Feb 2025 T/MI News

February 2025 - Issue 239

Make Learning about Black History and Social Justice a Year-Round Activity

It's February, which is Black History Month. I point to my library of resources in this issue, but also emphasize that with this information on the Internet, learners of any age and any place, can access it throughout the year.

It's also a month when volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs who started in September are looking for new volunteers to replace those who dropped out over the year-end break. And it's time to begin expanding volunteer involvement so you have help when you start your program again next fall.

I only send this newsletter once a month.

It's full of links, so save it and refer to it throughout the month. Use the ideas and resources 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

These concept maps shows learning resources in the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC library. Use them throughout the year.

The top concept map (at this link) shows the resources in the "homework help" section of the Tutor/Mentor Library. One node points to my list of Black History resources (click here).

The second concept map (click here) shows another section of the Tutor/Mentor library, with links to websites that provide a deeper understanding of the systemic barriers put in place over many decades that make it more difficult for Black Americans, poor people and other minorities to have equal opportunities.

Many of the websites I point to are extensive libraries themselves. Think of this as a vast on-line shopping center for information that you can use to help people overcome challenges and help make the world a better, safer, healthier place for everyone.

This concept map (click here) points to Chicago area volunteer based tutor, mentor and learning programs in the Tutor/Mentor Library and to other resources that you can use to find volunteers for programs in any city in the country.

In the middle of the concept map I show lists that point to accounts of Chicago tutor/mentor programs on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. So far I don't find many programs using Mastodon, or BlueSky, but I encourage you to read this Edutopia article about using BlueSky.

Or, read this article titled "The growth of charity BlueSky - November 2024"

Who is doing capacity-building research about youth serving programs in America? Where is this being discussed in on-line forums?

What did Chicago area tutor/mentor program leaders tell us were the "most critical resources needed in their programs"?

From 2000 to 2003 a survey was provided during the Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conferences, held in Chicago and organized by the Tutor/Mentor Connection. This PDF is a summary of findings. "People" and "Resources" were the most needed resources.

"People" included tutor/mentor volunteers, and other volunteers who help programs operate and grow, along with paid staff.

"Resources" included paid staff, money/funding that supports the program, technology, training materials, space for operations, etc.

By building and sharing a list of Chicago area volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs since 1994 the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC have been trying to help programs throughout the region get these resources.

But we never have had the resources needed to continue this survey or dig deeper into the information we were collecting. In this blog article I show how we were reaching out to universities to take that role. So far, without consistent success.

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.

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.

Get to know the resources available in the Tutor/Mentor library.

Below is the first page a visual essay in the Tutor/Mentor library that provides a tour of the website which I've used since 1998 to share ideas and information that anyone can use to help kids and families in high poverty areas and to solve complex problems.. Click here to view.

This link points to a set of Google slides that who sections of the resource library on the Tutor/Mentor website. This includes a list of more than 150 volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs serving the Chicago region.

I've created these since the 1990s to try to help people understand the strategies I was sharing. From 2006 to 2015 interns from different colleges spent time looking at these and creating their own interpretations. This page has links to some of the work they did.

Students in any city, state and country could be doing the same type of investigation with the goal of applying the ideas to help youth in their own communities.

What's a Personal Learning Network? Where do you connect and learn on line?

Since the early 2000s I've tried to build on-line conversations where these issues were being discussed but again, with limited success, since staff, leaders, board members and donors of the majority of programs can't be found in the on-line platforms where many programs post information.

I think these habits need to be learned, beginning at an early age. Below is a concept map that I created in the late 2000s to visualize learning goals of the tutor/mentor program I was leading. Unfortunately I had to leave the program in 2011, too early for these habits to become embedded. Yet, I share them because in the world we're now living in it is more important than ever that young people and adults have sources of learning and communities of support. Those habits need to be modeled, mentored, taught and reinforced. Do you have this strategy embedded in your school and/or your own youth-serving program?

What's your planning calendar look like?

My email today included this article from the Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring, titled "Rates of volunteerism are declining: What can mentoring programs do?" Start by reviewing your own program statistics. Are you growing? Declining? What do your volunteers tell you about why they stay, or why they leave? Then visit the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website and look at the idea categories under 'Leadership strategies', 'Business involvement', 'Collaboration and Capacity Building' and 'Planning Strategies'.

Between now and June share these with your staff, volunteers and supporters. Start an on-going conversation, asking "What ideas can we apply to our own program?" and "How can we work with other programs in our city to increase business involvement, volunteer engagement and donor support?"

As you go into the summer you should have a list of ideas to apply as you start your program again in the fall and a few more people helping you implement those ideas. As you go through the next year, and the following years, build on what you are learning and constantly improve the impact of your organization.

Finally, share your own strategies, via a blog on your website, videos, social media and in person conversations. Help others learn from you while you learn from them.

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

Resources & Announcements

(New additions are at top of this list)

* ACT Now - Championing Quality Afterschool Programs in Illinois - click here

* Chicago Engineering Week - Feb 2025 - click here

* CASEL - "State of the Field 2025: Skills that Last. Impact that Endures." webinar recording - click here; resources shared in webinar - click here

* World Economic Forum - global risks - 2025 - click here; read report - click here

* Trust Talks - podcast by The Chicago Community Trust highlights the Trust's strategic priority to close Chicago region's racial and ethnic wealth gap - click here

* Why Philanthropy Needs to Invest in Social Capital - click here

* International travel opportunities provided by Farther Foundation - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Landlord Mapper - National Landlord Database Initiative - click here

* Chicago Community Area Hardship Index (2019-2023) - click here

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

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

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

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Proven Tutoring clearinghouse - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

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

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* Prison Policy Initiative - click here

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

(Do you have a blog? Share it on social media)

Super Bowl articles - expanded role for athletes - click here

Stay focused. Do what you can every day - click here

Do you host conferences? Map the network to enhance connections - click here

If it is to be, it is up to you and me - click here

Use AI to Build Deeper Understanding of Ideas I and Others Share - click here

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

What comes after the election? - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Lists of Chicago area, volunteer-based tutor, mentor programs - click here

* Homework help and volunteer training resources - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy essays by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Work done by interns in past - click here

* Maps and Map-Stories from past 30 years - 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

* Reaching out to Universities to adopt the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy - 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.

Thank you for reading.

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.

I encourage others to duplicate what I'm doing. Write a blog and share your own vision, strategy and challenges. Share your link and I'll add it to this list in the Tutor/Mentor library.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

Please share this newsletter with people you know who work in non-school youth serving programs. If they are not receiving these newsletters then we have no way of engaging them. Also encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter.

