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Tutor/Mentor Leader Training Workshop. Topic include fund raising, volunteer recruitment, how to start a program, how to train mentors, etc. The T/MC is offering extra training and learning opportunities to tutor/mentor leaders. Visit www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com to read about the Monthly Workshops that will be offered between the May and November conferences each year. Register now. Space is limited. Benton Harbor, MI riots show why a Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy is needed in any city. Once the anger in the community erupts into rage and violence, it is too late to develop a strategy that prevents such violence. I urge any leader who reads this to look at the strategies of the T/MC. This is a way to bring hope and opportunity and a bridge to careers to youth who are isolated and ignored. June, 2003 - 150 people attended June 5th and 6th Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference. Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago was the site of the 19th Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference. This conference was offered in partnership with the Chicago Gear Up Alliance and New Concepts, a Chicago area tutor/mentor program and Gear Up partner. Partial funding comes from The Chicago Public Schools. The Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference is the only conference in the Midwest that regularly invites leaders of tutoring, mentoring, school-to-work, Teen Reach, Gear Up, Service-Learning, and other volunteer-based programs to share ideas and find ways to build capacity to improve quality, encourage distribution of programs into all poverty neighborhoods. The goal of the conference and the T/MC is to draw visibility, volunteers and operating dollars directly to programs, while helping programs network and share ideas so they can build better services with these resources. The Federal Leave no Child Behind Dept. of Education legislation specifies that funds go to non-school programs that serve youth in poverty areas and in areas where school performance is low. This conference and the T/MC are dedicated to building capacity of such programs. For details, visit http://www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com April, 2003 - President Bush issues National Volunteer Week Proclamation. While leaders of non-profits offer thanks every day of the year to the many volunteers who contribute time and talent to the success of thousands of organizations, National Volunteer Week is a time when the nation says Thanks!" Read the full proclamation. March, 2003 - Audio
Interview with Dr. Daniel F. Bassill, President of Cabrini Connections and the
Tutor/Mentor Connection. While
you can read essays and editorials written by the T/MC's creator, you seldom
have a chance to hear him in interviews like this. The interview is posted at http://storymakers.net/danielbassillinterview.ram.
It can be heard by anyone with a 28k modem and the free realplayer February 2003. As we fight the war on international terror, who will help fight the war on poverty? Every day millions of children go to school in fear because of the threat and intimidation caused by gangs who are fueled by drug money. Every day kids come home to empty apartments, because single parents are working, or have been caught up in drugs or alcohol. As you browse the Resource Library of this web site and www.tutormentorconnection.org, you can find plenty of research to show that many Americans live each day in an economic terror. You can also see how tutor/mentor programs are a small bridge that links those in poverty to those who live on the other side of this economic divide. These programs face economic starvation in 2003 and many will not be in place in 2004, including Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection, unless more private donors reach into their pockets and come forward with small and large contributions. The information on these web sites shows the value of tutor/mentor programs. It shows the work we do. It also shows that winning this war is a shared responsibility. Look in the mirror tonight and ask this question? "Have I done as much as I can to help Cabrini Connections and other tutor/mentor programs do their work?" Visit the LEND A HAND pages on this web site to see ways you can help. Thank you. December 30, 2002. Mother asks for help finding mentor for 15 year old son. Without funds for tutor/mentor programs, help will be hard to find. Read more. December 30, 2002. Learn how Mentors have Made a Difference in the lives of well-known people. Visit the Harvard Mentoring Partnership's National Mentoring Month web page and see how mentors have helped others and they can help children and youth in all cities. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/mentoringmonth January is National Mentoring Month. However, tutor/mentor programs need visibility, volunteers, dollars and training support 12 months of the year.. Comprehensive, long-term tutoring/Mentoring programs need financial support and leaders, not just one-on-one volunteers. Good programs operate like a good business. They get better every day, improving from year-to-year. You don't get a good tutor/mentor program by paying attention to them one month of the year. That's why the Tutor/Mentor Connection exists. Our web sites provide information anyone can use at any time during the year to help a tutor/mentor program grow. Our sites also provide links to other programs in Chicago and around the country. Our goal is not to have one program well funded and successful at helping a few kids. Our vision is that funding is well distributed to every poverty neighborhood so that thousands of tutor/mentor programs are well funded and are helping millions of children and youth move from poverty to careers. Visit www.networkforgood.org and search for Cabrini Connections or any of the other programs listed on our Links to Chicago Tutor &/or Mentor Programs page. Budget 5% of this year's gift giving as a gift to a tutor/mentor program. It can make a difference for a lifetime. October 26, 2002. More than 100 business leaders from Chicago's top companies took a day from their regular jobs to be "Principals for a Day" in Chicago Public Schools. This year the schools asked for more than a day. They asked for leadership commitments that would build more on-going investment and involvement in Chicago schools. We applaud this initiative. But ask that CEO's invest in the extended school day, not just the 9am to 3pm hours. Furthermore, we call on Leaders to think long term. Think of your investment as human capital development, where you not only develop the skills of your future workforce, but you develop the skills of your current workforce. The Tutor/Mentor Connection seeks LEADERS who think outside the "box" and use the non-school hours, business volunteers and technology, jobs and business skills to help inner-city youth move to careers. Are you this type of leader? Look at our check list. If you fit the description, and want to take a lead in revolutionizing education, youth development and workforce development in Chicago, connect with the T/MC at 312-492-9614. September 8, 2002.
