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TMI Video - sharing ideas

The videos on this pages feature history of the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) along with interviews of founder Daniel F. Bassill. They also include videos from past Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conferences that we hosted from 1994 to 2015.

Click here for more T/MC and T/MI videos. See videos created by Interns on this page. View these videos on this YouTube video list. Find more on this list, and this one.

Note. Most of these videos were created prior to 2018 and still show a PO Box mailing address. Use the contact us page to find current information.

Introduction of Tutor/Mentor Connection at 1997 Presidents' Summit for America's Future - click here

Learn about the Tutor/Mentor Connection's year-round program support strategy, piloted since 1993. click here

Value of Tutor/Mentor Program - Alumni Update - click here

A Knowledge Network - created in 1993
click here

This an Article 5 Image

Mentoring Interview with Anthony Brogdon, Detroit, MI. 3-2022 click here

Interview with Valerie Leonard of NonProfit Utopia, re T/MI use of visualizations. click here

Read the blog article - click here

An Interview with Tutor/Mentor Institute's Daniel Bassill, 2014 by Terry Elliott. click here

Read the blog article - click here

Sharing Tutor/Mentor strategies with Aliyu B. Solomon, from Nigeria. 4-2022 - click here

How to Build a Culture of Empathy - 2012 talk with Edwin Rutsch click here

View second 2012 discussion about empathy and mentoring, including Edwin Rutsch and Bert-Ola Bergstrand, from Sweden. click here

Read the blog article - click here

If volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring is of value, how do we reach more youth in areas of persistent poverty?
click here

This videos describes Dan Bassill's history of involvement in volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs - click here

Animation showing role athletes & celebrities can take to support youth-serving programs throughout the cities where they perform - click here

Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference: What People Say. 2007 - click here

Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference Video - 2010
click here

More videos! Visit this page, showing work of interns. This page focuses on videos from the Cabrini Connections tutor/mentor program that was formed in late 1992 and launched the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993. More conference videos and panel discussions with Dan Bassill are shown on this page.

Visual Essays - pg 3

Since the 1970s Dan Bassill, founder of the Tutor/Mentor Connection (led by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC since 2011) has used visualizations to share strategies and resources. The visual essays on this page focus on building attention and mobilizing resources for multiple programs.

The original collection of PDFs are listed on this page.

Create your own versions and focus the strategies on your own city. Show your support with a contribution. click here

Tutor/Mentor Connection Logic Model. If you agree, adopt the strategy - click here

Ask elected leaders to appy this strategy to help reduce violence in Chicago - click here

Planning needed/use of maps to combat violence in Chicago - click here

Want to help tutor/mentor programs grow? Help build attention for youth serving programs - click here

Use this "Rest of the Story" media strategy to draw attention to youth serving programs in high need areas - click here

Example of "Rest of the Story" strategy- North Lawndale - click here

Form a Tutor/Mentor Connection research/action program at your college/university - click here

30-year (1993 to 2024) history of reaching out to universities. A long road. Learn from our examples - click here

Use this strategic plan, created by DePaul University students, to build your own university leadership effort - click here

This shows a role college fraternities and sororities can take to help build a tutor/mentor program pipeline to careers - click here

How faith communities can help tutor/mentor programs grow in more places - click here

A strategic plan hospitals can take to adopt the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy. Use for planning - click here

Establish a Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy in the legal community. Use this for planning - click here

Strategy for elected leaders, using one Illinois Congressional district as an example - click here

View more of our visual essays: Page 1 Page 2 Page 4 Page 5

March 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

March 2021 - Issue 198

Building Network of Support for Youth

Is the pandemic almost over? Maybe by next fall? How has this affected the availability of non-school, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs in high poverty neighborhoods of Chicago and other cities? What will program design look like in the future?

These are things I write about in the Tutor/Mentor blog and that I share in this monthly newsletter.

If you are writing about these strategies on blogs or in program websites, please share the link with me on one of the social media platforms I point to.

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

What will youth programs look like after Covid19?

Prior to Covid19 many site-based tutor/mentor programs had computers where youth and volunteers could sit side-by-side doing research for school papers, homework and/or current events. For the past year these two people have been in different places, yet still connected via the computer to each other, and resources on-line.

Here's an article written following the 2021 Mentoring Summit with 5 tips for building an e-Mentoring strategy into a site-based program.

And, here are links to eMentor/Tutor programs to learn from. Use these in planning for post Covid activities.

How has Pandemic Affected Youth Serving Organizations?

Last August I shared an invitation for youth program leaders to talk to the team at Great Lakes Growth Works, a consulting firm in Michigan, about how the pandemic was affecting them.

They published this blog article on March 15, with their summary of those conversations. Among those interviewed were leaders from Highsight Chicago and A Better Chicago.