To subscribe, just Click here.

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

It costs $44 a month for me to send these newsletters and another $51 a month to host the web library.

Please help me pay these expenses.

Visit this page and add your support.

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

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

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March 2025 T/MI eNews

March 2025 - Issue 240

Make sure you have alternative sources of information as some websites shut down.

Where are you and your leaders finding information to support youth and volunteers in organized tutor, mentor and learning programs? Or to support your everyday lives?

Are your normal sources of information still working? Do you have other places to turn to for ideas and information?

The Tutor/Mentor library is one alternative source. Take a look.

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

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

While I send this newsletter once a month, I post one or two blog articles each week. Read my "Why I started blogging" article.

In my Tutor/Mentor blog I have posted more than 75 articles pointing to a group of Connected Learning (#CLMOOC) educators who I met in on-line learning groups in early 2013 and have continued to interact with since then.

Recently they encouraged me to answer some questions about "Why I Blog." My first article focused "Why I started blogging in 2005". Those reasons are why I still write one or two articles a week and why I encourage others to do the same. We need alternative sources of information and friends who can help us understand complex problems and potential solutions.

You can read my first #Blogging4Life post at this link.

My blog articles point to information on the www.tutormentorexchange.net website. That's where the library I started building in the 1970s is now hosted.

I've used concept maps since the mid 2000s to visualize strategies and to show information in the Tutor/Mentor Library. The top concept map shows the full library, which has four main sections. You can view it here.

The lower concept map shows how I embed links in some of my blog articles, as updates when I find newer information. Some of these links go into the main library but many do not. Thus, these articles are sort of a 'mini library'. You can open the link here.

In this article I show other ways to visualize the information in my libraries.

These two concept maps show a different way to visualize information and what I've done using cMapTools. The top concept map (click here) is from a Mapping History of Western Philosophers project. It was built using Kumu.io which is an interactive relationship mapping tool.

The lower concept map is from a project that maps the teams involved in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The interactive map has many sort features and the ability to zoom in and learn about specific teams and individual players.

I show these and other ideas about using visualization tools in this concept map.

Know your network. Nudge your network. Map your network.

In early March I participated in two webinars about networks. The graphic shown above is from a presentation by June Holley, titled "Exploring Multiscalar Networks".

June has been helping people and networks connect for more than 40 years. I've followed her since the mid 2000s. The three images above show uses of tools like Kumu as well as geographic maps to show "who" is in your network, "how" they are interacting, and "where" they are located.

The second webinar was titled "State of STEM ecosystems" and showed how community-based STEM networks in many cities are connected to each other in a much broader national network.

Links to both presentations can be found in this article, where I've added my own history of trying to connect leaders, volunteers and supporters of Chicago tutor, mentor and learning programs in an on-going learning and problem-solving community.

I mentioned the Connected Learning (#CLMOOC) group earlier. It's another example of an idea sharing network that I think is a way to connect people who share a common interest.

Furthermore, in this section of the Tutor/Mentor library I aggregate links to blogs about learning, networking and fund raising. Some of these blogs are people I've been following since the 2000s.

One section shows blogs from tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and other cities. I wish more of the programs I host on my lists were actively blogging. Many of the blogs on my list have not been updated for several years, but they do provide ideas for you if you're thinking about starting a 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.

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.

Building long-term support for programs in many locations is the challenge.

I saw a post on Facebook last week from one of the students who was part of the tutor/mentor program I led in Chicago in the 1990s. Her message was "I'll receive my Masters in social work in 30 days!"

The top graphic is one I created over 20 years ago to show the goal of building and sustaining volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs that reach kids as early as elementary school and help them through high school and into adult lives. I'm still connected to most of those in that photo and many have college and advanced degrees! That was the goal.

The bottom part of the graphic shows how the typical foundation grant only provides a small percent of operating money a typical youth serving program needs each year. That means each organization has to constantly reach in many directions to find all the "fuel" it needs to provide a full year of services. In addition, most grants are for only one to three years. That's like saying to a child, "I'll raise you for the first three years. You find someone else to take you the next three years." And the three years after that!

That's why I wrote this article, titled "Want to make a difference? Re-Think Philanthropy". If you can find people in your community who care about these issues, and draw them together into an on-going learning network, maybe you can begin to innovate new ways to support long-term youth serving programs. Or solve other problems that the world is facing.

Build lists of youth serving programs. Draw attention to them daily.

The articles in this newsletter have focused on networked learning. The first step is "knowing your network".

When we published the first Chicago Tutor/Mentor Directory in 1994 we did not just list the volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs who had responded to our first survey. We also included a broad list of others who were involved in one way, or another, with the work these programs were doing. When we hosted the first Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference in May 1994, we invited everyone from our list to attend.

I still host an extensive lists of Chicago and national youth serving programs and use my blog, newsletters and social media to invite them to connect and share ideas. You can find my lists on the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website. That's where you can also find my library, with more than 2000 other resources, representing people from throughout the country who need to be connected in an on-going learning network. As I send this newsletter monthly my goal is that it influences people in other cities to duplicate my entire strategy, including building their own libraries and then connecting to me and each other in on-line networking.

Is someone already doing this in your community? Please send their link to me and I'll add them to my library.

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

Resources & Announcements

(New additions are at top of this list)

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

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange supports OST community in Chicago - click here

* ACT Now - Championing Quality Afterschool Programs in Illinois - click here

* Trust Talks - podcast by The Chicago Community Trust highlights the Trust's strategic priority to close Chicago region's racial and ethnic wealth gap - click here

* Why Philanthropy Needs to Invest in Social Capital - click here

* International travel opportunities provided by Farther Foundation - click here

* Landlord Mapper - National Landlord Database Initiative - click here

* Chicago Community Area Hardship Index (2019-2023) - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

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

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here

* Science of Social Capital - Community Commons website - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Proven Tutoring clearinghouse - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

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

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* Prison Policy Initiative - click here

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

(Do you have a blog? Share it on social media)

Mapping Ideas, information and networks - click here

NCAA Basketball Tournament starts. What's your game plan for helping kids? - click here

STEM and Networks - Share these resources - click here

Protest music for these times - click here

Building Great Tutor/Mentor Teams - click here

Retaining Volunteers in Tutor/Mentor Programs - click here

How would you visualize this problem solving cycle? - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Lists of Chicago area, volunteer-based tutor, mentor programs - click here

* Homework help and volunteer training resources - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy essays by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Work done by interns in past - click here

* Maps and Map-Stories from past 30 years - 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

* Reaching out to Universities to adopt the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy - 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.

Thank you for reading.

