August 2023 T/MI News

August 2023 - Issue 224

Recruiting volunteers for tutor/mentor programs is only the first part of a long-term journey

With school starting soon volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs are all recruiting volunteers. However, that's only the start of this journey. Programs need to provide training and on-going support.

This month's newsletter points to resources programs, volunteers and students can use throughout the coming year.

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.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Recruitment is just the start of a volunteer's tutor/mentor journey

Every August from 1975 to 2010 I led an effort to recruit volunteers for the volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs I led in Chicago. In 1993 we created the Tutor/Mentor Connection to help other programs in the Chicago region attract volunteers and donors. I still maintain a list of programs that people can use to find volunteer opportunities. View that list at this link.

What I learned in over 35 years was that recruiting a volunteer was just the first step. We had to provide orientation and training materials and on-going support in order to keep volunteers with our program and our students for one or more years.

I share these resources below. I hope you'll connect with me on social media and share your own strategies for recruiting, training, supporting and retaining volunteers.

What resources do you use for training volunteers?

This concept map show resources that you can find in the Tutor/Mentor library. You can use them to develop training materials. You can use them to motivate volunteers and students to do on-going learning, which is a much more efficient use of staff time in a small nonprofit organization.

At the bottom of each node on my concept maps are small boxes. Put your mouse on these and you'll see links, either to external websites, or to other concept maps.

Homework Help and Learning Resources

View this concept map at this link.

Anyone could earn a PhD by using the free resources on the Internet for constant learning over a period of years. The Tutor/Mentor Connection has aggregated links to a wide range of educational websites that can be used by students, volunteers, parents and teachers.

The challenge for leaders of tutor/mentor programs is to motivate volunteers to browse these resources so they know what's there and can lead their students to useful sites, WHEN the student is looking for extra help. Over time, the student should know where to find these resources when they need them, without much help from others.

I'd love to hear stories from readers about successes they are having of motivating students and volunteers to use on-line tutoring and learning resources.

The longer your volunteer stays involved,
the greater her impact will be

View this concept map at this link

I led two different tutor/mentor programs between 1975 and 2011. The first served 2nd to 6th grade kids. I joined as a volunteer tutor/mentor in 1973 and became its volunteer leader in 1975. I stayed in that role through 1990 when we converted it into a non-profit. I led the non-profit as Executive Director until October 1992. The program had started in 1965, so when I joined it already was recruiting close to 100 volunteers and students at the start of the school year. However, half of those dropped out before the end of the year. Under my leadership this changed. By 1990 we had 300 pairs of kids/volunteers and we were growing from the beginning to the end of the year. 10% of volunteers had served 5 to 15 consecutive years.

I started the second program in Jan 1993, to help kids who aged out of the first program after 6th grade move through high school. We started with 7 volunteer and 5 teens and by 1998 we enrolled more than 80 teens and 100 volunteers. Due to space limitations we stayed at this number through 2010.

During these years I learned how important it was to support volunteers so they would stay and grow in their knowledge and experience. That made them more effective tutors and mentors and turned many into leaders and resource generators.

The concept map above, and the one I point to below, show the cycle of support we provided which led to keeping our volunteers longer.

Here's a second concept map that shows the "volunteer growth cycle".

In PDF essays on this page I share strategies I learned over 35 years for starting and sustaining a tutor/mentor program.

What's your volunteer support strategy look like? Do you share ideas like this on your website, or a blog?

Volunteers need to do more than just be a tutor or mentor

View this concept map at this link

While a tutor or mentor can have a huge impact on the choices a youth makes and his/her ability to move through school and into future jobs and careers, the kids we serve in organized tutor/mentor programs often live in high poverty, racially segregated neighborhoods where they and their families, and their schools face many different challenges. Some of those are shown on the map above.

Thus, as volunteers connect with kids we need to educate them about these challenges and send them back to their family, college, workplace and/or faith group as evangelists who educate others and draw reinforcements to tutor/mentor programs, and to efforts intended to reduce the barriers kids face.

Read - mentor role in larger strategy

Read - virtual corporate office

View - race poverty links in library

Your volunteers can be your most important fund raisers

This spring I received a report from MENTOR, titled "Opportunities to Invest in Long-Term Social Capital for our Youth: A Philanthropic Agenda". I point to that report in this blog article.

In that article I also used the graphic shown above. It's one I've used for many years to emphasize the need for long-term funding of general operations of volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs. In the opening paragraphs of the MENTOR report the authors wrote:

"A striking data point from the study's survey showed that most funders want to invest in long-term positive changes (71%), yet none expected outcomes to take five or ten years. Instead, the majority of funders said they expected to see outcomes in just one to two years."

This was probably my greatest frustration when leading a tutor/mentor program. Donors wanted short term, measurable impact. Yet relationships take time to develop and kids need 6 years just to go from 7th grade through high school graduation. They need another 4-6 years to finish college or vocational school and be starting a job. We had to believe this would happen, even though we had no evidence.

Yet, now on Facebook I am connected to many alumni of the programs I led and see them posting stories of college degrees for themselves and high school and college degrees for their kids. That was the hope.

Funders were not supporting us consistently, which made the work much more difficult. The MENTOR report shows this is still happening,.

Read more: "Want to make a Difference? Re-Think Philanthropy" - click here

Use these additional resources in your planning and networking. See latest additions to the Tutor/Mentor Library at this link.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

The Role YOU can take - click here

Communicating Long-Term Strategies - click here

Helping Youth in High Poverty Areas - click here

Using Resource Links to Tell Stories and Create Change - click here

Where Are Non-School Youth Development Programs Most Needed? click here

Tutor/Mentor Programs need time and resources to become great - click here

Building a Segmented Understanding of Youth Serving Programs - click here

Learn about Artificial Intelligence tools you can use in your school or non-school program. Follow the links in these #ETMOOC blog articles and in these ChatGPT articles.

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Resources & Announcements. These sites regularly update the information they share so visit them often.

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here Learn about Landscape Surveys - click here

* STEMM Opportunity Alliance - click here

* University of Chicago Civic Engagement news - click here

* Connect Illinois Digital Equity Coalition - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

* Proven Tutoring - click here

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

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.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

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. Connect with me and share links to resources, on any of the social media platforms shown below.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

| http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you for reading. And thank you to those who help fund the

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and this newsletter. Please send a 2023 contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Sept 2023 TM eNews

Now that volunteers and students have been recruited the challenge is to keep them involved.

Every year from 1975 to 2010 I spent September doing volunteer and student orientations, then matching, so our first tutor/mentor sessions could start by the first week of October. From that point on the work focused on providing on-going support to help each match grow, and to keep participants involved throughout the school year.

This month's newsletter shares resources and tips from my own experiences and focuses on planning to help new programs grow where more are needed.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Chicago area Tutor, Mentor Programs Still Seek Volunteers, students and donors. Use my list to find websites of many programs.

While much of this month's newsletter focuses on program planning and volunteer and student support, most programs are still seeking volunteers and will continue to do this throughout the year. Most area also constantly seeking financial support.

Help draw attention and resources to youth programs in Chicago and other cities. Look at this Tutor/Mentor blog article to see ways to share website addresses of local programs.

Use my lists at this link to find websites and contact information for more than 125 organizations.

I depend on your help to keep this list up-to-date. If I include programs that no longer operate, or have broken links to their websites, please let me know. If there are other programs that should be included, send me the website. You can email this to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What resources do you use to support students and volunteers?

In the August newsletter I provided links to on-line learning resources that your volunteers can draw from to support their weekly tutor/mentor activities. I also point to homework help resources. Rather than repeat those in this issue, I encourage you to visit the August newsletter and draw from those links.

Volunteer-based means "volunteers help you". Build a Team.

I started my journey in 1973 as a volunteer tutor/mentor at a program hosted at the Montgomery Ward Corporate headquarters in Chicago, where I had just started a retail advertising career. I was matched with a 4th grade boy who I met with each Tuesday after work. At the end of the first year his mother said "He talks about you all the time. You need to be his tutor again next year."

So I was. At the same time I was recruited to be part of a small group of employee volunteers who helped organize and operate the program. At the beginning of the next year I was chosen to be the program's leader, after the incumbent announced he was going to Europe and would not return for two years.

I led a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program for the next 35 years.

The secret was that I continued to recruit more and more volunteers to take roles in leading the program as it grew from 100 pairs of elementary school kids and volunteers in 1975 to 300 pairs by 1990. In this graphic I show the tutoring program committee from 1976-77. In this blog article you can see the committee in 1987 and in 1990.

My recruitment of volunteer leaders was aided by the database of volunteers that I kept from year-to-year. I used this to track weekly attendance using an Excel spreadsheet, so I could follow-up on volunteers or students who were absent more than 2 weeks in a row. However, on the spreadsheet I also showed how many years the volunteer had been involved, what company they worked for and what role they had in their company. Thus when I was looking for someone to help with a specific role, such as volunteer recruitment, I could look for motivated, experienced, volunteers in different companies (who could recruit from their employee base) and who held jobs in advertising, public relations or marketing (which are skills needed to do volunteer recruitment).

By sorting the list using these criteria I narrowed down who I would ask to volunteer to a small group of probable "yes" people, from the entire list that by the mid 1980s was over 200 volunteers.

Without a good database I could not do this.

Read "What you don't see when you look at a tutor/mentor program" - click here

How do you manage and support volunteers? Are you sharing this information in your own blog?

Looking back over 45 years

Every May or June from 1976 to 2010 I stood at a podium addressing students, volunteers, parents alumni and supporter who had gathered for a year-end celebration of another year of tutor/mentor activities at the programs I led in Chicago.

While offering praise and encouragement I always asked people to look to the future, and think of ways they could help the kids and the program in the coming school year. That was part of a year-round process that I describe in this PDF essay.

One secret of my success was that I worked from a written plan, that I was encouraged to start in 1977 by volunteers from the National Right-to-Read Program. Each year after that I just updated the plan (since I had it on my computer). I never had to start from scratch.

I've used several blog posts to describe the tutor/mentor programs I led, and to show some of the work that needed to be done each week of each year to support kids and volunteers (and after 1990 when we converted to a non-profit organization, to raise awareness and dollars).

I wrote this in May 2020 - click here

This article talks about my annual written tutor/mentor program plan - click here

Does your youth program have a written plan? Do you share it with others?

How many tutor/mentor programs are needed in Chicago?

This week I read an article about how the demographics of Chicago were changing, with fewer low income people and more White and affluent. This motivated me to search for Chicago Public School data showing how many "economically disadvantaged kids" were in the system. It looks like there are still over 200,000 kids who could benefit from a well-organized, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning program, if one were close enough where they could attend and located where volunteers would come regularly.

I shared the CPS data and the article about changing demographics in this Tutor/Mentor blog article.

Chicago's one of many cities in the US with areas of concentrated poverty. See map and article in this link.

Want to start a new program? I wrote about starting tutor/mentor programs in this article

Read this National League of Cities article showing what would motivate teens to participate in afterschool and summer learning programs. click here

Does your program design intentionally expand networks for youth and volunteers enrolled?

The programs I led from 1975 to 2011 recruited volunteers from many departments in the Montgomery Ward Corporate Headquarters in Chicago during the late 70s, then from many different companies in Chicago from 1980 through 2011. In late 1990s I heard Dr. Robert Putnam talk about "social capital" and how the connections people have to other people can help open opportunities. The "who you know" feature is one that is often taken for granted, but kids in high poverty areas are surrounded by far fewer people who can model opportunities and open doors as kids grow up.

I realized after hearing Dr. Putnam speak that the tutor/mentor programs I had been leading were expanding social capital for both the kids AND the volunteers.

