Home 2022 Tutor/Mentor eNews May-June 2022 eNews
May-June 2022 eNews
May-June 2022 - Issue 211
Celebrate Tutor/Mentor Programs
and Build for Next School Year
Around the country volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor programs that operate on a school-year schedule are now planning year end graduations and celebrations. I held a year-end event at programs Ied in Chicago for 35 years.

As I gave my year-end reflections I challenged everyone to use the experience to build brighter futures....and.....to return the next fall to help the program continue for another year.

Please share your end-of-year activities on social media, in your blogs and on your websites.
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
Youth who benefit from organized tutor/mentor programs.
Focus of most volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor programs

I created this graphic over 20 years ago to show categories of youth who most benefit from different forms of tutor and/or mentor programs support. The Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC focuses on youth living in high poverty areas.

Visit http://www.tutormentorexchange.net to see a web library, list of Chicago programs, and ideas people can use to help programs grow in high poverty areas.
Other youth need help, too

The Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute LLC strategy should be duplicated in other categories where more specific, and professional, forms of support are needed than what most volunteers can provide.

However, this graphic (see 5/16 article) shows that kids who don't live in poverty or have any of the needs shown on my first chart, may be growing up in areas where the adults and experiences around them provide a limited view of the world.

Read follow up 5/20 article.
What's Your Planning Cycle?

In the "start a program" section of the website I show a year-round planning strategy aimed at year-to-year improvement of programs that provide continuous support to youth as the move through K-12 and on toward jobs and careers.

During May/June programs are hosting year-end celebrations and graduations, recognizing work done during the past school year. However, they should also be collecting ideas that they put into summer planning, then lead to improved, renewed programs beginning in August/September.

This cycle repeats every year.

Do youth programs in your community have a written planning calendar? Share this with them.
Improve the funding stream

For tutor/mentor programs to be able to attract and retain youth and volunteers over multiple years they must be able to more consistently attract operating dollars.

I was the primary grant writer for 20 years in programs I led in Chicago. It's the most frustrating job I held, yet essential.

In my 1973-1990 retail advertising roles with the Montgomery Ward Corp I learned how weekly advertising drew customers to ALL of our 400 plus stores.

That strategy needs to duplicate in every city to help youth programs grow. If someone hosts a database of programs (which I do in Chicago) anyone can use their own media and visibility to draw volunteers and donors to any of the programs on that list.

Is this happening in your city?
Learn about all the resources on the
tutormentorexchange.net site.

I started this website in 1998 and it's available to anyone in the world. The ideas are intended to help people better understand where youth and families need help, where tutor/mentor programs are most needed, and ways to help programs grow and constantly improve.

Visit this "get started" page and view the PDFs that provide a tour of the website.

While this site points to Chicago the ideas and strategies, and web library, can be used in any city.

Create your own version borrowing from this site.
Get the App

The Mayor of Chicago's MyChiMyFuture program is launching an app to help youth find summer involvement opportunities. View this PDF to learn more. Share this with youth programs and youth.

Visit the MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago website. View the map of activities for youth - click here
View videos in Tutor/Mentor Theater

Visit this page and look at videos created since the early 2000s to share Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC ideas.

Many were created by volunteers and interns. Many were created to draw support to the Cabrini Connections program that I led from 1993 to 2011.

A page of videos and PPT presentations like these, created by youth and/or volunteers, should be available in every city in the world! Use mine as thought-starters for your own.
Social Determinants of Health - HOPE as a medicine.
This concept map points to many public health resources that show poverty as a "condition" that needs to be cured, not as something that people deserve blame for. Many article focus on HOPE as a powerful medicine that fuels people's ability to survive difficult circumstances.

In this blog article you can find links to concept map.
Learn about Tutor Mentor Programs
Use the lists of programs that I share on the T/MI website to find Chicago area youth tutor and/or mentor programs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and in my own library.

Get to know these programs. Help them share their stories and/or improve their websites. Help them attract volunteers and donors and ideas that help youth.

If no one hosts lists like this in your community build and host the lists yourself!
Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.
Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Is Public Education in a State of Crisis? - click here

Steps Leaders can Take - click here

Using the Internet Archive to Find and Fix Broken Links in Your Blog - click here

Mentoring Youth Who Don't Live in Poverty - collection on Wakelet - click here

Learn about the Chicago Community Health Index - click here


Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Featured collections on Wakeletclick here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Work done by interns - click here

* Digital Divide resources - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view the concept map shown below. Follow the links.
Resources & Announcements

* School Segregation in US Metros - interactive map. - click here

* Our Common Purpose - Reinventing Democracy for the 21st-Century. click here

* Kalamzoo Promise - year 16 report - click here

* Collection of articles & links focused on progressive issues and fixing Democracy - click here

* College Changes Everything Conference, week of July 11, 2022 - click here

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

* National Mentoring Partnership, resources - click here

* The Chicago Community Trust on Twitter - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* Chicago Health Atlas - click here

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

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* AfterSchool Alliance - resource center - click here

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

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. Thank you for contributions.
 
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!