Please share this newsletter with people you know who work in non-school youth serving programs, or in sectors that should be strategically supporting such programs, such as business, philanthropy, education and public policy. If they are not receiving these newsletters then we have no way of engaging them. Also encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter.

I encourage others to duplicate what I'm doing. Write a blog and share your own vision, strategy and challenges. Share your link and I'll add it to this list in the Tutor/Mentor library.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

To subscribe, just Click here.

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

Please help fund Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.

Visit this page and add your support.

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

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

Twitter (X)

Facebook

BlueSky

Instagram

2025 Tutor/Mentor Newsletters

The Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) have been
sending newsletters to a wide range of stakeholders in the youth development, tutor and mentor ecosystem,
since 1993. The newsletters are intended as study guides, for all who are working to help youth in
high poverty areas move more safely through school and into adult lives, jobs and careers.

On the left side of this page you can open links to all 2025 newsletters. The links are also shown below.

June-July 2025 - click here
April-May 2025 - click here
March 2025 - click here
February 2025 - click here
January 2025 - click here

View 2024 Newsletters at this link
View 2023 Newsletters at this link
View 2022 Newsletters at this link
View 2021 Newsletters at this link
View pre 2021 Newsletters at this link

Conference maps

Maps from Past Conferences

Conference Maps:
43 tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conferences were held in Chicago
between May 1994 and May 2015.
What Other Organization in Chicago has brought so many people together,
for so many years? Limited resources have kept conference participation
under 80 from 2013 to 2015. Yet as many as 350 have attended these conferences
in past years.

View this analysis of conference participation, done by students participating in
Indiana University visualization MOOC.

From 1994 to May 2011 these were organized by the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC), part of a two-part non-profit
established in 1993. From November 2011 through 2015 the conferences were organized by the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
which was established in 2011 after the original organization ceased its support of the T/MC strategy.

T/MI seeks research students who will continue this analysis. Our goal is to influence how others map participation
in their own conferences and events, while also seeking partners, or sponsors, to re-build this effort and continue the
conferences for another 20 years?

Look at maps showing participation in past Tutor/Mentor Leadership and networking conferences.
Map of June 2013 Tutor/Mentor Conference - Click here Map of November 2013 Conference - click here Map showing participation in November 2008 Tutor/Mentor Leadership & Networking Conference: Click here to open map. Zoom in to see organizations in Chicago. Zoom out to see out of state participants.

November 1998 Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference Participation Map Click here to open map. Zoom in to see organizations in Chicago. Zoom out to see out of state participants. Here is a list of other maps that are available November 2012-13 Participant Map (add your own name, show your Facebook Page and web site.) November 2009 Conference Map May 2005 Conference Map May 2004 Conference November 1997 Conference See also, Social Network Analysis Maps of 2008 and 2009 conferences.
	Learn More about Tutor/Mentor Connection Uses of maps This map is one of many created since 1994. Visit http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/mapping-the-programs and learn more how maps can be used to illustrate the areas of high poverty and poorly performing schools in Chicago where volunteer based tutoring and/or mentoring programs are needed. Use the interactive map on the Tutor/Mentor Program Locator to view this information. By comparing this map to the conference participation map we can see that we're getting regular participation from programs in different parts of the city, and that the lack of participation from the South part of the city is partially due to the lack of tutor/mentor programs (that we know of) in this area. In future conferences we hope to draw people from business, hospitals, churches and universities who will help existing programs grow, and help new programs form where more are needed. View more maps at http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com

Immigration, deportation information and resources

Find a list of political action resources on this page.

ALLIANCE FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE CAMPAIGN FOR POLICE FREE SCHOOLS
https://policefreeschools.org/about/
From the website: "The National Campaign for police Free Schools is a formation of youth-led grassroots organizations fighting to end the criminalization of youth in the classroom, create liberatory educational spaces, and implement an affirmative vision of safety and transformative justice."

ILLINOIS COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS
https://www.icirr.org/about
From the web site: "ICIRR is dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society. In partnership with our member organizations, the Coalition educates and organizes immigrant and refugee communities to assert their rights; promotes citizenship and civic participation; monitors, analyzes, and advocates on immigrant-related issues; and, informs the general public about the contributions of immigrants and refugees."

IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND KNOW YOUR RIGHTS RESOURCES - 2025
https://cccsny.org/2025-immigration-enforcement-and-know-your-rights-resources
This Catholic Charities resource aims to support immigrant communities with the information and resources they need to navigate complex challenges. The site has a list of resources, programs, and actionable steps to help safeguard your rights and access support.

NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY - IMMIGRATION REFORM RESOURCE
https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/
From the website: "New American Economy is a bipartisan research and advocacy organization fighting for smart federal, state, and local immigration policies that help grow our economy and create jobs for all Americans." This is a robust information base; Browse the Map the Impact section to find data for each state and metro area.

April-May 2025 T/M News

April - May 2025 - Issue 241

Support your volunteers so they can help bring HOPE to those you serve.

Last month my headline talked about finding alternative sources of information if websites shut down. Wow. I did not realize my main website would be not working since early April. If you tried to visit, it's now working again.

The site still needs to be upgrades, so may be closed to you at some point in coming weeks. If that happens, please read the blogs and look at other websites that I point to.

Use the ideas and resources I share 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

The world lost a true leader with the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis on April 20, 2025.

In 2017 I posted a video of a Pope Francis TED talk on the Tutor/Mentor blog. At one point in the video he talks about the responsibility for each of us to take on the role of the Good Samaritan, to help others who are in need. At another he talks about HOPE, as "a humble, hidden seed of life that within time will develop into a large tree."

And he said, "A single individual is enough for HOPE to exist, and that individual can be YOU."

I support volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs because a single volunteer can bring so much HOPE into the life of a youth. An organized, long-term program, can bring HOPE to dozens of kids.

You can find the video at this link.

Challenges to our sector. Invitation to philanthropy.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection was created in 1993 to help draw volunteers, ideas and operating dollars to every youth serving tutor, mentor and learning program in the Chicago region. With government threats for funding of nonprofits Vu Le wrote an article titled "Funders, here's the blueprint for saving democracy."

I wrote about it in this article. Follow the links. Share the message.

Part of the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy has been to aggregate research showing where tutor/mentor programs were most needed and why. In April the "State of Chicago Youth 2025" report was released.

View this Tutor/Mentor blog article and see how I shared the link to the "State of Chicago Youth" report and pointed to other research that I've been aggregating. Use the information in your own articles, videos, newsletters and events to educate volunteers, donors and business partners to be more proactive in providing the long-term funding needed by tutor, mentor and learning programs in many places.