The graphic above is one I found last week, showing an intentional effort to expand the mentoring network for adults. I shared this and another network map in this blog article, along with links to many articles about social capital and De. Putnam's work that I've written over the past 10 years.

Does your program design focus on social capital? How do you show it? Read this article about program design.

Read this article about "building and sustaining" a tutor/mentor program and view the "shoppers guide" essay.

See latest additions to the Tutor/Mentor Library at this link. Below are just a few examples.

Embed systems thinking into education - click here
How do states measure up on Child's Rights - click here
Nonprofit law blog shares resources every week - click here
Mapping wicked problems - click here

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

This is what I was doing in 2001 - click here

What am I doing? Why do I keep trying - click here

Think globally. Act locally. click here

Support long-term mentoring - click here

Building a Segmented Understanding of Youth Serving Programs - click here

Invitation to universities - click here

Hospitals as a hub for urban development and reducing inequality - click here

Learn about Artificial Intelligence tools you can use in your school or non-school program. Follow the links in these #ETMOOC blog articles and in these ChatGPT articles.

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Resources & Announcements. These sites regularly update the information they share so visit them often.

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

* Proven Tutoring - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here Learn about Landscape Surveys - click here

* STEMM Opportunity Alliance - click here

* University of Chicago Civic Engagement news - click here

* Connect Illinois Digital Equity Coalition - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

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

About this newsletter.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

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. Connect with me and share links to resources, on any of the social media platforms shown below.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

| http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you for reading. And thank you to those who help fund the

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and this newsletter. Please send a 2023 contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

October 2023 T/M eNews

October 2023 - Issue 226

Thank you to all who volunteer and donate to youth tutor, mentor and learning programs.

By now youth and volunteers are connecting weekly or monthly in organized, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs in many different places.

This month's newsletter continues to point to resources they can use. However, it also focuses on the challenges of keeping attention focused and raising dollars needed for each program to operate effectively.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Every week from October through May, from 1975 to 2011, I published a newsletter with information showing our volunteers what activities they might do with the youth they were working with, and pointing to a library or resources they could use to learn how to be a more effective tutor or mentor.

Before email and blogs and the internet I used a copy machine to create our newsletters which we handed out at weekly sessions. After the late 1990s we used an email newsletter. After 2005 we combined that with a blog.

In the above graphic I show a concept map with links to different parts of our on-line library, which has hundreds of resources volunteers and youth can use. Here's the link:

How does your youth program support its volunteers and students?

This graphic shows the role the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC takes each day (and the Tutor/Mentor Connection since 1993). The library that was started in the 1990s has lists of organizations that provide various forms of volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning activities, mostly during non-school hours. I plot some of those programs on maps that also show where programs are most needed.

Imagine the map at the right representing my library. Then, look at the list on the left. This shows a wide range of people and organizations who could be supporting individual programs, as volunteer tutors or mentors, as tech, legal and accounting support, as governance, and/or as donors.

When I worked for the Montgomery Ward Corporation from 1973-1990 we spent more than 200 million dollars a year on advertising that reached over 20 million people a week, telling them we had stores near them with products and services they were looking for. And with special discounts if they shop this week!

I've never had thousands of dollars for advertising, let alone millions, thus my "call to action" never has reached many people. But if others use their own media, blogs, sermons and news stories to also draw support to youth serving programs, many more would hear and respond.

That would draw more consistent resources to all of the youth serving programs in our library.

Can you take this role?

Volunteer-based means "volunteers help you". Build a Team.

If a 4th grade student joins a tutor/mentor program in October 2023, and participates weekly through June 2024, she will hopefully be ready to move to 5th grade in the fall of 2024. And, will continue to be part of the same tutor/mentor program, perhaps matched with the same tutor or mentor.

If the program she joined is not fully funded, it may not retain staff, provide adequate training for volunteers and resources for students, and might not even stay open for a year. I don't think too many programs close each year. But will they still be available in the fall of 2024 when that student enters 5th grade, or in the fall of 2030, when that student enters 11th grade? Which is still a year short of high school graduation?

I encourage you to read this and other articles where I talk about philanthropy. Then visit this section of the Tutor/Mentor library and view all the articles available about philanthropy and fund raising. You also should bookmark this set of blogs, with information about fund raising and marketing.

While each program needs to develop its own capacity to raise funds, the rest of the community can help, by drawing volunteers and donors to the website of each program in Chicago, or in other communities.

Halloween, Thanksgivin g & Year-End Holidays

Holidays offer writing, reading and bonding opportunities

During the first three months of each school year volunteers and students are just getting acquainted. Programs can help by organizing events and activities around each of the holidays.

National #WriteOut example

At the right is a post from Twitter by a retired educator from Washington State. She is one of dozens of people from around the world who are creating daily poems, blog articles and social media posts, as part of the October National #Writeout event.

I encourage you to view some of the social media posts and see how this event is organized. You can join if you'd like. But you also could use this as a template for Halloween, Thanksgiving and year-end writing activities between your youth and volunteers.

#writeout Twitter

See latest additions to the Tutor/Mentor Library at this link. Below are just a few examples.

Free printable worksheets with answer keys - click here
LogicComix - creative learning - click here
IllinoisCivics.org - Civic Education - click here
Climate Action Project - click here

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Just Don't Forget. click here

Join the October Write-Out - click here

Skills Youth Need - click here

Borrow Ideas from my Visualizations - click here

Support long-term mentoring - click here

Building a Segmented Understanding of Youth Serving Programs - click here

Invitation to universities - click here

Hospitals as a hub for urban development and reducing inequality - click here

Learn about Artificial Intelligence tools you can use in your school or non-school program. Follow the links in these #ETMOOC blog articles and in these ChatGPT articles.

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Resources & Announcements. These sites regularly update the information they share so visit them often.

* Indiana Afterschool Network newsletter - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

* Proven Tutoring - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here Learn about Landscape Surveys - click here

* STEMM Opportunity Alliance - click here

* University of Chicago Civic Engagement news - click here

* Connect Illinois Digital Equity Coalition - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

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

About this newsletter.

Use the ideas and presentations in group discussions with other people who are concerned about the same issues.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

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. Connect with me and share links to resources, on any of the social media platforms shown below.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you to those who help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

and this newsletter. Please send a 2023 contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter-X

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

November 2023 T/MI newsletter

November 2023 - Issue 227

Youth and Volunteers are Now Meeting Regularly. Idea-Sharing and Year-End Fund Raising Is Next.

Volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs that follow the school-year calendar have a cycle that repeats each year. After recruitment, orientation and matching that takes place from August thru September, providing weekly support to maintain participation and build relationships is on-going.

As youth programs do this work they also are trying to build public awareness and raise money to support their efforts.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Giving Tuesday is November 28, 2023. Support a Chicago youth program

Are you familiar with #GivingTuesday? Visit this website to see campaigns from around the world.

I've been searching for someone with a list of Chicago youth-serving organizations who are raising money on #GivingTuesday this year and found this article from a publication named ChicagoBetter. This is actually from 2021. So far I've not seen a list for 2023. Open this link and see GivingTuesday articles on their site, dating back to 2017.

This site does not focus on youth programs, but includes many types of non-profits. In order to help draw donors to youth programs a targeted list is needed. Do you know of such a list? If yes, share it with me on social media and I'll try to draw attention to it.

In the meantime. My lists of Chicago area youth programs remains the most comprehensive resource you can use to find websites, and fund raising pages, of more than 150 different youth-serving programs in the Chicago region. While I have lists that focus specifically on volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor programs, I also hosts list of other types of youth serving organizations, and point to lists hosted by others, such as MyChiMyFuture.

Access my lists at https://tutormentorexchange.net/chicago-area-program-links

Help me keep these updated. If you find broken links, or know of organizations that should be added, or deleted, send me that information.

Who you Know is As Important as What you Know

I led volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in Chicago from 1975 to 2011 that connected youth from economically disadvantaged areas of the city with volunteers who worked at the Montgomery Ward Corporate Headquarters and more than 100 other companies in the region. Many of these connections have lasted for decades. I'm still connected to the boy I met in 1973 when he was in 4th grade.

Over the years I've come to understand this as a strategy for building social capital and I've written about that in many articles on the Tutor/Mentor blog. I urge you to spend time learning about this and educating donors so they provide the on-going funding needed to sustain programs that support multi-year matches.

With that in mind, I want to introduce you to Edward DeJesus, CEO of Social Capital Builders. In this article on LinkedIn you can find details to register for a November 27, 2023, 11AM CST ZOOM event, that Edward is hosting. Learn to turn "who your students know into an asset for a bright future".

Volunteer-based means "volunteers help you". Build a Team.

Total Quality Mentoring chart from 1990s is a hub and spokes design

I included this graphic in many grant proposals that I wrote between 1993 and 2011 to show donors how our organized, non-school, tutor/mentor program was connecting teens from Chicago economically disadvantaged areas with volunteers from different companies in the region.

The circle in the middle represents a single student, or an organized program where many students and volunteers meet on a regular basis. The timeline in the middle starts with pre school on the left and extends to adult life, jobs and careers on the right. In the program I led we started teens at 7th and 8th grade and tried to keep them with us through high school, build helping build relationships that might last a lifetime. We recruited from a program that served these kids from 2nd to 6th grade and often helped them get into scholarship programs that helped them from junior/senior year through college.

The volunteers who joined us not only were in one-on-one matches. Some helped organize extra learning, based on their work experience. Thus we had computers, arts, writing and a college-planning group.

I called this Total Quality Mentoring, based on the business term, Total Quality Management, which is a process of constant learning and improvement. Through the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) I've tried to help other youth serving organizations attract volunteers with different background and tried to motivate leaders from different industries to encourage employees to get involved in programs near where they work or live, or along the transit routes between home and work.

This article includes more about Total Quality Mentoring

Commitment needed from leaders in every sector

Open this concept map at http://tinyurl.com/tmc-strategy-map. Then, read it by following the lines from the blue box in the middle, first to the left, then the right, and then the middle. This shows a commitment to helping kids born or living in high poverty areas move through school and into adult lives, with jobs and careers and networks that enable them to raise their own kids free of poverty.

Follow the line to the far left yellow box and look at maps that show a need to enlist others. Under each node are small boxes. The one on the left opens to external websites and the one to the right opens to additional concept maps.

I read a book titled "The Starfish and the Spider" in the mid 2000s, which talked about the strength of decentralized networks. See the link on this page. No single person, or organization, has the manpower, wealth or influence to do everything that's needed to dramatically change the hope and opportunity available for youth and families in areas of concentrated poverty. That's why it is so important that others make a commitment similar to what's shown on this concept map.

I invite you to create your own versions with your photo, name and/or organization logo in the blue box. Share these on your website, blogs and social media. Get others involved.

Enjoy Your Thanksgiving and Year-End Holidays

Holidays offer writing, reading and bonding opportunities

One of the clubs at the Cabrini Connections tutor/mentor program that I led from 1993 to 2011 focused on uses of technology. This Thanksgiving graphic was created in 2009 by a student names Israel. See it in this article.

Do you have volunteers helping students create holiday graphics for your organization? Share them on social media!

See latest additions to the Tutor/Mentor Library at this link.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Information-Based Problem-Solving - click here

Network-Building: A Process - click here

Enough is Enough. Adopt this Strategy to Support Youth - click here

Tutor Program? Mentor Program? Tutor/Mentor Program? What's the Difference? - click here

Building Attention for Youth Tutor/Mentor Programs: Strategy - click here

Invitation to universities - click here

Connecting the Network - Tutor/Mentor Conferences - click here

Homework Help Resources - click here

Learn about Artificial Intelligence tools you can use in your school or non-school program. Follow the links in these #ETMOOC blog articles and in these ChatGPT articles.