Read the blog to see the key takeaways, challenges and supports needed.

Racial Equity Data

Data maps can be used to support decision makers in government, business and philanthropy. However, many maps have been built without a racial equity lens. For many years, I've used the cMap shown below to point to data platforms in my library and to blog articles where I've included maps. I updated it recently to add a section of links to websites that focus on racial equity in data (see node in upper right). These include:

* Tableau Foundation Racial Equity Data Hub - click here

* Urban Institute's Racial Equity Analytics Lab - click here

* We All Count - a project to increase equity in data science - click here

View the concept map here. If you're using maps in blog articles to inform public opinion or build donor support for specific areas, please share you articles on Twitter, Facebook and/or Linkedin.

I keep adding new links to the Tutor/Mentor library and this concept map. One area where I'd like to find better data maps is in mapping of philanthropic and government funding. If you know of such platforms please send me the link.

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If we want to help more kids living in poverty areas move through school what do we need to know?

The data from Covid19 and before shows that poverty is a major contributor to the challenges many youth face in moving safely from birth to work. This is not a new revelation. It's been clear for many decades. And while billions of dollars have been spent on education efforts, and on non-school programs, the problem still persists for many kids in many places.

So what are we missing? I think we're missing a comprehensive and on-going strategy. As I've led the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) I've had a lot of time to think about this. I started using visualizations in the 1990s and concept maps in 2005 to share my thinking.

Below is one concept map that shows a sequence of thoughts, starting with "we need organized youth programs in more places" to "we need to find ways to build and sustain public will, and funding, that reaches youth programs in EVERY high poverty neighborhood.

This is just my thinking. I encourage others to create their own concept maps. You can see my entire library at this link.

What are all the things we need to be thinking of is we want youth tutor mentor programs in all high poverty areas of Chicago.

I'm passing on this request from a mentoring Research Project at Johns Hopkins University

"Are you interested in participating in a research study with Johns Hopkins University? We need mentors and mentees from across the U.S. to pilot test our new app for one month! The app is designed to support the mentors of young African American men who have a sexual interest in men. All participants will receive a gift card as well as a chance to win tickets to an event of their choice. Please contact

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

, the Study Coordinator, for more information."

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Resources from Tutor/Mentor:

* List of Chicago area youth Tutor and/or Mentor programs, plus other resources for finding youth programs - click here

* Facebook pages of Chicago area youth programs - click here

* Instagram pages of Chicago area youth programs - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - This blog article shows short links to each section in Tutor/Mentor library and to concept maps and PDF strategy presentations - click here

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

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

* Philanthropy and Covid-19: Measuring One Year of Giving. IssueLab report. pdf. click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - Covid-19 resources - click here

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

* Strengthening Chicago Youth web site, click here; blog - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project web site - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform 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.

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.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

April 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

April 2021 - Issue 199

Building Network of Support for Youth

As we approach the end of this school year we face uncertainty because of the pandemic, because of unequal access to learning resources and opportunities, and because of many other challenges that face all of us.

In the first graphic below I ask "How can we do this better?" That refers to helping kids in poverty move through school, or to any other problem we're facing.

In the following sections I point to on-line libraries where information can be found and used to innovate local and global solutions.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Where can you find ideas?

While I point to the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web site as a rich resource, within my library I point to other sites which not only are also rich resources, but have more updated, interactive websites, making the information easier to find. Below are a few of those places.

If you know of interactive web libraries that you find useful, please share a link with me on Twitter, Facebook and/or Linkedin. Let's try to draw more users to all of them.

Digital Promise - learning issues

Over 500 public school and district staff members—including teachers, principals, superintendents, and others—from across the U.S. responded to a survey sharing their highest-priority challenges in education. Each circle in this interactive graphic represents a single challenge. Visit the website. Click here.

See blog article where I point to this site.

"Whatever community you are in, you are bound to find something parallel and worth digging into."

That's the premise behind the Education Reimagined organization and website.

Open this link and view the interactive map showing six categories of learning environments, representing ideas that people from anyplace can draw from to improve their own.

See blog article where I point to this site.

World Economic Forum's Strategic Intelligence Map.

This is one of the most extensive, interactive web libraries that I've found recently. It looks like you need to subscribe to use it (not the case a year ago).

However, it's a rich resource. On this page they show the Sustainable Development Goals. Click on any box and go deeper into the library.

See blog article where I point to this site.

Center for American Progress

The graphic above shows the ISSUES page on the Center for American Progress website. Click on any of the categories and the site takes you into articles related to that issue.

If you do search for "Center for American Progress" on the Tutor/Mentor blog you find three articles.

In 2012 I pointed to a blog article about collective impact on their website.