Resources to help organizations find funding.

Having led a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program as a non-profit, from 1990 to 2011, I'm very aware of the constant challenge smaller organizations have of finding 100% of the operating dollars they need to build and sustain constantly improving programs. That's one reason I created the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993.

In April 2025 I watched a webinar hosted by the Children's Funding Project, which I was unaware of until then. Above is one of the slides from the presentation. It shows their role of helping organizations "fill the gap between current funding and the true cost of reaching their goals". You can view the video at this link. View the slides on this page.

Read this article on the Wallace Foundation website, describing the Children's Funding Project. The title is "Investing in Youth From "Cradle to Career".

Here's another important resource. The Independent Sector has created a page titled "Tracking the Policy Landscape for the Charitable Sector" to respond to Federal actions that are causing fear and chaos in the social sector, and elsewhere. Three sets of information are being tracked: 1) Tax and Federal Legislation; 2) Litigation; 3) Executive Actions. Click here

This is one of many resources that can be found in the Philanthropy Links section of the Tutor/Mentor Library. Make sure your staff and volunteers are making time to learn from these.

Follow up to 1997 President's Summit for America's Future

I was there.

It's been almost 30 years since leaders from fifty cities, businesses, philanthropy, media and the non-profit youth development sector gathered in Philadelphia, with five living Presidents to talk about creating a brighter future for the 13+ million children living in poverty in America.

I was one of ten people representing Chicago and the Tutor/Mentor Connection was one of 50 Teaching Examples invited to host a display booth at the Summit.

We created a video in 1997 to share the strategies of the Tutor/Mentor Connection, with the goal that they would be adopted by other cities. Sadly, we had very little money for distribution and too few ever saw it. I included the video and links to past articles, in this Tutor/Mentor blog article. click here.

View my archive of news stories leading up to the April 1997 Summit, the actual Summit, and following. Click here

How are you celebrating the end of this school year?

I led two different volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs between 1975 and 2011.

The first was called the Montgomery Ward/Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program when I joined it in 1973 as a volunteer and became its leader in 1975. It served second to 6th grade students and while volunteers originally were mostly from the Montgomery Ward corporate headquarters in Chicago, by 1992 only 10% of the 550 volunteers were Ward employees.

The second, called Cabrini Connections, served 7th to 12th grade kids, most of whom had started with the "little kid" program, then came to us after 6th grade. The photo above shows 6th grade graduates of the first program in 1990. Many came to the second program. I'm still connected to many of them on Facebook, watching them raise their own kids and share their own joys and sorrows.

We celebrated the end of every year with a year-end graduation celebration for the kids and their parents and volunteers. From 1975 to 1990 we also were hosted by Montgomery Ward corporate officers at a volunteer recognition dinner.

Read this article to see some of the yearbooks and annual reports from these programs.

Over the next few week's I'll see posts from programs I follow on social media, showing their year end celebrations. You can follow the same programs I follow by looking up programs that I host on lists on the left side of the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website.

How will you celebrate? Post your year-end celebrations on social media. If you see posts by other youth serving organizations, give them a boost. Together we can raise the visibility for each of us.

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

Resources & Announcements

(New additions are at top of this list)

* Every Hour Counts - network of intermediaries building after school systems - click here

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

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange supports OST community in Chicago - click here

* ACT Now - Championing Quality Afterschool Programs in Illinois - click here

* Trust Talks - podcast by The Chicago Community Trust highlights the Trust's strategic priority to close Chicago region's racial and ethnic wealth gap - click here

* Why Philanthropy Needs to Invest in Social Capital - click here

* Chicago Community Area Hardship Index (2019-2023) - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

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

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here

* Science of Social Capital - Community Commons website - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Proven Tutoring clearinghouse - click here

* Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative - click here

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

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* Prison Policy Initiative - click here

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

(Do you have a blog? Share it on social media)

Innovating New Funding Solutions - click here

A Way Forward for Philanthropy - click here

Using Research in Planning, Problem Solving - click here

State of Chicago Youth - 2025. Poverty Persists - click here

How to Use the Tutor/Mentor blog - click here

April 1st - No Joke This Year - click here

Blogging4Life - Why I blog - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Lists of Chicago area, volunteer-based tutor, mentor programs - click here

* Homework help and volunteer training resources - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy essays by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Work done by interns in past - click here

* Maps and Map-Stories from past 30 years - 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

* Reaching out to Universities to adopt the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy - 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.

Thank you for reading.

I encourage others to duplicate what I'm doing. Write a blog and share your own vision, strategy and challenges. Share your link and I'll add it to this list in the Tutor/Mentor library.

If the newsletter does not format correctly in your email, or if you want to return to it for future reading or to share with others, view current and past newsletters at this link.

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Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Serving Chicago area since 1993

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Video Library - Interns

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Videos

The videos on this page were created by interns and volunteers
between 2006 and 2015 to help people understand Tutor/Mentor Connection
and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC strategies and available resources.

View these videos on YouTube video list. More on this YouTube channel.

Backspace to return to Video Theater main page or to Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC site.
Enough is Enough - animation by Intern from South Korea - click here	How to Set Up a Tutor/Mentor Program, by Sam Lee. View in this video. click here	"We Will Be Hope" - animation by intern from South Korea - click here
How You Can Make a Difference, 2013 video by Kyungryul Kim. click here	Video shows work of past interns. By Kyungryul Kim. click here	"War on Poverty" video by Kyungryul Kim, Intern from South Korea - click here
Prezi introduces work by past interns. Created by Byeonghui Kim - click here	"Network of Purpose" Prezi presentation. By Byeonghui Kim. click here	"Problem Solving Strategy" created by Byeonghui Kim, intern from S. Korea click here
Tutor/Mentor Connection intro, by Mina Song, 2012 click here	4-Part T/MC Strategy, Step 1, by Mina Song click here	4-Part Tutor/Mentor Connection Strategy, Step 2, by Mina Song. click here
4-Part Tutor/Mentor Connection Strategy, Step 3, by Mina Song. click here	4-Part T/MC Strategy, Step 4. Animation by Mina Song - click here	"How Athletes Can Take the Lead" animation by Minsub Lee, Intern from South Korea. click here
Volunteer Recruitment animation - 2011 Intern Project - click here	Learning Path - created in 2015 by Wona Chang, as guide to "get to know" T/MI goals - click here	Get to Know Tutor/Mentor Connection, 2012 animation by Song Me Lee - View video - click here
Introduction video by Kyungryul Kim, 2013 intern from South Korea - click here	Introduction to T/MC - in Korean. By Minsang Lee, 2010 - click here	June 2010 T/MC conference - video by Minsang Lee -click here
Video Library (2008-2015) on Tutor/Mentor Connection Ning forum - click here	Shoppers Guide PSA by Sun Joong Yoo, Feb. 2014 - click here See also, Problem Solving PSA - click here	Planning Strategies - PSA, by Sun Joong Yoo, Feb 2014 click here See also, Virtual Corp Office PSA - click here
The video library on the Ning.com site (above) includes many Cabrini Connections videos as well as T/MC videos. Thank you to everyone who used their time and talent to create these videos.	Students and volunteers from around the world are encouraged to create their own videos and animations to guild people through the ideas and resources shared on this website and on T/MC blogs and social media.	If you'd like to make a contribution to help keep this information available on-line, visit this page.

