Issue 250
Thanks for what you do to help kids
Someone once said, I don't read the newsletter because it's repetitive. About 40 years ago an marketing VP at Montgomery Ward told me that we get tired of sending the same advertising messages every year, but we keep doing it because there are always new people looking for what we offer.
That's what motivates me. Each year kids only grow one year older, so the things we did last year need to repeat this year, with new ideas for older kids and improved ideas for new kids now joining tutor/mentor programs.
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I appreciate the occasional feedback from those who say, "great newsletter", but would also like to know what you'd like to see added, or deleted. While a majority of what I share is from my work helping Chicago tutor/mentor programs grow, the resources I share come from all over the USA and from other countries. The actions I've piloted since 1993 need to be duplicated in every area with concentrations of persistent poverty, where access to opportunity is consistently lower than in other places and where funding is scarce.
Please share this so others in your city can find and use these resources!
Here's another view of participation in 1994-2014 Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conferences
A second team of students also looked at the conference data and created an interactive map that shows participation by zip code for each conference from May 1994 to November 2014. Zip codes with darker colors were those with larger numbers of people attending the conferences.
The team also did an analysis of the data, which they shared with me in their project report. Since that information is not available through the map I put it into this blog article along with their instructions for using the dashboard.
I share these because they show the value of the conferences. Even though I no longer host one in Chicago, others can be using my planning process and conference goals to organize similar events, for the same purposes, in Chicago or in any other city with large concentrations of persistent poverty. As I find examples of this I'm putting them into articles on my blogs.
They also show ways students from universities and even high schools can do important work that can help tutor, mentor and learning programs grow in every city in the world.
Create your own view!
This graphic shows participants in the first Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference, held in Chicago in May 1994. See other views and find the link to the Kumu.io map at this link.
Take a look. Use the menu bar at the left to select a conference year. Then zoom in and see who attended. Hold your mouse over a green icon and you'll see if they attended multiple conferences. Create and share a jpg, just like I've done. This is something youth and volunteers could be doing.
Are you including all these steps in your planning?
Over the past 30 years I have seen many groups form with a goal of innovating new and better ways to help kids learn and move into adult lives, with jobs and an ability to contribute to their community. However, most fall short of the long-term goal. One reason, may be too few people support the strategies they propose. Another, is they have not figured a way to generate sustainable operating funding, that reaches schools and non-school programs in every zip code where kids, families and schools need more help.
I encourage you to open the concept map shown above and read through it, starting at "Step 1" in the upper left, then circling around to "Step 7". Does your planning process focus on all of these steps?
Do you have a concept map that shows your planning process, or the blueprint you're using to help kids from birth-to-work? If yes, please share it.
Reach out and support youth serving programs
I created this concept map a few years ago to show the many ways a volunteer, parent, donor, reporter and/or researcher can learn about existing youth tutor, mentor and learning programs in Chicago and other places. Since many of the lists focus on the Chicago region I encourage other cities and states to create their own lists, and versions of this concept map. Then share it so I can add it to my own library.
I'm seeing some great videos being created by several programs to show the importance of mentoring and the work they do. I find them in my social media feeds because I've used my lists to connect with them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I wish more were posting on BlueSky, too.
You can do the same.
What if billionaires adopt this idea?
I saw this post on BlueSky this week. It's a Forbes article talking about how Melinda French Gates plans to fund "Chronically", "Unconscionably" Underfunded Programs for Women and Girls."
That prompted me to write this article, titled "Leverage Billionaire Funding - Tipping Point" in which I show how these women could combine forces to create long-term programs at several universities who create a pipeline of new leaders for youth-serving programs and also create a motivated, proactive core of donors who actively support them. I hope you'll read and share the article.
View latest links added to the Tutor/Mentor library - click here
Resources and Announcements.
* Engineers Week 2026 - Feb. 22-28 - click here
* Bridging the Trust Gap: Creating Dialogue Between Chicago's Nonprofits and Funders. A Chicago breakfast, March 4, 2026. click here
* MOTT Million Dollar Challenge - a pitch competition for kids and teens - click here
* Friends of the Children - Houston 2025 report. Look at how they show who they serve and what they do. - click here
* "The Time Has Come for Youth Development". Wallace Foundation article - click here
* Prison Policy alternatives - click here
* "Talent is Evenly Distributed. Opportunity is Not." "National Education Opportunity Network aims to change that. - click here
"Why Mentoring Professionals Love Their Work But May Leave Anyway" From The Chronicle of Evidence Based Mentoring - click hereVisit this page for the list of Featured Links that I usually post in this newsletter. click here
Read These Tutor/Mentor blog articles
(Do you have a blog? Share it on social media.)
* Mapping Complex Systems - The Epsteinn Network - click here
* A Way Forward for Philanthropy. A Path out of Darkness. - click here
* Changes in Demographics of Chicago Suburbs - click here
* Super Bowl Week. What's the Game Plan? - click here
* Expanding the "Who you Know" Networks - click here
* Does Your Youth-Serving Org Have a Blog? - click here
* Are You Planning a Conference? Building a Network? click here
* Building and Sustaining a Mentor-Rich Support System for K-12 Youth - click here
Visit this page to find a list of highlighted resources that I usually have included in this newsletter.
click here
Thank you for reading this month's newsletter.
For those who don't want to receive this newsletter in their email, a copy of this and past issues can be found in my www.tutormentorexchange.net website.
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.
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Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present)
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present)
Serving Chicago and the world since 1993. Connect with Dan Bassill, founder and leader on one of the social media platforms.
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