Digital Access and Digital Divide

IDEA 2030 is a research initiative at Tufts University that aims to focus the minds of decision-makers through data-driven insights on inclusive digital economies.

Visit the site and view the webinar held on March 31, 2021. View slides from the webinar (example above) at this link .

View the Digital Divide concept map where I point to this and other resources. click here

"Wondering Why Broadband Access is important to work and learning?"

That's a question educators from around the country are asking in a Shaping.Edu initiative hosted by Arizona State University.

The Shaping.edu group hosts ZOOM events, a Slack channel, and shares on Twitter. Anyone can join them.

See the blog article where I point to this.

Global Issues and Systems Thinking

Sustainable Development Goals

The SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.

The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.

See blog article where I point to this.

Systems Thinking offers a way to reach a shared understanding about complex issues.

At this link I point to an article titled "Covid-19 means systems thinking is no longer optional." The article includes excellent descriptions of what systems thinking is and applies this thinking to the Covid-19 pandemic.

See blog article where I applied this thinking to work needed to help kids in poverty areas move through school and into adult lives.

The on-going challenge of funding the work

Any efforts to solve complex problems are more difficult because of the difficult of finding on-going operating dollars. The traditional philanthropy and government grant process causes competition for funding, which is theoretically good, since the best ideas get funded.

However, as I wrote in this article, when multiple organizations doing similar work are needed in many places, such as non-school tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and other cities, a system that only funds a few, and does not encourage (and fund) constant improvement, reaches only a few of the people who need help.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Resources from Tutor/Mentor:

* List of Chicago area youth Tutor and/or Mentor programs, plus other resources for finding youth programs - click here

* Facebook pages of Chicago area youth programs - click here

* Instagram pages of Chicago area youth programs - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog -click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - This blog article shows short links to each section in Tutor/Mentor library and to concept maps and PDF strategy presentations - click here

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

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

While I point to the same sites each month, they update on their sites regularly.

* Philanthropy and Covid-19: Measuring One Year of Giving. Issue Lab report. pdf. click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - Covid-19 resources - click here

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

* Strengthening Chicago Youth web site, click here; blog -click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project web site - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform 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.

About this newsletter.

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.

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

May 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

May 2021 - Issue 200

Celebrate Tutor/Mentor Programs

For the past few weeks I've been seeing posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from various Chicago area youth tutor and/or mentor programs that invite people to participate in on-line year-end celebrations and that draw attention to program participants and graduates.

I point to a few of these in the graphics below and provide links to my lists of programs, so that you can visit their websites, join in the celebrations, and become a volunteer and/or donor to help them repeat this cycle again in the 2021-22 school year.

Use this newsletter as a study guide.

If you are a consistent reader, consider a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Website

Year-end celebrations

Below I show Twitter posts from Chicago Lights, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, Highsight and Bottom Line. These are just a few that I've seen from Chicago volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor programs who post regularly on Twitter.

I attended the Highsight event on Zoom. Others are still upcoming. Having led a tutor/mentor program with seniors graduating every year, I really appreciated the stories told by Highsight seniors and alumni.

See the Twitter list pointing to Chicago area programs Click here.

Visit @tutormentorteam on Twitter and scroll through my posts to see how I ReTweet announcements from many Chicago programs.

Chicago Tutor and/or Mentor Program Links Library updated

Currently there are 186 organizations listed in the web library I started building via the Tutor/Mentor Connection, back in 1994. Each year I open each link to make sure it is working, to try to see if the program is still operating, to update myself on the work being done and how the organization shares information on its websites. I just completed that process.

As I did this I created JPG images of the home pages of a few programs and shared these on Twitter, along with a link to the organization's website. This is part of the long-term strategy that I stated in 1993, aimed at increasing visibility for every tutor/mentor program in the region, with the goal of drawing a more consistent flow of dollars and volunteers to each program, based on the information they share on their websites.

I maintain three lists to help draw attention to Chicago area programs. The main one is on the Tutor/Mentor Connection website. Click here to view.
I also plot locations of these organizations on a map of Chicago, which you can find at this link.

I also host a list of the Facebook pages of most of these organizations - click here

And I host a list of Instagram pages - click here

Links to programs shown below: Chicago Scholars, Cluster Tutoring, Blessed Sacrament Youth Center, Tutoring Chicago.

More posts by Chicago programs on Twitter

Programs shown: Actuarial Foundation, Breakthrough, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, MapsCorps These are just a few of the youth tutor, mentor & learning programs serving Chicago.

Help Me Maintain and Share this Information

Anyone who has a computer can spend time viewing the lists of Chicago area tutoring and/or mentoring programs that I hosts.

That means individuals, or groups, could adopt sections of the city and suburbs, and build a deeper understanding of what programs exist and what they do. They could check my list for accuracy, or to tell me to add and/or delete or to fix broken links.