Misc Links - International

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ROMA MINORITY IN EUROPE
https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/urban-poverty/eurocities-report-maps-situation-roma-cities-europe.html
This link points to the European Commission web site, and a sub section focused on urban poverty and the ROMA ethnic group.

INDIA DEVELOPMENT COALITION OF AMERICA
https://www.idc-america.org/
From the web site; "IDCA inspires and promotes Social Entrepreneurship to Alleviate Poverty and Mitigate/Adapt Climate Change in India. Through our various meetings in the US and India we promote networking, collaboration, learning, giving, and volunteering for poverty eradication and climate change Mitigation/Adaption in India."

INEQUALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA, SEEN FROM THE AIR
https://unequalscenes.com/
The host of this web site has used drones to photograph different places of South Africa, illustrating the stark differences between places of wealth and places of poverty. On the web site he writes, "Looking straight down from a height of several hundred meters, incredible scenes of inequality emerge. Some communities have been expressly designed with separation in mind, and some have grown more or less organically."

INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT (ILID). INDIA - PROJECT PUPIL
https://ilid.org/
From the web site: "ILID is a not for profit consulting firm catering to the leadership and institutional development needs of organizations serving the poor in the Indian Society. ILID is dedicated to applying leading-edge management strategies, tools and talent to help other nonprofits and foundations achieve greater social impact. ILID helps non-profits to scale up and sustain their operations on a long term basis by using the various best practices, tools and frameworks used in the corporate sector. ILID develops and delivers customized and distinctive strategies to produce the desired results for its clients." ILID Inc. registered as 501(c)(3) organization in USA is dedicated to help uplift the poor children living in America and India. Based out of New Jersey, the organization was launched in 2013 with the primary goal of helping the inner city schools and their students all over America by providing free supplementary education. Project PUPIL was thus launched in 2013 with the help of Bill and Melinda Gates and Infosys Foundation. PUPIL in 2 years served about 1500 under served children from 17 states across America.

INTERESTING CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY VIDEO LIBRARY - THE B1M
https://www.theb1m.com/all-content
From the website: "We inspire a better industry by sharing knowledge and expertise with a mass audience. We attract the best talent by showing construction at its best to millions." Just browse through the collection of videos shown on the site and you're sure to find a few that interest you.

PYXERA GLOBAL - FOCUSES ON WORLD ISSUES
https://www.pyxeraglobal.org/
From the web site: "PYXERA Global envisions a world in which individuals, organizations, and institutions from different points on the globe converge to address complex challenges through sustainable and mutually beneficial efforts. For close to a quarter century, PYXERA Global has been working to improve lives and build capacity of individuals and institutions around the world. Today, our work is guided by our commitment to design and implement solutions that achieve real-world goals through approaches that inspire, enrich, and endure." Browse the site and view the graphics and articles.

THE LIFE CYCLES OF EMPIRES - LESSONS FOR AMERICA TODAY?
https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/the-life-cycles-of-empires-lessons-for-america-today
From the website: "Sir John Bagot Glubb (1897-1987), a highly honored British general and historian better known as Glubb Pasha, wrote about the collapsed empires of the past. In his 1978 book The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival, he described a common pattern fitting the history of some fallen empires. They went through a cycle of stages as they started, expanded, matured, declined and collapsed."

Read the article and ask if there are parallels to the life cycle of America.

TOP PRIORITIES FOR AFRICA IN 2017 - BROOKINGS.EDU REPORT
https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/foresight-africa/
While Tutor/Mentor Connection focuses on poverty in Chicago and other US cities, what happens in other parts of the world affects what happens in the US.

TRUE SIZE OF DIFFERENT CONTINENTS - HINT AFRICA IS HUGE
https://www.wired.com/2016/06/handy-applet-will-remind-distorted-maps/
This article should be used in history and geography classes so students get a true picture of the relative size of different continents.

ZENPUNDIT - A BLOG FOCUSED ON HISTORY, STRATEGY, MILITARY THEORY, MORE
http://zenpundit.com/
From the web site: "Zenpundit is a blog dedicated to exploring the intersections of foreign and defense policies, history, military theory, national security, strategic thinking, futurism, cognition, forensic theology, cultural intelligence and a number of other esoteric pursuits." One of the writers is Charles Cameron who the Tutor/Mentor Connection has built a relationship with through sharing ideas on the Social Edge web site since 2005. Charles passed away n 2020.

Library: Learn about T/MC & T/MI

This Library is part of an information-based problem solving strategy launched by Daniel F. Bassill and six other volunteers in
November 1992, at the same time as they were creating a new volunteer-based tutor/mentor program to serve 7th to 12th
grade teens living in the Cabrini Green Area.

Visit Mission, Vision and Strategy pages to learn more of the organization's goals.

This set of links points to articles written about the
Tutor/Mentor Connection and to websites, blogs and
social media pages.

The T/MC piloted a use of maps, beginning in 1993. At the
left is an example. The map shows high poverty areas on
the West and South parts of Chicago and points to the
Cabrini-Green area on the Near North where it operated
the Cabrini Connections tutor/mentor program.

The intent was to visually communicate a need for
well-organized tutor/mentor programs in all high poverty
areas, not just in one, or two places.

1965 TO JUNE 2011 TIMELINE FOR CABRINI CONNECTIONS, TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION
http://tinyurl.com/TMI-Timeline1990-2015
This is one of several concept maps on this web site. It shows key actions from 1965 to June 30, 2011 which supported the development of a single Chicago volunteer-based tutor/mentor program Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC), which is a strategy designed to help similar programs be available to youth in all high poverty areas of the Chicago region.

View Nov. 1992-2018 timeline for growth of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
- https://cmapspublic.ihmc.us/rid=1P2872L98-DT3LPF-32SJ/TutorMentor%20Connection%201992-2015%20timeline.cmap

In June 2011 this organization split into two separate structures, with the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC being formed to continue the work of the Tutor/Mentor Connection.