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Resources & Announcements. These sites regularly update the information they share so visit them often.

* Every Hour Count - How Afterschool Intermediaries Have Supported Youth and Communities During the Pandemic - read PDF

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resources - click here

* Proven Tutoring - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here Learn about Landscape Surveys - click here

* University of Chicago Civic Engagement news - click here

* Brookings Metro newsletter - poverty research - click here

* Illinois College Access Network - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Indiana Afterschool Network newsletter - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

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

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.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

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. Connect with me and share links to resources, on any of the social media platforms shown below.

Every year since 2011 I've invited friends to support Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC by lighting a candle on my December 19th birthday cake.

I'll be 77 this December and each candle is 7.70. I hope you'll make a gift and help me continue to support youth, volunteers and organized tutor, mentor and learning programs again in 2024.

click here

Throughout the year I've invited readers to support this newsletter, my website, library and blog, with small contributions. Many make a year-end gift, and if you've been one of those, I thank you.

Many people use a GoFundMe site to raise money. I have created this page to do the same. Please help if you can.

click here

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you to those who help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

and this newsletter. Please send a 2023 contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter-X

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

December 2023 T/M News

December 2023 - Issue 228

Enjoy your Holidays. Spread cheer to others.

I thank you all for reading and sharing this monthly newsletter and wish you all a safe, happy, Holiday.

The Holiday Season is a time of gift giving and celebration with friends and family. It's also a time of reflection. The world faces many challenges. So does America. My newsletters focus on the challenges faced by youth and families in high poverty areas, particularly in big cities where there are high concentrations of poverty.

Please use the resources I share to find and support youth tutor, mentor and learning programs so you give the gifts of HOPE and OPPORTUNITY to more kids throughout the US and the world.

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

Seek out youth programs in high poverty areas

Look for Chicago area youth tutor mentor programs on any of the lists on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website . Pick one or more to support with time, talent and dollars. The lists that I host also include youth serving programs beyond Chicago, as well as programs focusing on arts, STEM and other issues.

Learn to use data maps in 2024

Since 1993 I've been using maps of Chicago to show indicators such as poverty, violence, health disparities and poorly performing schools, which are areas where mentor-rich non-school tutor, mentor and learning programs are most needed. Over the past 20 years I've collected links to many websites showing uses of maps and visualization. In the concept map shown above I point to some of these.

I embed maps into many articles on my blog. These links point to a few sections where you can see how maps are used. Create similar stories on your own blog and website.

Tutor/Mentor Blog - maps

Tutor/Mentor Blog - violence

Mapping for Justice - maps

Mapping for Justice - redlining

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

View latest links added to tutor/mentor library - click here

* Mapping Inequality - click here

* Chicago South Side STEM Opportunity Landscape - click here

* A Better Chicago Youth Opportunities Dashboard - click here

* Children's Funding Project - click here

* Tiny News Collective/Harvey World News - click here

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

These "Calls to Action" Need New Energy - click here

Spreading the Good News - click here

Maps. Planning. Teach Youth to Do This Work - click here

Explore STEM visualizations - click here

Using GIS mapping tools for planning - click here

Looking for 'Scout Bees' and 'Worker Bees' - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Creating a new Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in intermediary roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links. Please help me keep this updated.

Resources & Announcements

* National Mentoring Summit, Washington, DC. Registration is open. Dates are Jan 24-26, 2024- click here

* Mentoring Research Symposium, Jan 24, Washington, DC - click here

* The Volunteer Management Report news - featuring interview with Literacy Chicago - click here for PDF

* Funding Out-of-School Time Programs - Now and the Future (PDF) - click here

* Corporate Volunteering, Giving and Grants Technology Review - click here

* Illinois College Access Resources - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

* University of Chicago Civic Engagement news - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

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

About this newsletter.

Please connect with me, and each other, on one or more social media networks. This page has links to several, including my account on Mastodon. With Twitter's future in doubt it's important that we find other places to connect.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

Ask 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).

Every year since 2011 I've offered two ways for people to support Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC with contributions. One is with a birthday gift.

I'll be 77 on December 19. You can help put candles on my cake with a $7.70 donation for a single candle or a $77 contribution for 10.

Click here to learn more

Thank you for reading.

Please help fund T/MI.

Since 2011 I've not operated as a non-profit, but as Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. I'm doing the same work, just with a different tax structure (and same small budget!).

If you want to help fund T/MI with a year-end contribution, visit this page.

Thank you to everyone who has already sent December contributions.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

| http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you for reading. And thank you to those who help fund the

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and this newsletter. Please send a year-end contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter (X))

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

New additions to library - 2024

Since mid 2022 I've posted new additions to the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC library on a page like this. Each listing includes a link to the sub-section of the library where the link was posted. Those links are in alphabetical order. New additions from 2023 are posted here. New additions from 2022 are posted here.

12-17-2024 - CHICAGO COMMUNITY AREA HARDSHIP INDEX - 2019-2023
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b57d7f755d3b4d219dac3ade2f387e9c
This is an update from the UIC Great Cities report issued in 2020 (see link above). The interactive map shows areas with highest level of economic hardship, based on six indicators which include unemployment rate, education, per capita income, poverty rate, crowded housing, dependency.
Find in this section

12-16-2024 - CAPACITY BUILDERS CONVERGENCE - SUPPORTS BROAD RANGE OF PRACTITIONERS
https://www.fabriders.net/capacitycon/
This network aims to support organizations who work as capacity builders, or intermediaries, who help other organizations develop and strengthen internal and external capacity. This article points to events held in 2023 and earlier.
Find in this section

12-10-2024 - STEP UP TUTORING - FREE 1-0N-1 MATH AND LITERACY TUTORING, CONDUCTED ONLINE WITH A TRAINED, CONSISTENT, TUTOR
https://www.stepuptutoring.org/
From the website: "Step Up Tutoring is a California-based nonprofit that drives student success by providing virtual high-impact tutoring and mentorship to elementary and middle school students in under-resourced communities." Browse the website to learn more.
Find in this section

12-10-2024 - HIGH-IMPACT TUTORING MICRO-CREDENTIAL LAUNCHED BY COALITION OF EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS - 2024
https://www.learner.org/learner-org-announcements/education-coalition-debuts-national-certification-for-tutors/
This article describes the launch of a 'micro-credential' for tutors designed to indicate competency while expanding tutoring best practices to ultimately improve student outcomes. This is a partnership of Annenberg Learner, Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and Step Up Tutoring. Find links to those organizations in the article.
Find in this section

12-7-2024 - BLUESKY: THE GROWTH OF CHARITY ON BLUESKY
https://madlinblog.wordpress.com/2024/11/27/the-growth-of-charity-bluesky/
This blog is focused on the UK but is a great example of using a blog to show ways to get started and connect with others on BlueSky, which is a growing alternative to using Twitter. The blog includes links to several fund raising/non profit accounts and "starter packs" which are lists of accounts focuses on specific topics, like nonprofits.
Find in this section

12-6-2024 - TRANSFORMING EDUCATION WITH TECHNOLOGY - RESOURCE LIST
https://www.controlaltachieve.com/p/resources.html
This is one page on the Control Alt Achieve site hosted by Eric Curts. It includes a wide range of guides, presentations and other training resources for Google-related topics and other educational topics.
Find in this section

12-5-2024 - ACTIONS FOR PEACE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (APDC) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
https://www.apdc.info/articles.php
From the website: "APDC's mission is to contribute to improving the socio-economic and cultural living conditions of the population living in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I added this link in December 2024 after being given this message in a chat on BlueSky. "For us here, things are not well because of War. I am the founder of APDC, a local humanitarian organisation. We are doing volunteer work here in eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to assist vulnerable people affected by War, natural disasters and bring positive change. As you know, there are many armed groups that are fighting here in eastern DR Congo. Many people die, other are displaced, cattle stolen, houses are burnt, some children are used in different armed groups, other are lost during displacements, etc. Internally displaced people are living in poor conditions. They have no food, no medical care, no house objects, etc. They need help in terms of food and nonfood items, house objects, medical care, etc."
Find in this section

12-5-2024 - INDIVISIBLE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DEMOCRACY ON THE BRINK: STRATEGIES, TACTICS, & TIPS FOR HOW EVERYDAY AMERICANS CAN FIGHT BACK TOGETHER WHEREVER WE LIVE
https://indivisible.org/resource/guide
From the website: "This document is for anyone who lives in America and is upset, scared and determined. It's a set of strategies and practical first steps to help you get started. Review this guide and start putting parts of this into action that makes sense for where you live.
Find in this section

12-5-2024 - THE COLOR OF LAW: A FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF HOW OUR GOVERNMENT SEGREGATED AMERICA
https://www.epi.org/publication/the-color-of-law-a-forgotten-history-of-how-our-government-segregated-america/
From the website: "This book by Richard Rothstein argues with exacting precision and fascinating insight how segregation in America -- the incessant kind that continues to dog our major cities and has contributed to so much recent social strife -- is the byproduct of explicit government policies at the local, state, and federal levels." Read this 2024 article by Rothstein, titled "Residential segregation is an educational crisis. How the No Child Left Behind Act Led to the Color of Law. https://justaction.substack.com/p/residential-segregation-is-an-educational
Find in this section

11-25-2024 - CYBERSECURITY CAREER RESOURCES AND GUIDES
https://https://cybersecurityguide.org/
This site provides extensive information about cybersecurity and careers in this evolving profession.
Find in this section

11-18-2024 - FARTHER FOUNDATION - ENABLES STUDENTS TO TRAVEL THE WORLD
https://www.fartherscholar.org/
From the website: "The Farther Foundation enables students to break free from historic inequities and lack of opportunities based on race, ethnicity and other factors and experience the wider world through educational travel. Find information on the website about summer programs and student applications.
Find in this section

11-14-2024 - CHICAGO ASSOCIATION OF STUDENT ENGINEERS
https://casechicago.wixsite.com/website/
Open to all high school students across Chicago, for no cost. "Aims to promote engineering pathways to high schools throughout the Chicagoland area by building an enthusiastic STEM community offering career resources to support students."
Find in this section

11-14-2024 - CHICAGO ENGINEERS FOUNDATION
https://www.chicagoengineersfoundation.org//
The Foundation's mission is "to inspire youth to explore engineering and to create pathways that empower young people to become the next generation of engineers."
Find in this section

11-14-2024 - PEACE CRANE PROJECT CONNECTS KIDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
https://peacecraneproject.org/
Children from different countries are encouraged to fold an origami crane, write messages of peace on its wings, then trade their crane with another child somewhere else in the world.
Find in this section

11-13-2024 - PHERN - PUBLIC HEALTH AND EQUITY RESOURCE NAVIGATOR
https://phern.communitycommons.org/
From the website: PHERN aims to help changemakers navigate over 2000 resources focused on improving the public's health, advancing equity, and building a resilient, robust, sustainable public health system for the future."
Find in this section

11-6-2024 - CHICAGO ENGINEERING AND TECH COMMUNITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS LIST
https://github.com/driscoll42/chicago-engineering-and-tech-communities
This is an extensive list of Chicago focused Engineering Communities and organizations.
Find in this section

10-29-2024 - ALLIANCE FOR CIVIC TECHNOLOGY -
https://www.civictechnologists.org/
From the website: "The Alliance of Civic Technology (ACT) connects volunteer civic technology efforts, in both technology and advocacy, in their local communities. Our goal is to ensure the continuity and growth of civic technology volunteer communities across the United States, and to fill the gap left by the sunsetting of Code for America’s Brigade program." This is an emerging organization still in formation.
Find in this section

