National Mentoring Month - every Month!

During January there will be weekly activities that focus attention on mentoring and recognize youth and volunteers who are involved. At the end of the month will be the annual Mentoring Summit, which will be held virtually again this year due to Covid19.

Find Mentoring Month activities - click here

Mentor Summit details - click here

Follow #MentoringMonth on Twitter and share your own ideas.

Visit the New Tutor/Mentor Library

Chicago Area Tutor and/or Mentor Programs

You can now find a list of Chicago area programs that include various forms of volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring at this link.

These are organizes by the section of the city or suburbs where the organization is located.

These programs are also shown on a map at this link.

If you know of programs that are not listed, or no longer operating, please contact Dan Bassill at tutormentor 2 at earthlink.net.

Additional youth serving programs

In the new version of the library greater emphasis is given to other types of youth serving organizations in Chicago, as well as to tutor/mentor programs and networks throughout the USA and the world.

All represent models that leaders in any city can learn from in efforts to constantly try to make every program world class in how well it serves youth and volunteers.

Find this page at this link.

Resource Library

This is the home page of the Tutor/Mentor Resource Links library. Find the link on the left side of the www.tutormentorexchange.net site, under HOT LINKS.

There are 19 categories ranging from philanthropy, to volunteer recruitment, to technology and community building and collaboration. When you open this page all 19 categories will also appear on the left side under HOT LINKS.

Each category has a link that opens to a page that shows sub categories. See an example below.

Sub Categories of library

This section has links focused on poverty, inequality, social justice, prevention, housing and community development, gangs and more. It has 8 sub categories.

When you open any sub category link you'll find a list of websites, in alphabetical order.

New sites are added regularly so visit often.

Law, Justice Links

This is the list of links under the "law, justice links" category. Scroll through the list to see what's there. Open any link to go to the organization's website.

As I've built the library I've also looked for Twitter accounts and added these to lists on my @tutormentorteam account.

Every category in the library follows this format.

Concept Map Library

Pages in the concept map library will continue to point to sections in the new Tutor/Mentor web library. This is the "research" cMap.

View the entire collection of concept maps at

https://tutormentorexchange.net/conceptmaps

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Mentoring Month blog articles from past years - click here

Where It All Began: Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

My Dreams Keep Taking Me Back - click here

Vertical and Horizontal Social Capital - click here

Cabrini-Green: Broken Promises - click here

Strong Headwinds Swamp Efforts to Help Kids in Poverty Areas - click here

Building a Super Bowl of Support for Youth Serving Organizations - click here

Using Wakalet to share stories - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

Resources & Announcements

* National Mentoring Virtual Summit, Jan 26-28, 2022. Registration open. click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find map of activities for youth - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Strengthening Chicago Youth website, click here; blog - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* ChiHackNight - remote civic technology meet-up; every Tuesday in Chicago - see weekly agenda

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here

Thank you for reading. Thank you for contributions.

Sharing the information in this newsletter and on the Tutor/Mentor websites is a way anyone can help build and sustain youth tutor/mentor and learning programs

Each year a few readers have sent contributions to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, either by making a gift in recognition of my December 19th birthday or to the FundTMI campaign. Thank you.

Make a 2022 FundT/MI gift at this link

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.

Good luck to you in 2022. Stay safe!

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

May 2021 - Issue 200

Does your city have someone doing what I do?If not, borrow from my history and create your own Tutor/Mentor Connection type strategy.

Mission, History, Strategy and Introduction to founder, Dan Bassill

Does your city have someone doing what I do?
If not, borrow from my history and create your own
Tutor/Mentor Connection type strategy.