A 1997 CASE STUDY OF THE TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION BY CHAPIN HALL
https://web.archive.org/web/20160820082345/http://www.chapinhall.org/research/report/case-study-tutormentor-connection-cabrini-connections
This report details a case study of the Tutor-Mentor Connection (T/MC), an organization designed to build infrastructures to expand and improve after-school tutoring and mentoring opportunities for inner-city children in Chicago. The case study was conducted over a 3-month period in 1997 and was intended as a limited exploration of one model for developing an infrastructure among a particular type of primary support organization.

ACACIA FRATERNITY NATIONAL NEWSLETTER ARTICLE FEATURES DAN BASSILL This article is saved as a separate document ARTICLE ABOUT TUTOR/MENTOR CONFERENCE ON YOUTH PROGRAM BLOG
http://femioutreach.blogspot.com/2012/12/tutor-mentor-conference.html
This 2012 article on the FeMe Outreach program blog was written following their participation in the 2012 Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference. We encourage more organizations to write stories about the resources offered by Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.

BLOG ARTICLES WHERE DAN BASSILL DESCRIBES HOW HIS BACKGROUND CONTRIBUTED TO THE IDEAS AND STRATEGIES OF THE TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION AND TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC
https://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search?q=my+background
This link points to articles posted on the Tutor/Mentor blog since the late 2000s. Understanding the strategies shared on this web site may require understanding the different influences that have contributed to their growth.

ASSOCIATED COLLEGE 2004 SHINING EXAMPLE OF LIBERAL ARTS FOR LEADERSHIP AWARD
https://sun.iwu.edu/~iwunews/newsrlse/jgh04_45.html
Daniel F. Bassill, a 1968 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, was named a  2004 Shining Example of Liberal Arts for Leadership by the Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI). Bassill was honored for his commitment to helping low-income youth beat the odds to finish high school and go on to college.

BLAU EXCHANGE INTERVIEW WITH DAN BASSILL
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/dan-bassill/dan-bassill-interview
This is a January 2007 interview that was originally posted on the Blau Exchange web site. It does a good job of expressing the goals of the Tutor/Mentor Connection.

BLOG SHOWS HOW T/MC IS CONNECTING WITH LEADERS IN AFRICA
http://abdielkude-gcpi.blogspot.com/2011/02/taking-to-blogging.html
This blog is written by Abdiel Kude who Dan Bassill began networking and sharing ideas with in the early 2000s. This article was written in February 2011. Bassill and Abdiel Kude stayed connected on Facebook and Twitter until 2020 when Mr. Kude sadly passed away.

BLOGS WHERE OTHERS ARE WRITING ABOUT TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC
https://cmapspublic.ihmc.us/rid=1PW8PNDSL-25F5930-2LQ4/Blog%20Exchange%20Map.cmap
This concept map is archiving blog articles that people from around the US and the world are writing to help communicate the ideas of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, Write about the T/MC and and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Dan Bassill will add you to the map, too.

BLOGS ON TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION NING SITE
http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/profiles/blog/list
At this site you can read blog articles posted since 2007 by Dan Bassill and interns working with the Tutor/Mentor Connection in Chicago. You can ask to join the Ning community, then create your own profile and write your own blog articles.

CABRINI CONNECTIONS BLOG - 2006 UNTIL JULY 2011
http://cabriniblog.blogspot.com/
This was the main blog for Cabrini Connections up till July 2011, written by the administrative coordinator and focusing on activities of the program. On the right hand side of the blog you can see links to additional blogs written by students and volunteers who were part of technology and art clubs. This blog is no longer being used by the organization, but serves as a model of how a tutor/mentor program can be transparent with how it supports youth and volunteers and educates the public.  Note: Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection were both started in 1992, as part of a single organization committed to youth in the Cabrini Green area of Chicago, while also seeking to help mentor-rich programs grow in every poverty area of the city. This two-part strategy lasted until 2011 when the board of directors voted to discontinue support for the T/MC and focus only on the Cabrini Connections program.

CABRINI-GREEN HOUSING PROJECTS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrini%E2%80%93Green_Homes
Dan Bassill, the leader of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and the Tutor/Mentor Connection, has been involved with youth living in the Cabrini Green area since 1973 when he joined a tutoring program that had been started by employees of the Montgomery Ward corporate headquarters in Chicago in 1965. This @ikipedia page provides a good amount of information about the Cabrini Green Public Housing Projects in Chicago.

CLASSROOM 20 ED TECHNOLOGY FORUM - DAN BASSILL PAGE
https://web.archive.org/web/20100909170853/https://classroom20.com/profiles/blog/list?user=tutormentor
This was one of the earliest on-line communities for people who use technology in education and schools and continues to be a hob for a global learning community. This page points to the personal profile page and blog articles of Dan Bassill, founder of Tutor/Mentor Connection, who joined the forum in 2007. The site is only viewable as an archive now.

CMAPS FROM AROUND THE WORLD - INCLUDES TUTOR/MENTOR MAPS
https://cmap.ihmc.us/cmaps-around-the-world/
This site hosts examples of Cmaps created by people from around the world, and includes the Tutor/Mentor Connection as one example. Scroll down to the second page to find T/MC.

CONNECT WITH DAN BASSILL OF T/MC AND TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tutormentor/
This is Dan Bassill's profile page on LinkedIN where he connects with a wide range of people, including youth development & tutor/mentor program leaders, systems thinkers, network builders and former volunteers from tutor/mentor programs Dan led from 1975 to 2011. Dan is also part of several Groups on LinkedIN.

"CROWDSOURCING THE MACARTHUR AWARD" ARTICLE IN PC WORLD RECOGNIZES T/MC LEADER
https://www.pcworld.com/article/519631/crowdsourcing_the_macarthur_awards.html
This 2009 article on a PCWorld blog, by Phil Shapiro, a librarian living in the Washington, DC area. He recognizes Dan Bassill, founder of the Tutor/Mentor Connection (and this web library) and eleven others for innovative ideas and suggest that they be considered for MacArthur Genius Awards.

CULTURE OF EMPATHY BUILDER: DAN BASSILL
http://cultureofempathy.com/References/Experts/Others/Daniel-Bassill.htm
This is April 2012 interview of Dan Bassill on the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy web site.

DAN BASSILL - APRIL 2022 INTERVIEW W ALIYU B. SOLOMON, FROM NIGERIA
https://tinyurl.com/DBassill-4-22-video
In this on hour video Dan Bassill talks about how he became involved in mentoring, the importance of organized tutor/mentor programs, the intermediary role of a Tutor/Mentor Connection, and ways people in Nigeria and other countries can duplicate the strategy. Hosted by Aliyu B Solomon, a Nigerian who first connected with Dan on the tutormentorconnection.ning.com site in the late 2000s.