10-24-2024 - BLACK AMERICANS STILL SUFFER WORSE HEALTH. HERE'S WHY THERE'S SO LITTLE PROGRESS
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/10/24/nx-s1-5162440/black-american-south-health-disparities-medicaid/
This NPR October 2024 article describes a long-term history of racism that has led to worse health outcomes for Black Americans than for white people.
Find in this section

10-15-2024 - 7 WAYS TO GROW YOUR NONPROFIT DONOR BASE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.nptechforgood.com/2024/10/11/7-ways-to-grow-your-nonprofit-donor-base-with-social-media//
This article is posted on the Nonprofit Tech for Good site and offers advice that nonprofit organizations need to follow to build their volunteer and donor base using social media.
Find in this section

10-14-2024 - COMIC BOOK PROJECT AIMS TO STOP PROJECT 2025
https://stopproject2025comic.org/
A network of comic book artists and writers who are concerned about Project 2025 made a series of comics to explain some of the agenda items so people would not have to read the huge document to understand what is at stake.
Find in this section

10-12-2014 - BUILD YOUR OWN WEBSITE - FOLLOW THESE TIPS
https://htmlforpeople.com/zero-to-internet-your-first-website/
This blog is titled <@--HTML for people--> and this article's title is "Zero to internet: your first website". It provides easy-to-follow instructions for building a homemade web page. I learned about this by following Dave Winer on Twitter (X) https://x.com/davewiner/.
Find in this section

10-9-2024 - CREATIVE GOOD BLOG AND NEWSLETTER, LAUNCHED IN 1997.
https://creativegood.com/blog/23/25-years-of-newsletter.html/
This is another long-term blog, started in 1997 by Mark Hurst. This link points to a 2023 article sharing his 25 year history.
Find in this section

10-8-2024 - DAVE WINER HAS BEEN WRITING THIS BLOG FOR 30 YEARS (AS OF 10-7-2024).
http://scripting.com/2024/10/07.html/
Read this article to see what prompted Dave to begin blogging in 1994. It's an amazing story.
Find in this section

9-30-2024 - PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY MAPPING AS COLLECTIVE SENSEMAKING - 5 PART INTERVIEW W ALDO De MOOR
https://greaterthanthesum.com/aldo1
https://greaterthanthesum.com/aldo5/
This set of articles on the Greater than the Sum website, provide valuable insight into participatory mapping as a crucial methodology for social intervention. My link points to the 5th article in the series, and to the first.
Find in this section

9-19-2024 - AN INVITATION TO ACTION AND MOVEMENT - 1PXO - A NEW BOOK BY CARLA ARENA, A LONG TIME MEMBER OF THE WEBHEADS IN ACTION COMMUNITY
https://1pxo.com/blog/
From the website: "In this book you will learn to create collaborative learning communities, with the pillars that support a genuine community: Context, Connection, Curation and Mastery. Carla Arena provides examples and practical suggestions so that anyone can take the first steps in building a community." The link points to the blog on the website.
Find in this section

9-3-2024 - IMPORTANCE OF THEATER EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS - HOW TO GET THE FUNDING
https://bestbroadwaymusicals.com/funding-for-theater-education-in-schools/
This site advocates for theater education in schools offers resources for building the infrastructure for a sustainable theater program. It describes types of funding available and ways to apply.
Find in this section

8-27-2024 - EMPOWERING AMERICAN WORKERS AND RAISING WAGES - COMMUNICATED USING KUMU.IO
https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/empowering-american-workers
https://edythe.kumu.io/empowering-american-workers-and-raising-wages?token=SVmF7ADucV3Lz9Fw
Senator Elizabeth Warren posted this "Empowering American Workers and Raising Wages" presentation on her website when she ran for President in 2016. It goes into great detail. The first link goes to the presentation on her website. The second goes to a visualization, using KUMU.io, that outlines the components of this plan. It's a great example of what leaders might do to communicate complex ideas.
Find in this section

8-26-2024 - ADDRESSING WEALTH INEQUALITY IN AMERICA - NINE CHARTS FROM URBAN INSTITUTE AND POLICY CHANGE RECOMMENDATIONS
https://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/
From the website: "Wealth inequality is higher in the United States than in other developed countries and has risen for much of the past 60 years. As shown in the Urban Institute’s recently updated Nine Charts about Wealth Inequality in America, white families’ average wealth was more than $1 million higher than that of Black families and Hispanic families in 2022. Racial wealth inequities have persisted for generations, reflecting the long-standing effects of racist policies, not individual intentions or deficits. Addressing these deeply rooted inequities requires bold solutions and cross-sector collaboration." Take time to view the charts and policy recommendations.
Find in this section

8-22-2024 - FORDHAM INSTITUTE - EXPLAINING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS: THE ROLE OF SOCIAOECONOMIC FACTORS - 2024 RESEARCH
https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/explaining-achievement-gaps-role-socioeconomic-factors
The research looks at racial achievement gaps in schools and changes over the past 20 years. The introduction starts with "Racial achievement gaps in schools are well documented and remain a significant cause of concern in education. Troubling too is that the role of socioeconomic disparities in mediating these gaps remain unresolved."
Find in this section

8-18-2024 - ADDRESSING FUNDING ISSUES. ARTICLE: WHY PHILANTHROPY NEEDS TO INVEST IN SOCIAL CAPITAL
https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2024/7/16/should-we-pay-for-relationships-why-philanthropy-needs-to-invest-in-social-capital
This article in InsidePhilanthropy by Julia Freeland Fisher of the Christensen, is titled "Should we pay for relationships? Why philanthropy needs to invest in social capital." In a concluding paragraph Freeland writes, "a lack of unrestricted funding to support staff capacity actively hinders programs from supporting social capital development between mentors and mentees."
Find in this section

8-17-2024 - TEACH ROCK IMPROVES STUDENTS' LIVES BY BRINGING THE SOUND, STORIES, AND SCIENCE OF MUSIC TO ALL CLASSROOMS
https://teachrock.org/
TeachRock provides free, standards-aligned resources to help teachers, students and families, through the power of music.
Find in this section

8-13-2024 - CENTER FOR STORY-BASED STRATEGY - LINKS MOVEMENT BUILDING WITH NARRATIVE POWER AND STORYTELLING
https://www.storybasedstrategy.org/
From the website: "The Center for Story-based Strategy cultivates imagination spaces where story, grassroots leadership, organizing, and democracy are interwoven strategies to build power." Read the blog posts on the site to build your understanding of this resource.
Find in this section

8-10-2024 - MINNESOTA EXECUTIVE MAP PORTFOLIO
https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/blog/statewide-maps-help-governor-walz-guide-policy/
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/c44d98d602804d6d885af299ac5db754/
Read this 2024 ESRI blog article and learn about Governor Tim Walz's commitment to using GIS maps to support planning, then visit the Map Portfolio and explore the interactive maps. Three collections are shown on the first page. Each collection has several interactive maps.
Find in this section

8-6-2024 - PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ONLINE DRUG DEALIERS - A GUIDE FOR PARENTS
https://www.addicted.org/supe/parents/protecting-children-from-online-drug-dealers/
This resource provides essential tools to safeguard children, including the "Emoji code" to identify online drug dealing, insights into the dark web, and other online safety measures
Find in this section

8-6-2024 - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAREERS - A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR WOMEN IN STEM PURSUING CAREERS IN AI
https://aidegreeguide.com/gender-equity-in-ai/
This is a comprehensive guide that can help close the gender equity gap in STEM, and draw more girls and women into careers based on Artificial Intelligence.
Find in this section

7-31-2024 - CLIMATE CHANGE - WHAT IS IT? COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE
https://www.perlego.com/knowledge/study-guides/what-is-climate-change/
This page offers and extensive, in-depth review of climate change. It's offered by a company called Perlego, based in the UK, which offers "unlimited access to academic and personal development resources on one simple platform". The article on climate change is one of dozens of "what is...?" article on the site. This and similar articles are FREE for learners, but there's a membership fee and cost to read the text books that are suggested with the articles.
Find in this section

7-18-2024 - INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION - SYSTEMS THINKING + YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN BOTSWANA
https://piercegordon1.kumu.io/system-thinking-youth-unemployment-in-botswana
This presentation uses the Kumu.io software to create an interactive visual presentation showing challenges facing young people in Botswana as they try to find employment.
Find in this section

7-18-2024 - INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS THINKING - YOUTH EMPOYMENT MAP - SHOWING BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN ENGLAND
https://youthfuturesfoundation.org/our-work/identify/youth-employment-system-map/
This interactive casual loop diagram map was created by the Youth Futures Foundation in 2021 to map the youth employment system in England. From the website: "It provides a visual representation of the barriers and opportunities young people from marginalised backgrounds face as they seek good jobs."
Find in this section

7-16-2024 - MY CHI MY FUTURE - COMMUNITY PAGES - COLLABORATIONS
https://explore.mychimyfuture.org/
The My Chi My Future initiative was launched by Mayor Lightfoot and has been continued by Mayor Johnson. It serves as an intermediary, bringing together youth-serving organizations from throughout Chicago. Since 2022 it has encourage the growth of community-based planning initiatives. These are found on the home page under the Communities tab. Examples are, Austin - https://mychimyfuture.org/village/austin; Greater Englewood - https://mychimyfuture.org/village/greater-englewood; Humboldt Park - https://mychimyfuture.org/village/humboldt-park. On each page are logos for youth serving organizations serving that area. Click each logo and go to a page that describes the group, and find a link to the group's website.
Find in this section and this section (Note: I've had a link to My Chi My Future in the library for a few years, but added a link to show their Communities page today.)

7-10-2024 - FIRST® (FOR INSPIRATION AND RECOGNITION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)
https://www.firstinspires.org/
FIRST® is "a global nonprofit that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18. The programs are suitable for schools or structured afterschool activities."
Find in this section

7-10-2024 - BEYOND THE SCHOOL BUILDING: EXAMINING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OUT-OF-SCHOOL FACTORS AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCHOOL GRADES (2024)
https://epaa.asu.edu/index.php/epaa/article/view/8497
Research by Nandrea Burrell and Erica Harbatkin of Floriday State University examines impact of non-school factors beyond a schools locus of control on school performance grades. As you read this research view the links in this article on the Tutor/Mentor blog.
Find in this section

