Home Distribution of Tutor/Mentor Programs The Rest of the Story - A Marketing Strategy
The Rest of the Story - A Marketing Strategy

Using Maps to tell "The Rest of the Story"

View these map resources:
*Chicago Tutor/Mentor Programs map
*2008-2011 Map Gallery (archive)
*SlideShow-maps from 1990s

A key part of the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) strategy is to "increase the frequency of media stories and advertising that draw attention to tutoring/mentoring and draw volunteers and donations to tutor/mentor programs in different parts of the Chicago region. Visit the Tutor/Mentor Map Gallery (archive) to see this strategy in action.

The T/MC has been building a mapping capacity, to follow news stories, and create maps like this within 24 to 48 hours of when they first appear. Thus, if the Chicago SunTimes features a shooting on page 1, or an inside page, a T/MC story will leverage the money spent by the newspaper to reach its Chicago area circulation of more than 500,000 people, with another story that intends to convert a growing number of these people into advocates, volunteers and donors supporting tutor/mentor programs all over the Chicago region.  The on-line Program Locator is only available as an archive (as of 2021). However it could be rebuilt for Chicago or for any other city. 

This guide to make your own maps and this guide to update information on the Program Locator(Chicago area programs only) show what the Program Locator was able to do and could be a guide to developers interested in creating a new version.

 

This map is an example.  In July 2021 the Chicago SunTimes story headline was "How Chicago's most violent neighborhoods are faring in 2021".

The story featured maps of 15 Chicago community areas with red dots showing locations of shootings.  The Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC created this presentation, showing known non-school tutor and/or mentor programs in each of these areas and showed the two maps side-by-side. On the T/MI map the number of youth living in poverty, age 6-17, was also shown.  A brief analysis said "based on the number of youth in the area, and  the number of known non-school tutor/mentor programs, more are needed."  This varied for each community area. This blog article shared the maps.

We have been using maps to support this type of analysis since 1994.  In many cases there are no programs, too few programs, or not enough good programs in many of the zip codes where bad news is taking place.   The aim of the learning network is to provide knowledge that volunteers, business and faith leaders, and others can use to build their own vision of what a world-class volunteer-based tutor mentor program might look like, so that volunteers, donors and business leaders could help tutor/mentor programs in this and other poverty neighborhoods of Chicago grow to be good, and then great. 

We encourage Volunteers, Donors and Leaders to turn this negative into a positive. Get involved. Help the kids in these neighborhoods have a full range of non-school tutoring/mentoring programs. Together we can help assure that No Child in Chicago is Left Behind. Visit the T/MC Map Gallery to see more maps like this.

See how interns and volunteers can adopt this strategy and apply it to their own community. Read this pdf.  See mid 2000 version of Map Gallery.

This map is a service of the Tutor/Mentor Connection, which operated as part of a small non-profit organization from 1993 to June 2011. In July 2011 the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC was created to continue this work in Chicago and to help similar intermediaries grow in other cities. . If you'd like to become a sponsor, partner, contributor to help us produce more maps like this, and maintain the Program Locator service, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for information.

 
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, c/o Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il. 60654 Phone. Skype #dbassill; FAX 312-787-7713; email: tutormentor2@earthlink.net | Powered by OpenSource!