"I love the tutors we've met at Borders. Thank you for creating such a
wonderful connection throughout the city between community members and
organizations working with youth," reports Beth Palmer, Executive
Director of Epworth Tutoring Program. Beth has has been hosting the
recruitment fair at this Borders location for more than 3 years. She
is one of more than 100 tutor/mentor programs and business partners who work
with the Tutor/Mentor Connection each year to build greater visibility and
recruit more volunteers to tutor/mentor programs throughout the Chicago area. August 2002. There
is no more critical an issue in America today than the education of our kids.
The gap between rich and poor is growing because of the huge differences in
educational opportunities available to kids in the inner cities and those in
more affluent areas. The real work and
responsibility of helping these children must be shared by every business,
institution, and individual in Chicago and the suburbs. We all need to
continually ask “What can I do to help make a brighter future a reality for
our children?” July 2002. Power Point presentations on T/MC web site can now be used to help you better understand Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection. As we find partners to help expand this section, this will become a "virtual university" of tutor/mentor and education-to-careers knowledge. We call this the Tutor/Mentor Institute. We invite you to take a look and give us your feedback. May 2002. The Rest of the Story. Learn more about the Chicago neighborhoods where Chicago Public Schools are closing three elementary schools. Learn how you can help tutor/mentor programs in that area. May 2002. Chicago report: Availability of tutor/mentor programs serving high school youth during the evening hours. Business want schools to produce students more prepared for work. Nearly 40% of teens drop out before finishing high school. Gang warfare takes the lives of young people. Maybe part of the reason is that there are too few programs working with teens in the non-school hours. This map clearly shows this to be true. May, 2002 - Nearly 100 already registered for May 20 and 21, 2002 Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference. This is the only conference in the Midwest that gathers leaders of tutoring, mentoring, school-to-work, Teen Reach, Service-Learning, and other volunteer-based programs to share ideas and find ways to build capacity to improve quality, encourage distribution of programs into all poverty neighborhoods, and sustain all tutor/mentor programs. The new Leave no Child Behind Dept. of Education legislation specifies that funds go to non-school programs that serve youth in poverty areas and in areas where school performance is low. This conference and the T/MC are dedicated to building capacity of such programs. For details, visit http://www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com May, 2002 - Funds low at Tutor/Mentor Programs! The economy continues to make fund raising difficult at most non profits. Tutor/Mentor programs are no exception. Programs that run short of operating dollars end up cutting staff, or discontinuing services. Yet, it is the continuity of staff and services that make these programs effective. Please help. Try to make a personal contribution to a tutor/mentor program. Encourage your company, social group, friends and family to do the same. Don't wait for someone else to take the lead. Don't wait for the government to fill the void. Visit the Philanthropy section of this site to find ways to give. March, 2002 - Tutors, Parents, Teachers, Students! On-line learning resources can help anyone succeed in school and life. While there is much concern about the quality of schools, teachers and school funding, the Internet continues to grow as a resource for learners of all ages. Visit the resources section of this web site and get to know all of the different links that offer tutoring in math, science, writing, reading, etc. There are lesson plans, games, motivational activities, much more. The challenge is finding ways to lead youth to these sites and to help them take charge of their own education and their own futures by using these resources on an on-going basis. February, 2002 - How do programs convert volunteers into leaders and resource builders? Around the country tutor/mentor programs that started in September as school started are now looking for ways to replace volunteers who have dropped out, while looking for ways to motivate remaining volunteers to finish the year. However, now's the time for another type of training. Many volunteers have bonded with the kids they first met five months ago. For the first time they are beginning to understand what it's like to go to a school where there are no teachers in some classes, where books are scarce, and where some kids fear more about how they will get to school and home safely each day than how we'll they'll do in the classroom. These volunteers are ready to become part of the solution. As volunteers begin to see the problems their kids face, they also begin to see the problems the tutor/mentor program faces. A chronic lack of dollars makes it difficult for most programs to attract and keep quality leaders (who only become quality leaders as they gain year-to-year experience). This lack of dollars also makes some programs have less adequate program sites. Some don't have computers. Some may not have very good on-going support for volunteers or youth. Sometimes the lack of answers or lack of support creates a frustration that causes a volunteer to drop out of a program. However, if leaders can draw that volunteer into a "how do I help make it better" process, they can empower a new and well-connected leader. At Cabrini Connections we focus on drawing
volunteers from workplace background because those volunteers can not only model
the types of jobs youth can aspire to, they also can open doors within their
corporations and professional networks that lead to a flow of new volunteers,
dollars, technology, etc. into a program. We call this the volunteer
service-learning loop. As a volunteer does more and more service in a
tutor/mentor program he/she begins to "loop" back to where he/she
works, worships, or socializes where he/she shares what he's been doing in the
program and begins to share the needs and concerns of the program. When
that happens the volunteer begins to come to tutoring sessions each week with
"why don't we do this?" ideas. Program leaders who facilitate
this from week to week have the potential to near the end of the school year in
May or June with a momentum that is looking forward to the start of the next
school year, and with new volunteers/leaders who will help the organization find
ways to improve the quality and impact of what they do. The January National Mentoring Month has helped many of us get new volunteers. Now we need to find ways to integrate those volunteers into a Total Quality Mentoring process that constantly improves the service a program gives to a youth or a volunteer. If you are a business or foundation that can support this process with a financial contribution, or with in-kind training support, please email us at tutormentor2@earthlink.net.