7-7-2024 -BUILDING A BETTER TOGETHER ECOSYSTEM - CREATING A NATIONAL NONPARTISAN SUPPORT NETWORK OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY HUBS
https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/current-projects/better-together-america
The Mediators Foundation "Better Together America" project is described on the website that I point to with the link shown above. In addition, here are two examples of mapping a network, using Kumu.io and using coggle.it. Both show a "Better Together America Ecosystem". a) the Kumu version: https://kumu.io/mesasebree/healthy-democracy-hubs-map#hubs/center-for-high-impact-philanthropy ; b) the coggle.it version: https://coggle.it/diagram/Zh7VvlCvDnguaLCL/t/better-together-america-ecosystem
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6-25-2024 - COLOR (THE) OF WEALTH - CHICAGO
https://colorofwealth.org/
Visit this website of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy and view research that "examines wealth by race, ethnicity and national origin in the context of specific locations and histories. The Color of Wealth studies have been conducted in seven metropolitan regions in the United States (as of June 2024). Chicago is one of the seven.
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6-25-2024 - WEAVE: THE SOCIAL FABRIC PROJECT
https://weavers.org/about/
WEAVE was created in 2018 "to address the crisis of broken social trust that has left Americans divided along many lines, isolated and unable to address our common needs. The project aims to turn Americans into a nation of weavers, spreading connection and belonging." Take a look at the "Trust Map" which is a link in the top menu bar on the website.
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6-18-2024 - REALIZING A MULTIRACIAL DEMOCRACY FOR ALL - SSIR SERIES (2024)
https://ssir.org/realizing-a-multiracial-democracy-for-all
This link points to a series of Policy Link essays on the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR). It starts with "Imagine a nation that values the humanity of everyone living in it. One where all people can participate, thrive, and shape their own futures. This flourishing multiracial democracy in the United States is ours to create." The five articles in the series outline the challenges we face and propose specific short and long-term solutions.
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6-13-2024 - WHY IS INEQUALITY SO STICKY? THE POLITICAL OBSTACLES TO A FAIRER ECONOMY - 2024 ARTICLE
https://frompoverty.oxfam.org.uk/why-is-inequality-so-sticky-the-political-obstacles-to-a-fairer-economy/
This Poverty to Power article "looks at the politics of inequality and how and why governance systems do - or more often don't - introduce new policies to address income and wealth distribution."
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6-10-2024 - FOUR ELEMENTS OF HUMANE EDUCATION FROM INSTITUTE FOR HUMANE EDUCATION
"https://humaneeducation.org/the-four-elements-of-humane-education/
The Institute teaches people to "have the skills and experiences to be solutionaries for a more just, humane, and healthy world." This page points to four steps in a "problem solving" process.
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6-5-2024 - AGGH! MILLIONS OF WINDOWS 10 PCS CAN'T BE UPGRADED AFTER 2025 - WHAT DO YOU DO?
https://www.zdnet.com/article/5-ways-to-save-your-windows-10-pc-in-2025-and-most-are-free/
Microsoft is introducing a new Windows 11 operating system in October 2024 and that's a disaster for millions who operate PCs with older operating systems. This article offers some options.
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6-4-2024 - GENDER APARTHEID - VIDEO BY BILL MAHER
Open link
This video was posted in 2024 on Twitter and LinkedIn. In it Bill Maher calls on young people to take on GenderApartheid as their cause. The video shows dramatic reasons for taking such a stand. The link I've provided points to a Twitter post with the video.
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6-4-2024 - ARCHIEVING THE INTERNET - SAVING HISTORY.
https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/
https://niemanreports.org/articles/saving-the-first-draft-of-history/
These links point to two articles focused on preserving Internet content. One is from Pew Research Center, titled, "When Online Content Disappears". The second is an interview with Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, titled "Saving the first draft of history." Everything in this web library will potentially be lost in a few years if a simple solution to the questions these articles pose is not found.
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6-3-2024 - ASK THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE STARTING A NONPROFIT
https://nonprofit-utopia.lpages.co/questions-you-need-to-ask-before-starting-a-nonprofit/
The NonProfit Utopia website has a FREE workbook that you can download to find questions you and your team should be asking before you start a non profit organization. View this video from NonProfit Utopia outlining "10 Common Mistakes Nonprofit Founders Make"
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5-27-2024 - FAIR VOTE - AIMS FOR RANKED CHOICE VOTING (RCV)
https://fairvote.org
The Fair Vote strategy says "In 2020 FairVote invested in a strategic planning process to define our long-term goals, theory of change and unique roles within the electoral reform ecosystem. Our long-term goals are to enact ranked choice voting (RCV) for all federal elections and the proportional form of RCV for U.S. House elections, as embodied by the Fair Representation Act, by 2030." Browse the site and see how this would affect ever state.
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5-21-2024 - SCHOTT REPORT ON BLACK MALES IN PUBLIC EDUCATION - 2024
https://schottfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/schott-foundation-black-males-report2024.pdf
This report looks at the disparities of high school graduation rates of Black Male students in the US vis other students and surfaces the persistent challenges that exist in far too many school districts. The report calls for building "loving systems' to improve graduation rates and life outcomes.
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5-20-2024 - BEAT THE STREETS - CHICAGO WRESTLING
https://www.btschicago.org/
BTS Chicago "empowers Chicago youth through wrestling". They "combine year-round wrestling programs with customized enrichment opportunities so that children can become their best selves. Mentoring, tutoring, workshops and positive relationships combined with the unique power of wrestling changes lives."
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5-15-2024 - GUN VIOLENCE ARCHIVE - COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
From the website: "Gun Violence Archive (GVA) was formed in 2013 to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States. GVA collects data from over 7,5000 law enforcement, media, government and commercial resources daily." The site has an extensive collection of charts and maps.
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5-13-2024 - SCHOOLS CAN'T DO IT ALONE: REPORT ON CHILDHOOD POVERTY (2013)
https://truthout.org/articles/schools-cant-do-it-alone-why-doubly-disadvantaged-kids-continue-to-struggle-academically/
The full headline of this article is "Schools Can't Do It Alone: Why "Doubly Disadvantaged" Kids Continue to Struggle Academically: A report on childhood poverty proves once again that no single measure can cure poverty's ills." While this is a 2013 article the basic message is one the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) have been sharing since the early 1990s.
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5-10-2024 - AMERICAN INEQUALITY DATA PORTAL - USE THE MAPS
https://www.americaninequality.io/maps
This site is a tremendous resource for those who want to understand where poverty and equality are concentrated in America and to view some suggestions for "a path forward".
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5-9-2024 - INPATIENT DRUG AND ALCOHOL TREATMENT RESOURCE
https://rehabnet.com/treatment/inpatient/
The Rehabnet.com site has a comprehensive article that included "everything you need to know" about alcohol and drug addition treatment options and inpatient rehab centers. On one page of the site they list all 50 states in the USA and post links to each state, where they provide a guide to "the top alcohol and drug rehab centers" in that state. Here's the link for Illinois - https://rehabnet.com/illinois/
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5-9-2024 - A LETTER TO MEDIA ABOUT HOW TO COVER THE 2024 ELECTION FROM A PRO-DEMOCRACY STANDPOINT
https://www.mediaanddemocracyproject.org/2024-election-coverage#guidelines
This is an open letter from the Media and Democracy Project, that will be distributed to the executives, publishers, and union leaders of major media organizations. Read the guidelines and add your name.
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5-9-2024 - PLURALISTIC: DAILY LINKS FROM CORY DOCTOROW
https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions
This is an interesting blog with new links added daily via on-going blog articles. Written by science fiction author, activist and journalist, Cory Doctorow.
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4-29-2024 - POVERTY AND RACE RESEARCH ACTION COUNCIL (PRRAC) REVIEWS "BROWN AT 70 AND MILLKEN AT 50" (PDF)
https://www.prrac.org/newsletters/poverty-and-race-april2024.pdf
https://www.prrac.org
From the website: "This Poverty and Race special issue brings together a variety of perspectives to reflect on both the fulfilled and unfulfilled promise of Brown v. Board of Education and of Milliken v Bradley and offers ideas to help chart a path forward for making truly equitable and integrated schools a reality."
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4-29-2024 - RETRO REPORT - INDEPENDENT, NONPROFIT NEWS ORGANIZATION
https://retroreport.org/video-library/?type=Video
From the website: "At a time when misinformation is rampant and there's disagreement over objective facts, our team of award-winning journalists and educators is creating trusted documentary videos and classroom resources. Our work brings a greater understanding of current events, fights misinformation and encourages inquiry."
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4-27-2024 - AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY SECTION OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS BLOGS
https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/category/african-american-history/
Visit this section to find Black History stories on the Library of Congress website.
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4-24-2024 - WE KNOW THE ABCs OF BLACK HISTORY ... DO YOU?: VOLUM 1
Find on Amazon.com
This book by Maurice Woodson was published in April 2024 and "was created to change the false narrative taught in schools for generations...and that is that the Black American story is just one of oppression. Nothing could be further from the truth." Read the full description on Amazon.com.
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4-22-2024 - CHILDREN RISING - OAKLAND, CA
https://www.children-rising.org/
From the website: "through a circle of care approach, Children Rising programs surround children with deeper academic support so they can more quickly catch up to grade-level reading and math skills and become confident, engaged students. The organization pairs trained, caring adults from the community with elementary school children struggling to read or lacking basic math skills."
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4-20-2024 - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE - AT THE SMITHSONIAN
https://nmaahc.si.edu/
This museum is the only national museum devoted exclusively "to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003.
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4-19-2024 - CREATE SPACES TO EMPOWER YOUNG READERS AND WRITERS - PDF STUDY GUIDE
Open link
This PDF is a study guide, designed for educators, to help them create spaces to empower students. It's based on a book titled "Classroom Design for Student Agency: Create Spaces to Empower Young Readers and Writers", by Lynsey Burkins and Franki Sibberson.
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4-19-2024 - VOTING AND ELECTIONS RESOURCE FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
https://www.justice.gov/voting/voting-rights
This site has been updated for 2024 and is a comprehensive resource about voting rights and elections in the U.S.A
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4-16-2024 - NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE INTERSTATE COMPACT
https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/written-explanation
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/national-popular-vote-explained
This agreement among the states (if it is reached) will assure that whichever candidate wins the popular vote in a Presidential election will be the winner. Open this link and learn more.
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4-15-2024 - NONPROFIT FINANCE FUND THEORY OF CHANGE
https://nff.org/nff-theory-change
This page uses visualizations to show how its work leads to greater racial equity, community wealth and well-being.
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4-11-2024 - WATTS OF LOVE - END CYCLE OF POVERTY BY BRINGING SOLAR LIGHT
https://www.wattsoflove.org/
This group sees "solar lighting as one of the strongest tools available to break the cycle of poverty". Although located in the Chicago region it's service reach the most vulnerable people in the developing world, who live without access to electrical light. Visit the website and learn more.
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4-10-2024 - FREEDOM HOME ACADEMY INTERNATIONAL - AFRIKAN CENTERED PRIVATE SCHOOL IN CHICAGO
https://www.fhaintl.net/index.html
This unique school is located on the far South side of Chicago. It concentrates on reading, mathematics, focus geography, health and cultural enrichment and offers French, Kiswahili, Tai Chi, science, biology and more in a home school environment. There is a significant tuition fee. Browse the website to learn more.
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4-8-2004 - AI TOOLS FOR EDUCATORS, STUDENTS, AND THE REST OF US
Control Alt Achieve - https://www.controlaltachieve.com/search/label/artificial%20intelligence
AI for educators - Larry Ferlazzo's blog - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/category/ai/
Claude - a family of AI models - https://www.anthropic.com/claude
These are blogs that are aggregating links to AI tools that can be used by any of us.
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4-2-2024 - POVERTY SOLUTIONS - MICHIGAN POVERTY AND WELL-BEING MAP
https://poverty.umich.edu/research-funding-opportunities/data-tools/michigan-poverty-well-being-map/
From the website: "This map combines several indicators to provide a snapshot of poverty and well-being across Michigan." Also view, "The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America". Read the article and view the interactive data map. https://poverty.umich.edu/research-funding-opportunities/data-tools/understanding-communities-of-deep-disadvantage/
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4-2-2024 - DAILY STEM LEARNING ACTIVITIES - VIA WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
https://dailystem.com/news/
from the website: "The "Daily STEM News" is a FREE one page weekly newspaper to help inspire kids to engage with STEM in the real world. Each issue can be printed or shared digitally with the kids you know."
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4-1-2024 - EARLY STEM EDUCATION KEY TO GROWING FUTURE CHIP WORKFORCE - 2024 ARTICLE
https://semiengineering.com/early-stem-education-key-to-growing-future-chip-workforce/
This article focuses on "building a domestic workforce for the chip industry by attracting kids to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects at a younger age." The article points to some examples of ways TEM programs can "introduce the benefits of advanced manufacturing jobs to kids who are unlikely to attend four-year college and get an engineering degree."
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3-31-2024 - BREAKING CYCLE OF POVERTY IN AMERICA - BLOG
https://www.combarriers.com/blog-home-page
This blog is titled, "Communication Across Barriers, Inc." and is written by Dr. Donna Beegle, as part of the consulting were she does to help entire communities break the cycle of poverty in America.
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3-21-2024 - FORA EMPOWERMENT CENTER - HIGH IMPACT TUTORING FOR REFUGEES
https://www.refugeefora.org/about
FORA was formed in 2019 to serve the needs of refugees coming to the West Ridge area of Chicago. The High Impact Tutoring (HIT) aims to unlock the potential of millions of unschooled refugees. It is the heart of what FORA does. This includes at least 10 hours a week of tutoring; no more than two students per tutor; high quality, individualized, and foundational curricula; regular testing to identify educational gaps; and, monitoring progress through high school.
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3-14-2024 - THE SOFT BIGOTRY OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS - JUST ACTION 2024 ARTICLE
https://justaction.substack.com/p/the-soft-bigotry-of-high-expectations
This article makes this case: "To combat black-white school achievement gap, worry about their persistent segregation, don't hope for miracle teachers."
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3-13-2024 - EXTENDING EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEER IMPACT BEYOND KITS AND NUMBERS
https://www.realizedworth.com/2024/03/13/extending-employee-volunteer-impact-beyond-kits-and-numbers/
This Realized Worth article identified three problems with current corporate volunteer involvement programs and challenges business leaders to do better.
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3-6-2024 - 100+ STATISTICS ON CRIME IN US SCHOOLS
https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/us-schools-crime-statistics/
This article has a comprehensive collection of statistics about all types of crime and student behavior in US schools. Each topic is supported by creative visualizations. It concludes with tips to prevent school crime and violence.
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3-5-2024 - LION'S PRIDE MENTORING - SCHOOL BASED PEER MENTORING
https://www.lionprideinc.org/
Lion's Pride Mentoring was formed in 2017 at Baker College Prep and has spread to other Chicago schools. It became a non-profit in 2019. It provides leadership development and college and career skills to upper-grade students who then become peer mentors to freshmen.
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3-2-2024 - NEW YORK CITY YOUNG MEN'S INITIATIVE
https://www.nyc.gov/site/ymi/index.page
YMI was created in 2011 "as a public-private partnership to address increasing disparities among black and Latino men between the ages of 16 and 24 in education, employment, health and justice."
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2-29-2024 - DEMOCRACY LABS - VOTER RESOURCES TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY - 2-28-2024
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/02/28/voter-resources-protect-democracy/
From the website: "Democracy Labs is a hub for ongoing technology and creative innovation in service of a healthy democracy at the national, state and local levels. The LABS focus on long-term, sustainable and affordable solutions." The link points to one recent article.
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2-23-2024 - NON PROFIT UTOPIA - CAPACITY BUILDING FOR CHICAGO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
https://nonprofitutopia.com/
From the website: "NonProfit Utopia provides a broad range of services and resources to help NPO leaders achieve their goals, including an online community, consulting, courses, coaching, livestreams and podcasts." Browse the website to learn more.
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2-16-2024 - PERSISTENT POVERTY INTERACTIVE MAP - ADVANCING DEVELOPMENT IN PERSISTENT -POVERTY COMMUNITIES
https://eig.org/persistent-poverty-in-communities/
The Economic Innovation Group report shows that 35 million Americans reside in persistent-poverty communities. The website has an interactive map that you can zoom into and look at this data at the census tract level or at the county level. In a big county like Cook County, Il, persistent poverty is not visible, unless you look at it at the census tract level. View the map at https://eig.org/persistent-poverty-in-communities/interactive-map/
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2-14-2024 - PERSISTENTLY POOR, LEFT-BEHIND AND CHRONICALLY DISCONNECTED (IN AMERICA)
click here
This report by Kenan Fikri "explores the extent to which persistent poverty areas represent a compelling sub-category of left-behind areas in America. It explores three ways in which places struggling with persistent poverty exhibit disconnection from the broader economy: commuting patterns, social networks (social capital) and job growth." Finally it emphasizes that "these problems tend not to resolve themselves naturally."
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2-13-2024 - ART MAKERS CLUB - CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
https://www.artmakersclub.com/
This site was mentioned in an article on a blog by a CLMOOC educator whom I've followed for nearly 10 years. Here's the link: https://sheri42.net/2024/02/12/fun-with-photo-doodles/
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2-10-2024 - EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: METHODS & BENEFITS
https://custom-writing.org/blog/experiential-learning-methods-and-benefits
This is a comprehensive article showing types of learning, benefits of experiential learning, and experiential learning activities that teachers, mentors and tutors can use. It provides a lot of information about "Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle and Stages of Learning". The article also includes links to additional resources.
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2-7-2024 - SKILL UP - HELPS WORKERS FIND QUALITY LIVING-WAGE JOBS
https://www.skillup.org/
SkillUP is a coalition of more than 100 organizations, including training and education providers, tech firms, employers and philanthropies. This site can be valuable to young people exploring career options, to people without college degrees who seek good-paying jobs, or people seeking to explore new career options. Take time to explore the site and learn what's available.
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1-30-2024 - PRISONERS IN THE U.S. ARE PART OF A HIDDEN WORKFORCE LINKED TO HUNDREDS OF POPULAR FOOD BRANDS - U.S.NEWS JAN 2024 ARTICLE
https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
A 2-year investigation from the Associated Press "finds that prison labor is connected to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods, sold by some of the biggest food companies." Read the article.
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1-30-2024 - KQED YOUTH MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM RESOURCES
https://www.kqed.org/education/
From the website: "Free, ready-to-use lesson plans, videos and resources that promote youth voice and help students practice media making, media literacy and civic engagement. Find fresh ideas for all grade levels and subjects, aligned to standards like CCSS and NGSS." Learn about the Youth Media Challenge at https://youthmedia.kqed.org/ and the Election 2024 project at https://youthmedia.kqed.org/election2024
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1-23-2024 - RSS FEED READERS HELP YOU KEEP UP WITH YOUR NEWS FEEDS - TOP FIVE (2024)
https://www.theverge.com/24036427/rss-feed-reader-best
This article explains what a RSS Feed Reader is and lists five sites, with a description of the free and paid versions for each. The Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC uses Inoreader.com
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1-19-2024 - MOZELLA OPEN LEADERSHIP TRANING MODULES
https://mozilla.github.io/open-leadership-training-series/articles/introduction-to-open-leadership/introduction-to-working-open/
https://mozilla.github.io/open-leadership-training-series/articles/introduction-to-open-leadership/stating-your-project-vision/
From the website: "This website introduces you to the basic concepts of working open. When you are 'working open' you use the power, knowledge, and skills of a diverse community of volunteers (called "contributors") to accomplish something that a single person or a small team couldn't do alone."
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1-19-2024 - OPEN LIFE SCIENCE AND OPEN SEEDS - DEDIDICATED TO CAPACITY BUILDING AND DIVERSIFYING LEADERSHIP IN RESEARCH
https://openlifesci.org/
https://openlifesci.org/openseeds/
This non-profit organization offers online mentoring and training programs for individuals and teams worldwide to learn about and adopt open research practices. The "Open Seeds" is a mentoring and training program for Open Science ambassadors.
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1-17-2024 - MAPPING POLICE VIOLENCE IN AMERICA
https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
This site has been collecting and reporting information about the number of people killed by police since 2013. The data is intended to provide greater transparency and accountability for police departments as part of the ongoing work to end police violence in America.
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1-17-2024 - DIGITAL SPACES DIRECTORY
https://newpublic.org/directory
This website is aggregating links to digital spaces as a "jumping off point for further exploration and research for anyone who's interested in studying, building, stewarding, or simply using digital platforms."
Find in this section, and this section

