August 2021 T/M eNews
August 2021 - Issue 202
Help Mobilize Volunteers and Donors for Local Tutor and/or Mentor Programs
Every August since 1975 I've launched a volunteer and student recruitment campaign to draw volunteers and youth to tutor/mentor programs I led in Chicago.

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

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

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

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website
Programs Telling Stories on Social Media

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

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

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

Go to: www.tutormentorexchange.net
Enlist local businesses, media, faith groups and public leaders as partners to help mobilize volunteers and donors.
Below is a copy of a Volunteer Recruitment ad that appeared in a Chicago newspaper in 2006, pointing to the list of programs hosted by the Tutor/Mentor Connection. If multiple companies, businesses, faith groups, etc. created and published similar ads throughout August, more people would be reached and motivated to search out youth tutor and/or mentor programs to support.

If you're involved in advertising sales for local media, create a template and go to local companies to encourage them to post these ads, with their company logo shown in the middle, such as in this example.
In November a similar ad campaign could be repeated, but this time focused on year-end fund raising.

While individual youth programs could adopt this strategy to draw attention to their own programs, the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC seek to support EVERY volunteer-based youth tutor, mentor and learning program within a geographic area such as the Chicago region. Others can duplicate this strategy in cities across the world.
Tune up your website! Make sure visitors find information that motivates them to support you.

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

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

If you're a communications professional, web designer, advertising writer, etc. you might offer your talent to help local programs build and maintain more powerful websites. Many don't have the money to hire people to do this work.
How Many Programs are Needed in Chicago?
In late July the Chicago SunTimes pointed to 15 Chicago community areas as having the highest number of shootings and homicides in 2021, calling them "High Priority" areas.

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

View some of the maps in this article - click here

View each maps in this T/MI pdf - click here
Putting Data to Work for Young People
Every Hour Counts, along with the Wallace Foundation, has released a new framework for measurement and continuous improvement of afterschool systems, programs and support for youth.

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

I found this in my @tutormentorteam Twitter feed. It's a continuous source of new resources that can be used to help youth throughout the country.
All Students Deserve Enriching, Authentic Relationships
New article from the Gates Foundation supports mentoring and points to a Christensen Institute playbook on how to build and strengthen students' networks.

Read the article and follow the links. Click here.

Reach out and give support to Chicago youth tutor and/or mentor programs. See how I pointed to a few in this May 2021 eNews.
Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.
Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Response to Chicago Violence: Do the Planning - click here

Give Olympic Gold Medals for Ending Poverty - click here

Multi-Site Youth Programs in Chicago - click here

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

Racism and the Economy - Get Informed - click here

Network Building: Learning from the Past - click here

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words - click here

Mentoring As a Workforce Development Strategy -c lick here

Other Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

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

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here
.
Chicagoland Resources & Announcements

* We Will Chicago - citywide planning initiative - click here

* New Broadband Access map from Biden administration - click here

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

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

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

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

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


*Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles-click here
Please help update this cMap and the links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. Just email me with additions or changes
Learn how other cities might duplicate what Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC does in Chicago. click here

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

On the right side of the home page at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net are links to pages that will give you a deeper understanding of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and its founder, Daniel F. Bassill.
About this newsletter.
While I try to send this only once a month, I write blog articles weekly. Throughout the newsletter I post links to a few of the articles published in the past month or earlier. I encourage you to spend a little time each week reading these articles and following the links. Use the ideas and presentations in group discussions with other people who are concerned about the same issues.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.
(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email)

Thank you for reading and sharing the ideas in this newsletter.
Tutor/Mentor Connection, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
Merchandise Mart PO Box 3303, Chicago, Il 60654
Thank you for reading. And thank you to those who help fund the
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and this newsletter. Contributions always welcome. Click here.

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