National Mentoring Month aims to: Cabrini Connections operates a site based
tutor/mentor program. So do many other groups that need volunteers.
You can find these groups by visiting the resource section on this web
site. As you think about if you can or can not be a volunteer, we urge you
to also think about the money these programs need to build a support system for
current and new volunteers. Good mentoring requires good staff support of
volunteers and youth. Just mobilizing volunteers without also building
program revenue to support volunteers is like sending Marines into Afghanistan
without weapons or food. The US did not do that. We should not do that to our
volunteers. Please consider a contribution as you consider a volunteer
role. January, 2002 - New T/MC maps show where help is most needed. Visit the T/MC GIS web site and you'll see maps showing Chicago schools placed on the November 2001 State Board of Education watch list because of low learning performance. You'll also see a map showing where Mark Lane, Jr., co-star with Oprah Winfrey in the 1993 "There Are No Children Here" movie, was killed just before Thanksgiving, 2001. On these maps you'll see locations of organizations that provide various forms of tutoring/mentoring. Each needs volunteers. Each needs operating dollars. Each needs technology and business partners to help keep kids away from gangs, in school, and headed toward jobs and careers. December, 2001 - Email Ad Campaign
draws visibility, volunteers, donors to tutor/mentor programs throughout
Chicagoland. Many
of you may be first time visitors to a Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) web site
as a result of an email received from us. Thank you. We hope that you'll not
only find the information on this site valuable, but that you will forward
the email to friends, co-workers and professional associations so that
others will join you as a supporter of tutoring/mentoring and
mentoring-to-career programs in Chicago, or in other areas where kids live in
poverty and are at risk. December, 2001 - Landmark Study Finds Proof that Youth Development
Works According to Youth Today, the 388-page book "gives an intellectual
underpinning to conventional wisdom" about the value of youth work.
While efforts are begin developed for the dissemination of this report, T/MC
encourages its visitors to visit the following web link where you can read the
entire report (or sections), then put it's findings to work in your program
development and your advocacy. http://books.nap.edu/books/0309072751/html/1.html#pagetop November 15, 2001 -75% of city's grade schools on warning
list. "This report further indicates the need for adults to get involved as tutors/mentors with kids in the neighborhoods of poorly performing schools," says Daniel F. Bassill, president of Cabrini Connections. "Use the links section of this site to help you locate programs where you can volunteer, be a donor, or be a leader." October 12, 2001 - Help raise funds for one-on-one tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and Cook County and enjoy an evening with Cleopatra! The annual Chicago Bar Association/Foundation Fall Benefit will be held Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Field Museum in Chicago. It's a family affair, so bring your kids. The fee is only $60 for adults and $15 for kids under 14. With that fee you'll also be able to visit the new Cleopatra exhibit at the Museum. Half the money raised will be distributed to one-on-one tutor/mentor programs during the May 2002 Leadership Conference. Visit http://www.chicagobar.org/public/attorney/events/benefit.htm to learn more. October 10, 2001 - Help make Lights on Afterschool! a success. Visit http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/lights_on.cfm to learn about this event and see how you can get involved. Visit the ChicagoProgramsList section to find a Chicago after school tutor/mentor program where you can volunteer, be a donor, be a leader and/or a business partner. October 3, 2001 - Visit the LINKS section and see a growing list of web sites of Chicago area Tutor/Mentor Programs. If you are an agency and your program is not listed, please use the response form on the Home Page of this site to give us your web site address. NOTE: if your web site does not include any information about your tutor/mentor program, we may not include it in future updates of the LINKS section. Sept. 24, 2001 - welcome visitors from the www.tutormentorconnection.org web site. While we still are having difficulty getting our main web site back on-line, you will find key links and other valuable information on the Tutor/Mentor Exchange web site. Thank you for your patience. Sept. 24, 2001 - visit the GIS map link on the home page and see how T/MC follows the media with stories and maps that tell "The Rest of the Story" after the media reports on tragedies such as kids being shot or schools failing. "The Rest of the Story" is actions people can take to prevent such tragedies. The T/MC shows the demographics of a neighborhood and the availability of tutor/mentor programs. It provides contact information for programs in the neighborhood so volunteers, donors and/or business partners can reach out and help. It also provides a list of programs in other parts of Chicago so if a reader does not want to get involved in one neighborhood, he/she can find another place where his help is needed. This work is all done with the donated time of volunteers. If you'd like to help, send us an email at tutormentor2@earthlink.net
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