1-10-2024 - ILLINOIS POLICE TRAFFIC STOP DATA - WBEZCHICAGO
https://interactive.wbez.org/traffic-stops/illinois-statewide/
This site provides comprehensive data about police traffic stops in Illinois and shows a growth in racial profiling from early 2000s to 2022. The site includes interactive maps. The information is available to others to use.
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1-8-2024 - THE GIRL INNOVATION, RESEARCH, ANDLEARNING (GIRL) CENTER - GLOBAL RESEARCH HUB
https://popcouncil.org/hub/girl-center/
The GIRL Center "is a global research hub that envisions a gender-equitable world where girls and boys make a health and safe transition into adulthood and reach their full potential". This is part of a global research center called The Population Council. View their strategic plan at https://popcouncil.org/strategy/
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1-2-2024 - SEEK - SENSE - SHARE - PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE MASTERY PROCESS
https://jarche.com/pkm/
This article on Harold Jarche's blog describes a process of learning and sharing that anyone can apply to "make sense of our world and work more effectively." The article contains numerous links to additional ideas that show this thinking in practice.
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Jan 2024 T/MI Newsletter

January 2024 - Issue 229

Happy New Year! I wish all readers good health, hope and happiness in 2024 and beyond.

January is National Mentoring Month and you'll see much about the roles of youth and volunteers in various forms of mentoring.

As you read this newsletter many will be preparing to celebrate the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. I'll be spending my time this weekend curating my library and sharing the resources.

Service needs to be more than one day in order to reach K-12 youth in economically disadvantaged areas, with life changing opportunities. Daily actions are needed to help all youth serving programs attract a consistent flow of operating and innovation resources.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Celebrate Mentoring. Look at what's happening around the country.

Above is a photo from 2001 when the US Postal Service issued a mentoring stamp and the Tutor/Mentor Connection was able to introduce it at one of our 2001 Leadership Conferences in Chicago. I wrote about this on my January 2024 blog.

Below are key links:

* National Mentoring Month - https://www.mentoring.org/campaigns/national-mentoring-month/

* Mentoring Research Symposium (Jan 24) - https://nationalmentoringresourcecenter.org/youth-mentoring-research-symposium/

* Mentor Resource Library - https://www.mentoring.org/resource-library/

* National Mentoring Summit - (Jan 24-26) https://www.mentoring.org/national-mentoring-summit/

* The State of Mentoring in Chicago (Jan 19) - https://www.chicagomentoringcollaborative.com/events

Are volunteers in your youth-serving organizations doing this?

These are two graphics that I started using in the 1990s to describe the type of tutor/mentor program I was leading in Chicago and the roles I wanted our volunteers to take ...... above, and beyond, the weekly connections they had with young people in our program.

I started building a library of tutor/mentor information in the 1970s to support my own actions as a volunteer tutor, then as a volunteer leader of an organized tutor/mentor program. When we formed the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 we accelerated the collection of information, launching an annual survey in January 1994 to learn who else was operating tutor/mentor programs in Chicago, what age group they served, what type of tutor and/or mentor programs they offered, and where they were located.

At the same time I expanded my search for research showing where these programs were most needed, based on indicators such as high poverty or poorly performing schools. I also began to aggregate information about how to raise money, how to recruit and train volunteers, how to evaluate and constantly improve a program.

I hosted this in a library at my program offices within the Montgomery Ward corporate headquarters from 1994 to 1999 then began putting it on the Internet, in a web library, in the late 1990s. I'm still adding to that library regularly as we begin 2024.

The graphics above show the goal for volunteers to share information from this library with people in their networks, and in their workplace, so that more people would support my program, or other programs in Chicago and around the country.

You can access my lists of tutor/mentor programs at https://tutormentorexchange.net/chicago-area-program-links

You can access the research library at https://tutormentorexchange.net/resource-links

The information in the Tutor/Mentor Library can be used by anyone, anywhere, so if you're leading a program, encourage your volunteers to share the links, and use the information yourself, to operate and constantly improve your own program.