They can also create and share images to help build visibility and draw volunteers to programs.

You don't need to ask for permission. Just start doing it. I'll know you are taking this role from your email messages to me, and your posts on social media.

How Well Is USA Achieving the Global Goals? Poorly.

I watch several ZOOM events monthly. One using the hashtag #InTheRed provided information showing performance of every state in the USA against each of the 17 Global Goals. See data and view webinar on this website.

View blog articles where I point to several on-line events from the past month.

May 6 article - click here

April 1 article - click here

Does your city have someone doing what I do?
If not, borrow from my history and create your own
Tutor/Mentor Connection type strategy.

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

Recent Tutor/Mentor Blog articles:

Enough Is Enough. Adopt this Strategy - click here

How Would YOU Visualize these Ideas? - click here

How will Changing Demographics Affect Chicago Tutor and/or Mentor Programs? - click here

Follow Negative News with "The Rest of the Story' - click here

Other Resources from Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC websites:

* Planning resources, such as "How to Start a Tutor/Mentor Program - click here

* Strategy PDFs by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Concept Map library - click here

* Mapping for Justice blog - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Library - This blog article shows short links to each section in Tutor/Mentor library and to concept maps and PDF strategy presentations - click here

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

* Blogs I follow using Inoreader - click here

* 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.

Chicagoland Resources & Announcements

* We Will Chicago - citywide planning initiative - click here

Future Leaders in Planning - CMAP Summer Programs Opportunity for Youth. Apply by June 11 - click here

* What is Wireless Industry Doing to Connect Kids? Learn from CITA website - click here

* Turning America's Digital Divide into Digital Dividends. Visit Digital Planet website. click here

* Philanthropy and Covid-19: Measuring One Year of Giving. IssueLab report. pdf. click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

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

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

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* To & Through Project web site - click here

* Thrive Chicago collaboration - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

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

About this newsletter.

Encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter. Click here.

TMI Video - sharing ideas

Introduction of Tutor/Mentor Connection at 1997 Presidents' Summit for America's Future - click here

Learn about the Tutor/Mentor Connection's year-round program support strategy, piloted since 1993. click here

Value of Tutor/Mentor Program - Alumni Update - click here

A Knowledge Network - created in 1993click here

Mentoring Interview with Anthony Brogdon, Detroit, MI. 3-2022 click here

Interview with Valerie Leonard of NonProfit Utopia, re T/MI use of visualizations. click here

An Interview with Tutor/Mentor Institute's Daniel Bassill, 2014 by Terry Elliott. click here

Sharing Tutor/Mentor strategies with Aliyu B. Solomon, from Nigeria. 4-2022 - click here

How to Build a Culture of Empathy - 2012 talk with Edwin Rutsch click here

If volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring is of value, how do we reach more youth in areas of persistent poverty?click here

This videos describes Dan Bassill's history of involvement in volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs - click here

Animation showing role athletes & celebrities can take to support youth-serving programs throughout the cities where they perform - click here

Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference: What People Say. 2007 - click here

Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference Video - 2010click here

Visual Essays - pg 3

Tutor/Mentor Connection Logic Model. If you agree, adopt the strategy - click here

Ask elected leaders to appy this strategy to help reduce violence in Chicago - click here

Planning needed/use of maps to combat violence in Chicago - click here

Want to help tutor/mentor programs grow? Help build attention for youth serving programs - click here

Use this "Rest of the Story" media strategy to draw attention to youth serving programs in high need areas - click here

Example of "Rest of the Story" strategy- North Lawndale - click here

Form a Tutor/Mentor Connection research/action program at your college/university - click here

30-year (1993 to 2024) history of reaching out to universities. A long road. Learn from our examples - click here

Use this strategic plan, created by DePaul University students, to build your own university leadership effort - click here

This shows a role college fraternities and sororities can take to help build a tutor/mentor program pipeline to careers - click here

How faith communities can help tutor/mentor programs grow in more places - click here

A strategic plan hospitals can take to adopt the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy. Use for planning - click here

Establish a Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy in the legal community. Use this for planning - click here

Strategy for elected leaders, using one Illinois Congressional district as an example - click here

March 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

Below are resources to use to help youth in your community.

April 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

May 2021 Tutor/Mentor eNews

May 2021 - Issue 200

Does your city have someone doing what I do?If not, borrow from my history and create your own Tutor/Mentor Connection type strategy.

A Knowledge Network - created in 1993
click here

If volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring is of value, how do we reach more youth in areas of persistent poverty?
click here

Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference Video - 2010
click here

Does your city have someone doing what I do?
If not, borrow from my history and create your own
Tutor/Mentor Connection type strategy.