DAN BASSILL FEB 2022 INTERVIEW ON ZOOM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuyhpgwvBmI&t=1s
This YouTube video was created by Anthony Brogdon, from Detroit, who is producing a movie about mentoring. Learn more at https://businessintheblack.net/

DAN BASSILL'S TUTOR/MENTOR BLOG - FOCUSES ON BUILDING STRONG ORGANIZATIONS
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/
Bassill and 6 other volunteers created the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Cabrini Connections in 1992. Bassill started writing this blog in 2005 and uses it as a "text book" of ideas that anyone in the world can learn from. Past articles are as valuable as current ones.

D. BASSILL INTERVIEW WITH MEG MINOR OF ILLINOIS WESLEYAN (PDF)
https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context=oral_hist
This is a transcript of an interview conducted in 2016, asking about Dan Bassill memories of former IWU president Minor Myers, Jr, who was tremendously supportive of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Dan's work with inner city kids between 1990 and 2003.

FIND TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE - @TUTORMENTORTEAM ON TWITTER
https://twitter.com/tutormentorteam
Follow the Tutor/Mentor Connection on Twitter @tutormentorteam. Dan Bassill started using this in mid June 2009.and continues in 2020. Visit the lists hosted on the @tutormentorteam profile and connect with the same people Dan has been following.

GIRAFFE HERO - DAN BASSILL, FOUNDER OF TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION
http://giraffeheroes.org/69/DanBassill
The Giraffe Project recognized people around the world for "sticking their necks out" to solve local and world problems Dan Bassill. founder of the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011) was nominated in 1997. Bassill started leading a site-based volunteer-based tutor/mentor program in 1975 and continued through 2011. He formed the T/MC to share his experiences, along with those of others, to help similar programs reach k-12 youth in all high poverty areas of Chicago and other cities.

Through this web site the Giraffe Project draws attention to their Giraffes just as T/MC does to various tutor/mentor programs in Chicago. We're proud to be a part of this.

GIVE THIS MAN A GENIUS AWARD: DAN BASSILL OF CHICAGO'S TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION
https://newchicago2014.blogspot.com/2014/09/give-this-man-genius-award-dan-bassill.html
2014 introduction of Dan Bassill and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, written by Steve Sewall on his blog.

HAVE FUN DO GOOD: T/MC STORY ON NON PROFIT BLOG EXCHANGE
https://havefundogood.blogspot.com/2005/12/nonprofit-blog-exchange.html
This is a blog shares many ideas that non profits can use to build more effective fund raising strategies. The article this link points to is one where the writer points to the Tutor/Mentor Connection, as part of a 2005 "Non Profit Blog Exchange"

HOLIDAY 2009 VIDEO - CABRINI CONNECTIONS
https://vimeo.com/8235817
This video shows the students and volunteers at Cabrini Connections (the tutor/mentor program led from 1992 to 2011 by Dan Bassill, founder of T/MC and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC) as they give thanks to each other during the holidays. Student blogs and videos like this not only helped draw attention to the single program we were leading, but helped us draw attention to all tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago region.

HOW TO BUILD A T/MC IN OHIO CITIES - ARTICLE ON I-OPEN BLOG (2015)
https://web.archive.org/web/20220519123422/http://www.i-open.org/how-to/how-to-build-a-just-and-prosperous-neighborhood-with-this-four-part-tutormentor-strategy
This article was shared via the I-0pen blog on September 19, 2015. It's an article that could be re-written by leaders in any city, focusing on building T/MC type intermediaries in the 100 largest cities of the US, and in similar large cities of the world. This is one of five T/MC guest articles on the I-Open blog. See others at
- https://web.archive.org/web/20220625235658/http://www.i-open.org/blog/three-regional-goals-that-advance-youth-living-in-poverty-to-careers
- https://web.archive.org/web/20220519124053/http://www.i-open.org/blog/how-are-social-sector-leaders-created-are-they-born-with-passion-or-does-it-grow-with-experience

INTERVIEW WITH NELLIE DEUTSCH ON WIZ IQ (2012)
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2012/04/sharing-ideas-with-world.html
This is a brief recording from a one-hour session hosted by Nellie Deutsch in 2012 on WizIQ.

INTERNS AT TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC
http://michaelcnt.blogspot.com/
This blog has links to many other pages and blogs where we show the work interns did to help visualize and communicate strategies of Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC between 2006 and 2015.  We encourage youth from around the world to look at our blog articles and create their own interpretations, focusing the strategies on their own cities if not in Chicago.

LIST OF AWARDS AND RECOGNITION OF DANIEL BASSILL AND TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/awards-and-recognition
This is a list of awards and recognition Dan Bassill received for work with volunteer based tutor/mentor programs and the Tutor/Mentor Connection since the mid 1970s.  In 2011 the two parts of this organization split and the Tutor/Mentor Connection is now supported through the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, led by Dan Bassill.

MAPTOGETHER.ORG 2009 INTERVIEW WITH T/MC
https://web.archive.org/web/20111213025001/http://maptogether.org/interview/bassill_tutormentorconnection_nonprofitmapping
The MapTogether project provided free map-related training and tools for community and nonprofit groups around the world. Its resources included software, data sets, online mapping services, documentation, and training resources. In addition, its geographers provided free in-person "community mapping clinics" in cities across the United States and Canada. The MapTogether team was also available for private consultation and training as well as full-scale GIS application development and hosting.

This link points to an archive of an interview on the site with Dan Bassill, founder of Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011).

MENTORING'S PROMISE AND LIMITS - THE ATLANTIC - 12-2016
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/why-some-mentors-fail/510467/
The article features an interview with Dan Bassill, who created the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993, and Leo Hall, who Dan first met in 1973 when Leo was a 4th grader living in the Cabrini Green area of Chicago.

MAPPING FOR JUSTICE TUTOR/MENTOR MAPS BLOG
https://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com/
Between early 2008 and spring 2011 the T/MC was creating new maps every few weeks, to tell a story of how business and professional leaders, or media, can point volunteers and donors to tutor/mentor programs in different parts of Chicago. This blog was started and written until 2011 by Mike Trakan, who worked part time making maps for the Tutor/Mentor Connection. Since 2011 stories have been written by Dan Bassill, founder of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.