I've been sharing the same information for almost 50 years

A few years ago a donor told me that he no longer read my newsletters because I repeated the same information over, and over. I told him a lesson I learned from a marketing executive at the Montgomery Ward Corporation many years ago.

I had asked him "Why do we keep repeating the same type of ads, with the same merchandise, at the same time each year?" He replied, "There is always a new customer looking for what we offer in our stores and if we don't have an ad showing that information, that customer might shop in another store." Then he said "We'll get tired of delivering the message before we run out of potential customers.

That applies to my work.

In the 1970s and 1980s I shared this information with volunteers in the tutor/mentor program I led, via weekly newsletters printed on a duplicating machine (remember those?)

In the 1990s I shared information via a printed newsletter. The first issue in June 1993 reached 400 people. The last printed issue in 2003 was sent to nearly 14,000. I never sent these more than 4 times a year.

In 2003 we switched to email marketing and in 2005 we started a blog. Our list of 14,000 people did not transfer to our email list so we lost contact with many people. Our email list never reached more than 2500. Thus, millions of people have never heard any of the messages I've sent.

Due to fund raising challenges ever since founding the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011, I've never been able to do more.

Thus while you may have seen the information I send, you may not have acted upon it. And you may not have shared it with other people.

That's the purpose of the graphic shown above. Share the information. Help it reach more people.

Don't reinvent the wheel. Lesson applied.

Last January my newsletter included many sub sections that asked readers to "think about needed infrastructure" and other things we need to be thinking about when we see an image of a mentor with a youth. Rather than repeat that same information in January 2024, I urge you to read last year's newsletter again.

Until we build a segmented understanding of who is being served, by what type of programs, and where more programs are needed, we'll never reach even a third of all the young people who might benefit from being part of an organized tutor/mentor program.

As you look at the articles in last year's newsletter, ask "Who is doing this research?" and "Who could be doing this research?"

Share your own research, ideas for building stronger programs and building hope and opportunity that propels more youth through school and into adult lives. Connect with me on Twitter (x), Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads and other platforms.

If more people get involved, more organized programs will reach youth throughout Chicago and other cities

When I use the term "volunteer-based" I don't just mean that volunteers serve as one-on-one and group tutors and mentors. I mean that many volunteers use their talent and engage their networks to help build and sustain organized, on-going, mentor-rich programs in more place where they are needed.

Think of all the different talent and skills needed to build a successful sports team, or a successful business. Those skills and talents are needed at every single tutor/mentor program. They are needed at the neighborhood level. They are needed at the city level.

I wrote this article in December 2023, titled "Building Great Tutor/Mentor Teams"

We need to grow more leaders and supporters - view this "tipping point" article.

What are you doing to build great teams that support youth tutor, mentor and learning programs?

Thank you for your 2023 support. Please continue in 2024

You don't need to wait 100 years to use information I share

I've depended on a small group of donors to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC since 2011 so that I could continue to keep the Tutor/Mentor Connection resources available to Chicago and help similar intermediaries grow in other cities.

To those who gave in 2023, thank you. Here's my FundT/MI page. Please add your support in 2024.

See latest additions to the Tutor/Mentor Library at this link.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Read my Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. blog articles from past years - click here

Copy this Idea! Support Tutor/Mentor Programs - click here

What if Students in Every City Did This? - click here

These "Calls to Action" Need New Energy - click here

Spreading the Good News (using social media) - click here

Invitation to universities - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Homework Help Resources - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Create a new Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Resources & Announcements. These sites regularly update the information they share so visit them often.

* Every Hour Count - How Afterschool Intermediaries Have Supported Youth and Communities During the Pandemic - read PDF

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resources - click here

* Proven Tutoring - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here Learn about Landscape Surveys - click here

* University of Chicago Civic Engagement news - click here

* Brookings Metro newsletter - poverty research - click here

* Illinois College Access Network - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Indiana Afterschool Network newsletter - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

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

About this newsletter.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

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. Connect with me and share links to resources, on any of the social media platforms shown below.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you to those who help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

and this newsletter. Please send a 2024 contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter-X

Facebook

Bluesky

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TMI eNews Feb 2024

February 2024 - Issue 230

Share these Resources. Build Stronger Volunteer-Based, Youth-Serving Programs.

If you recruit volunteers from diverse backgrounds many do not have much understanding of Black History and/or Social Justice issues. The Tutor/Mentor library points to dozens of websites where you can learn the history of slavery and racism in America. While I focus on Black History, many websites also point to discrimination against other minorities.

I also point to on-line learning resources that can be used by educators, tutors, mentors and parents, and by students, throughout the year.

Building awareness of these resources and motivating people to use them is an on-going challenge.

Do a search on Google, Bing or Duck Duck Go for "tutor mentor, plus one more word, like maps, planning, or strategy. My websites show up among the first five to 10 listings.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Use this concept map to guide you to different learning resources

I use concept maps like this to outline different sections of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC library. At the bottom of each node is a link to an external website (or another concept map). In this case, the links point to sections of the library with information about poverty, social justice, housing, race, inequality, and prevention. One node is titled "Civic Engagement" and it points to a page with resources you can use to become politically involved. Share these resources with your volunteers and students. Teach them to use them often.

Check your Spam Folder. Is this email there?
Due to a new policy, all email coming from services like Constant Contact will have a different format. This may cause email to go into your spam box. That means the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will now be different.

This is the address that will be on the email for this newsletter. Add it to your address book: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What type of information is available on the http:/www.tutormentorexchange.net website? View this PDF and see what the site offers. Bookmark this link and use it as an on-going resource.

Special Resources on Tutor/Mentor site

Visual Essays created since 1990s

I've been creating visualizations since the 1990s to show the structure of the tutor/mentor program I was leading and to visualize strategies to make similar programs available in more places.

I've created three new pages to host these, where you can view PDFs without being interrupted by advertising or asked to subscribe and pay a fee. Take a look!

Tutor/Mentor Video Library

In 1990 a tutor/mentor program volunteer named Sara Caldwell created a documentary to show the work being done at the tutor/mentor program I had led in Chicago since 1975. That's on YouTube at this link.

Since videos about Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC are shared across several YouTube channels, I've created several pages on the main website aggregating links to many of these. You can find that at this link.

Concept Maps have been used since 2005 to share strategies and guide users to resources.

Concept maps are constructed as layers of information. At the bottom of many nodes you can find two boxes. The one on the left opens to an external website. The right opens to another concept map, which may point to even more concept maps.

Thus, I've created one page on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website with my entire collection of concept maps. View it at this link. Every city should have a collection like this!

Chicago Volunteer-Based tutor, mentor and learning programs. Organized by sections of the city and suburbs.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection started building a Directory of Chicago volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in 1993 and I've kept updating that list every year since then.

Visit this page and then browse the lists. Visit program websites. Learn what they do. Borrow ideas that can help you build your own program. Be a volunteer, or a donor. Send me information about broken links, or new programs to be added.

Create your own visualizations and Concept Maps. Share with blog articles, videos and social media!

This animation was created by an intern from South Korea in 2012 to show that mentoring offers hope and opportunity. See it in this article.

This concept map shows how interns who worked with me between 2006 and 2015 spent time reading my articles and viewing my websites, then creating visualizations that shared their understanding.

Your students and volunteers can do the same!

This is one article where I describe this potential. I posted another article this week showing a role students could take.

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

View latest links added to tutor/mentor library, click here

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

30 Years Later. Same Goals - click here

Multiplying Good - Map the Sports Community Service Network - click here

Support long-term mentoring - click here

Letters-to-the-Editors, by Dan Bassill - click here

Understanding Issues - click here

Learning from Internet Libraries - click here

Help Build Networks of Support for Youth in High Poverty Areas - click here

What if Dr. King Jr. Followers had Applied Spatial Thinking? - click here

Copy this Idea to Support Tutor/Mentor Programs in many places- click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Create a New Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Resources & Announcements

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here

* AfterSchool Networks & Associations in Tutor/Mentor Library - click here

* KQED Youth Media Challenge - engage your students - click here

* The Girl Innovation & Research Center - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* Brooklyn Public Library National Teen E-card. Makes books available to teens throughout USA - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Proven Tutoring clearinghouse - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

* Chicago Digital Equity Coalition - click here

* Illinois Broadband Lab - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* Blogs on learning, education, fund raising - click here

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

About this newsletter.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

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. Please help fund the T/MI.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

| http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you for reading. And thank you to those who help fund the

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and this newsletter. Please send a 2024 contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter (X)

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

March 2024 T/MI eNews

March 2024 - Issue 231

As this school-year ends, use these resources to plan for the start of 2024-25 year.

Do you remember the "Circle of Life" song in the "Lion King" movies? Its message reminds us of the annual repetition of events as we and our students grow older.

In the school-year cycle we still have three full months before Summer break. In a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program, many are in the "can't wait" mode of thinking.

Yet this is the time for leaders to be collecting feedback, looking at what other programs do, and recruiting volunteers to help them start the school year again in the fall.

This planning should lead to a constant improvement in what programs do to help kids and volunteers connect and build relationships.

Encourage others in your city to find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Where are volunteer-based tutor, mentor programs most needed?

The Economic Innovation Group (EIG) has published two dashboards that enable learners to identify areas of persistent poverty and areas with different levels of economic prosperity in America. I pointed to these in this, and this, blog articles. Thanks to Kenan Fikri for sharing this on Twitter (X).

Volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs can expand the network of youth living in areas of persistent poverty and help open doors to more opportunity. Create your own map to show where these areas are in your part of the country. Build your own list of tutor/mentor programs to learn what programs exist, where they are, and where more are needed. Look at how I've embedded maps in Tutor/Mentor and Mapping for Justice blogs for more than 15 years. Someone in your community should be doing the same, and for the same purpose of helping youth serving organizations grow where more are needed, and helping those programs constantly improve what they do to help kids through school and into adult lives. If you're writing stories like this please share them on social media and in your own newsletter and website.

Changes to Constant Contact email address. Due to a new policy, all email coming from services like Constant Contact will have a different format. This may cause email to go into your spam box. That means the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will now be different.

This is the address that will be on the email for this newsletter. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The President supports tutoring. He needs to dig deeper.

President Biden called for more tutors during his March 2024 State of the Union address. In the early 2000s President Bush also issued a call for tutors, as part of his "No Child Left Behind" plan. I created a presentation titled "Defining Terms" to call for a more sophisticated strategy that matched the type of tutoring and/or mentoring support provided to the person who was being served, and the social/economic environment where he/she lives. View the PDF in this article. Share it with policy-makers, donors and business leaders.

Learn from Bloggers. Write your own!

Art Tips from Sheri Edwards

One person I follow on Twitter is Sheri Edwards, who I met in 2013 via the #CLMOOC network of educators.. She posts weekly articles like this one, with tips for creating art.

In another set of articles she posts photos showing her part of Washington State, such as on this article.

She uses links liberally in her articles so each is a journey to deeper learning. I encourage you to take the trip.

Personal Knowledge Mastery

One of the bloggers I've followed since mid 2000s is Harold Jarche, who writes about a process of learning that helps each of us make sense of the world. Open this link to read articles on his blog.

This is one of dozens of blogs about learning that I share own two lists in the Tutor/Mentor library. Click here, and here.

These links include other blogs by #CLMOOC members like Sheri Edwards.

Life is better today than ever before. See examples in the charts on the World in Data website.

This graphic is from an article on the OurWorldInData website. Look at each graphic and see how much better off people are in 2024 than 100 or 200 years earlier. Makes you feel better, but there is still much that needs to be done. I point to this an similar articles about innovation, data and knowledge management in this section of the Tutor/Mentor library.

Apply the ideas in Harold Jarche's blog about learning and spend time reading and discussing the articles in this and other sections of my library.

