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April is Volunteer Appreciation Month
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In this month's newsletter I show video interviews and animations that help draw attention and, hopefully, volunteers and donors to youth tutor, mentor and learning programs in all high poverty areas of Chicago and other places.
Youth can learn to create similar videos and learn of their personal power to help make change happen.
Take a look. Please share with your friends and family.
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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.
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Drawing Attention to Tutor and Mentor Programs
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Mentoring interviews.
Scroll through the Twitter feed of Anthony Brogdon and view video interviews with David Shapiro (MENTOR), Dan Bassill and others. View the videos on this website. Think of ways youth in your school or non-school program could be doing similar interviews of local youth program leaders.
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Connecting with Nigeria
Aliyu B Solomon, from Nigeria, first connected with the Tutor/Mentor Connection in the late 2000s, via the T/MC Ning forum. Since 2013 we've stayed connected on Twitter. In early April 2022 he hosted an interview with Dan Bassill, to talk about ways youth mentoring programs, and an intermediary like the T/MC, could grow in Africa. See video links in this article.
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Learn from a Tutor
Sara Caldwell was one of the founders of the Tutor/Mentor Connection in late 1992, after having been a volunteer since the late 1980s. In early April she shared this animation, which draws attention to tutoring and encourages others to get involved. In 1990 she created this documentary about the tutoring program at Montgomery Ward.
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Amplifying Tutoring
For the past few months I've been seeing Tweets with graphics like this, posted by @ ProvenTutoring. Staff at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research and Reform in Education developed and manage this site, in collaboration with the Success for All Foundation. Visit the website.
This is an example of how universities can collect and share information about tutor/mentor programs.
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More about Social Capital
On April 1, I participated in a webinar featuring Edward DeJesus, who talked about Social Capital for Youth Economic Mobility.
I wrote this article following that webinar and pointed to Edward's website, blog and the interview. Read the article about "social capital literacy", posted on the blog. "Social networks that can bridge across geography, race and class are key to success in the new economy". This is a quote from a 2002 article that i point to in my blog along with a few other articles about social capital.
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Chicago morns loss of Merri Dee, WGN TV personality and supporter of youth programs throughout the region.
I first met Merri Dee in 1994 when she presented a grant from WGN TV to support the tutor/mentor program I was leading in Chicago. A couple of years later she acted as Master of Ceremonies for a Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference, which we held at IIT in Chicago.
Merri had a slogan, which she shared often. "If it is to be, it is up to me." I've borrowed it to support my own commitment, just with the modification "...up to me, and YOU!"
Here is a Chicago SunTimes tribute to Merri Dee.
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Social Determinants of Education
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I'm sure many have heard the term "Social Determinants of Health" but I had not heard the same phrasing applied to education, until attending a webinar this month that described potential data dashboards that could be created using ESSER dollars.
In this blog article you can find links to the webinar, and additional articles describing "social determinants of education".
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April Volunteer Recognition Can Boost August Recruitment
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In this blog article I focus on the year-round planning that helps volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs sustain and grow their efforts from year-to-year. While many view April as "near the finish line" for a year of service, it can also be a time to involve volunteers in planning that expands the pool of talent helping programs grow in the coming school year.
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Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.
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Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:
20 Years of Failed Education Reform - SSIR article - click hereBuilding Data Dashboard Using ESSER funds - click hereTour the Tutor/Mentor Institute LLC website - click here Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources
* Lists of Chicago non-school, volunteer-based, tutor and/or mentor programs - click here* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view the concept map shown below. Follow the links.
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Resources & Announcements
* Youth Mentoring Research Symposium - Virtual Event - April 27, 1-4 PM. click here* College Changes Everything Conference, week of July 11, 2022 - click here* National Mentoring Partnership, resources - click here* Austin Coming Together (ACT) Community Resources - click here
* The Chicago Community Trust on Twitter - click here
* MyChiMyFuture - City of Chicago - visit site and find map of activities for youth - 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
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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).
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Thank you for reading. Thank you for contributions.
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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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