NETWORK WEAVING PROFILE OF DAN BASSILL ON ABOUT US.COM
https://aboutus.com/Daniel_Bassill
During the mid and late 2000s Dan Bassill and the Tutor/Mentor Connection connected with people from around the world on a variety of platforms. The link points to a profile posted on one of many platforms. Visit the NetworkWeavers page at https://aboutus.com/NetworkWeaversNetwork to see the vision behind this group.

Oprah's Angel Network stopy “Cabrini Green Mentor Expands Networks for Students”
https://web.archive.org/web/20110103202357/http://oprahsangelnetwork.org/stories/555-cabrini-green-mentor-expands-networks-for-students
This story and a grant of $50,000 came from the Oprah Angel Network in 2009.

OUR SOCIAL SERVICE SAMURAI: DAN BASSILL
https://kellyfairthementor.com/2013/12/05/our-social-service-samurai-dan-bassill/
This is a 2013 interview of Dan Bassill, founder of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, on the "kellyfairthementor" Blog. Kelly is founder of leader of the Polished Pebbles tutor/mentor program.

POLICYLINK STUDY - BRIDGING ORGANIZATIONAL DIVIDE (INCLUDES TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION)
https://www.policylink.org/resources-tools/bridging-the-organizational-divide
This 2001 report describes innovative uses of technology in the non profit sector. The Tutor/Mentor Connection is mentioned on page 24. Much has changed since this report was written. The only thing that has not changed is the consistent access to funding needed to be able to innovate these uses of technology at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection.

TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION IN RELATIONAL POVERTY NETWORK LIBRARY
http://depts.washington.edu/relpov/using-maps-to-draw-needed-resources-to-non-profits-in-all-high-poverty-areas-of-chicago/
The Relational Poverty Network promotes uses of GIS mapping in solving local/global problems. It's based at the University of Washington. The Tutor/Mentor Connection was added in June 2015

TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION USE OF MAPS - ARTICLE ON SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
https://fly4change.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/mapping-out-your-strategy-using-maps-as-a-means-for-marketing/
This writer talks about Tutor/Mentor Connection maps and says " I look forward to sharing Dan’s work with you as I think Dan is doing a fantastic job of creating a 1, 2 Punch when it comes to tackling giant issues (i.e. poverty and education) through mapping technology."

TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION ON NING.COM
http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/
Tutor/Mentor Connection established a community space on Ning.com in 2007 in an effort to connect people from the ecosystem of youth tutor/mentor programs. One of it's primary successes was to host the work of interns from IIT and other universities in one group on the forum.

TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION USE OF MAPS. YOUTHTODAY - 2009
https://youthtoday.org/2009/06/how-to-create-maps-to-help-kids-and-youth-workers/
This article in a 2009 issue of YouthToday features Tutor/Mentor Connection's use of GIS maps. Scroll down on the article to find the section featuring the T/MC.

TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/TutorMentorInstitute
Tutor/Mentor Connection is now part of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. Same goals as before. Hopefully more ways to generate revenue and share ideas. Join our Facebook Group or invite us to be part of your group.

TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/danielf.bassill/

TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC ON PINTEREST.COM
https://www.pinterest.com/tutormentor/

TUTOR/MENTOR LEADERSHIP & NETWORKING CONFERENCE
http://www.tutormentorconference.org/
As part of its year-round strategy to support tutor/mentor program growth the Tutor/Mentor Connection held a networking conference in Chicago every six months between May 1994 and May 2015. The conference web site is now an archive, showing goals, participation maps, and attendee lists and encouraging this ecosystem to connect in social media spaces like Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.

Prior to hosting conference information on the tutormentorconnection.org site it was hosed on a Bigstep.com site - Here's the archived link: http://web.archive.org/web/20011212082154/http://www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com/generic.html?pid=0

TUTOR/MENTOR INSTITUTE, LLC STRATEGIC PLANNING ON WIKI
http://tutormentorinstitute.wikidot.com/tutor-mentor-institute-workspace

TUTOR/MENTOR BLOGS POSTED ON I-OPEN (CLEVELAND) IN 2014
https://web.archive.org/web/20220517051801/http://www.i-open.org/blog/category/tutormentor
The blogs posted in 2014 and 2015 on the I-Open site are no longer available, except in the Internet Archive.

WEBHEADS DISCUSSIONS FEATURING TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION
https://learning2gether.net/?s=bassill&submit=Go
Webheads is an international group of educators formed in the late 1990s. Members meet on-line weekly to network, share ideas and learn new ways to use technology in learning. Dan Bassill of Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011 - present) has been part of the group since 2004. This links points to an archive of some events Bassill participated in.

WHAT MADE ME WHO I AM - FIRST 20 YEARS OF DAN BASSILL
https://web.archive.org/web/20150912123313/http://www.i-open.org/blog/how-are-social-sector-leaders-created-are-they-born-with-passion-or-does-it-grow-with-experience
This is an article posted on the I-Open blog that shows my growth from a volunteer offering one hour a week, to a leader devoting countless hours to helping youth tutoring, mentoring and learning programs grow.

YOUTH TODAY: AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS LEARN TO TUTOR - INTERVIEW WITH DAN BASSILL
https://youthtoday.org/2006/08/after-school-programs-learn-to-tutor/
This article, titled  After School Programs Learn to Tutor appeared in the July 2006 issue of  Youth Today.

LIST OF TUTOR/MENTOR CONNECTION, INSTITUTE, LLC WEBSITES
http://tutormentorinstitute.wikidot.com/list-of-web-sites-and-purpose
In addition to the websites listed on this page, you can find a similar list on the Tutor/Mentor strategic planning wiki site.

Library: Volunteer Admin Resources

Volunteer Administration and Management Tools Plus Resources for Senior Citizen Involvement

The links in this section of the library point resources that support volunteer management in any type of service organization. A set
of links focusing on involvement of senior citizens is also included.

The site where this information has been hosted is now only available as an archive.

Getting volunteers involved and keeping them
involved requires on-going support from well-trained
staff in places where volunteers are involved.
These links point to volunteer support networks and
tools.

There's a set of links that focus on involvement
of senior citizens, too.

The links below are sub-categories in this section of the library.

Volunteer Administration Networks and Resources - click here

Volunteer Management Tools - click here

Involvement of Senior Citizens - click here

If you find broken links send information to tutormentor 2 at earthlink.net

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.

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.

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.

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.

I was there.

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Videos

The videos on this page were created by interns and volunteersbetween 2006 and 2015 to help people understand Tutor/Mentor Connectionand Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC strategies and available resources.

View these videos on YouTube video list. More on this YouTube channel.

The videos on this page were created by interns and volunteers
between 2006 and 2015 to help people understand Tutor/Mentor Connection
and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC strategies and available resources.