One other set of blogs in the library focuses on fund raising. You can find those here.

iMentor Chicago blog - take a look

Between 2006 and 2011, I encouraged staff, students and volunteers at the Cabrini Connections program that I led, to write blog articles showing what they were doing in the program. At the same time, I wrote the Tutor/Mentor blog, showing why such programs were needed, and where.

For many years, I've been aggregating links to blogs written by Chicago tutor, mentor and learning programs on this list. There aren't many.

If you're reading this please encourage programs to blog, and perhaps offer to be a writer for them. If you have a blog to add to the list, send me the link.

Create future leaders who LEAD and SUPPORT

As you look at the maps and identify where volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs are most needed and what programs already exist you'll soon realize that a lot of programs are needed. Every program needs visionary, innovative, persistent leaders and staff, which means every one also needs a core of dedicated volunteers and donors.

Read this article from the Tutor/Mentor blog that points to the need for one, or many, universities to set up "pipeline" programs that draw students into college level courses that teach some of them habits and skills that enable them to lead constantly improving programs and teach the rest of them habits of consistent, on-going giving, that leads them to provide the support each program needs over many years. If you are in a position to make a billion dollar gift to a university (as someone recently did) why not endow a tutor/mentor connection type curriculum at your favorite university.

Planning Calendar and Steps to Start a Tutor/Mentor Program

On-going volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs work on a cycle that repeats from year-to-year, with recruitment of youth and volunteers at the start and celebrations and graduations at the end. In that cycle there needs to be constant data collection and learning that enables programs to improve what they do so they have a greater positive impact on youth and volunteers from year-to-year. In this section of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website you can find ideas that I learned from leading a tutor/mentor program for 35 years which you can borrow to help build your own program or start new programs where more are needed.

Below are resources to use. View latest links added to tutor/mentor library, click here

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

NCAA Basketball tournament starts. Read "What's the Game Plan Look Like?" - click here

Be Like Terry. Share My Resources - click here

"Athletes Adopt-a-Neighborhood" vision - click here

Multiplying Good (done by athletes). Map the Network - click here

Role of Leaders in Mobilizing Corporate Support (for tutor/mentor programs) - click here

Tutor Program? Mentor Program? Tutor/Mentor Program? What's the Difference? - click here

Information-Based Problem Solving - click here

Helping Kids Through School. How Can We Do This Better? - click here

Focus on infrastructure needed at every tutor/mentor program - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Chicago Volunteer-Based tutor, mentor program list - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here * Create a New Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

Resources & Announcements

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here

* Brooklyn Public Library National Teen E-card. Makes books available to teens throughout USA - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Proven Tutoring clearinghouse - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

* Chicago Digital Equity Coalition - click here

* Illinois Broadband Lab - 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 to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

About this newsletter.

view current and past newsletters at this link.

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. Please help fund the T/MI.

Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | http://www.tutormentorexchange.net

Thank you for reading. And thank you to those who help fund the

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and this newsletter. Please send a 2024 contribution.

Connect with Dan (tutormentor) on one of these social media platforms.

Twitter (X)

Facebook

Bluesky

Instagram

May-June 2024 eNews

May-June 2024 - Issue 231

End of one tutor/mentor year.
Beginning of next.

During May and June volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs that operate on a school year calendar will be holding year-end celebrations with students and volunteers. Follow these programs on social media, or visit their websites. Celebrate with them.

As this happens, leaders are already collecting ideas and making plans to operate through the summer and launch their programs again with volunteer recruitment campaigns in the fall.

Use the ideas and resources shared in this monthly newsletter to help you build and sustain mentor-rich, school and non-school, tutor, mentor and learning programs that reach K-12 youth in all areas of persistent poverty. These resources can be used by anyone, in Chicago, or around the world.

Please share this so others in your city can find and use these resources!

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Why Do I Do What I Do? View this Logic Model.

I led two different volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs from 1975 to 2011. I joined the first one as a volunteer in 1973, matched with a 4th grade boy named Leo Hall. Over the years I've seen how valuable the connections we enabled were to the kids and the volunteers.

I'm now connected to many alumni, including Leo, and seeing them post stories of their own life journey, and of their own kids finishing high school and college. Just last week one alum posted information on Facebook showing that she had graduated from Howard and pursued a master's in electrical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

I see similar stories from other organized tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and around the country. That's where my motivation comes from, and is the logic I show in this graphic.

The first panel, on the left, says "connecting youth with adult tutors and mentors and extra learning is a good thing to do (as I and others have learned from our own experiences). The middle panel says "A 'tutor/mentor' program is a place where many volunteers with different backgrounds can connect with hard-to-reach youth." In big cities where poverty is measured in miles, it's difficult for volunteers from diverse backgrounds to leave work during the day and come to schools on a weekly basis. However, if such programs are available during after-work hours, many volunteers will participate.

Which leads to the third panel. This show a map of Chicago, with high poverty areas highlighted. The text says "Helping 'tutor/mentor' programs reach youth in all parts of a city should be the goal of leaders from many sectors." It ends saying "Building marketing, advertising, resource development, talent sources and leadership strategies in every industry, faith group, political and media sector supports the growth of tutor/mentor programs in more place."

Making this happen in Chicago and other cities has been my goal for 30 years, but still is not a reality. Finding others to share this goal has also been difficult, but that's the purpose of this newsletter and my posts on social media.

Read more about the "Logic Model" in these articles on the Tutor/Mentor blog.

Changes to Constant Contact email address. Due to a new policy, all email coming from services like Constant Contact will have a different format. This may cause email to go into your spam box. That means the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will now be different.

This is the address that will be on the email for this newsletter. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

How Many Tutor/Mentor Programs are needed in Chicago?

I've been trying to ask, and answer, this question for nearly 30 years. "How many tutor/mentor programs are needed in Chicago?" First, we need to know how many already exist, and how many kids and volunteers are involved. Second we need to know how many kids live in areas of persistent poverty. The Tutor/Mentor Connection, which I formed in 1993, launched its first survey in January 1994 and updated that information annually through 2010. We plotted the location of programs on maps and were able to sort by age-group served (elementary, middle and high school) and type of program (pure mentoring, pure tutoring, combination tutor/mentor).

The only time a survey was done to determine the number of youth in these programs was in 1997, by the Associated Colleges of Illinois, in partnership with the Tutor/Mentor Connection. The maps above were included in this report.

Sadly, far too few people ever saw that report because we had no means of mass distribution and I've never had funding to repeat it every few years, or to ask additional questions about the number of volunteers involved and what their backgrounds were.

I asked the "How many" question in this blog article. I invite new leaders to come forward and rebuild this effort in Chicago and launch it in other cities. If you know people already doing this type of survey, please share the links on social media.

Support Tutor/Mentor Programs with Year-Round Marketing Campaigns

I started building a list of Chicago tutor/mentor programs and inviting them to meet and share ideas back in 1975 when I first started leading the program at Montgomery Ward's corporate headquarters in Chicago.

My goal was to find ideas that I could use in my own leadership. Over time I learned how others benefitted the same way. We begin to develop joint volunteer training efforts that reduced the work of each program and increased the value to our volunteers. This led to forming the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993.

Our first formal survey in January 1994 was responded to by 120 organizations. We used that, and our existing database, to invite people to come together for a Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference in May 1994.

We also published our list in our first printed Directory and shared that at the conference. We enlisted a public relations agency to help us get news coverage, which led to media stories about the conference. 70 people attended in May 1994 and response was so positive, that we organized another in November 1994. 200 people attended!

We continued organizing the conference every six months until May 2015. We published the Director every year until 2003, then put it in an on-line program locator, which made the information available to more people. We used our list of programs to organize a first ever Chicagoland Tutor/Mentor Volunteer Recruitment Campaign in August/September 1995 and repeated that each year till 2003. After that we continued to call for volunteers every fall, but instead of organizing volunteer fairs in multiple locations, we pointed people to our on-line directories.

The result of repeating these events every year was more consistent media coverage. On this page you can see a list of print media stories. This became a year-round strategy and because it repeated it drew more attention to tutor/mentor programs in Chicago than was happening before we launched the Tutor/Mentor Connection.

Learn more about the Public Awareness strategy. click here

Do you have a similar on-going campaign in your city?

Visit this page to learn more about strategies you can build in your own community (and in Chicago) to draw more consistent attention and support to youth serving organizations.

Since 2011 I've not had the resources to keep the Program Locator available, or to repeat the surveys, but I still maintain a list of Chicago and national tutor, mentor and learning programs, which you can find at this link. I also continue to plot them on a map, which you can find at this link.

In two sections of the Tutor/Mentor library I point to other program directories, in Chicago and in other cities. Visit this page, and this page.

What I don't see with these is a year-round strategy aimed at drawing volunteers, parents and donors directly to the youth programs listed in their directories. If you are aware of such campaigns please share the links with me and others on social media.

What you can do to help end poverty

This was the fist newsletter of the Cabrini Connections-Tutor/Mentor Connection, sent in June 1993. You can now see it in this article.

I've now archived all of our past print and email newsletters. You can find links on this page.

I've also created an archive of all of our maps, maps stories and media stories. You can find links in this article.

Share these with leaders in your community. You can build an archive like this over the next 10 years and maybe do more of what's needed to help kids in high poverty areas.

Several Chicago Tutor/Mentor programs have been able to get their stories in the media. This article, by Kelly Fair, founder of Polished Pebbles, focuses on building "HOPE".

This article on the Tutor/Mentor blog talks about HOPE as a powerful medicine.

Kelly's article talks about the need for business to support multiple programs, not just her own. That's a strategy we need to see from many program leaders.

Chicago Youth Programs is one of a few tutor/mentor programs who I see posting regularly on multiple social media platforms.

In this Tutor/Mentor article I show some others who I found recently on my social media pages. Others can write similar articles, drawing attention to programs in Chicago and other cities. Do it!

Tap into Manpower and Brainpower of Local Universities.

While I have had help from interns from many universities in Chicago and beyond, this was never part of a consistent strategy from any of these universities, aimed at helping more kids from high poverty areas come to their universities, then build lives in careers in the cities where they are located.

In one of the graphics above I show that the Tutor/Mentor Connection was born in a single Chicago tutor/mentor program in 1993 and was part of a two-part strategy until 2011. The media stories and public attention helped our own program grow! Thus, it could do the same for any youth program who wants to take the lead in duplicating what I started 30 years ago.

However, there's too much work that needs to be done. That's why I keep pointing to universities as potential leaders of a Tutor/Mentor Connection-type strategy, with funding from local and national benefactors.

This article on the Tutor/Mentor blog shows roles interns have taken over the past 30 years. These can be duplicated in dozens of cities for the same purposes.

Share this in your network and help find donors who will bring this strategy to colleges and the cities where they operate.

Below are resources to use. View latest links added to tutor/mentor library, click here

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles that point to Tutor/Mentor Connection archived files:

10-year wish list from 2015 - not yet achieved - click here

Local-global thinking - competing for attention - click here

Retaining volunteers in Tutor/Mentor programs - click here

Building Social Capital - article from 1999 - click here

Commitment needed from top 100 CEOs - 1996 newsletter. - click here

What if political campaigns raise money for youth programs? - click here

What if leaders had used maps like this - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Chicago Volunteer-Based tutor, mentor program list - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Political Action resources - click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Create a New Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

Resources & Announcements

* College Changes Everything Conference - July 18 - click here

* South Side STEM Asset maps - read about using maps - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here: Follow on Twitter - @UChiToThrough

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

* Proven Tutoring clearinghouse - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

* Chicago Digital Equity Coalition - click here

* Illinois Broadband Lab - 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 to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.