More attention. More volunteers! More donors!

Tutor/Mentor Connection has been creating maps since 1994, such as those in the Map Gallery and the Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Locator, to show where poverty and poorly performing schools are located in the Chicago area and where existing tutor/mentor programs operate, or where new programs are  needed.  While volunteer recruitment fairs were organized in different parts of Chicago between 1995 and 2002 to help programs recruit volunteers, most of the work Tutor/Mentor Connection has done since then has involved sharing information on the Internet and teaching volunteers and donors to use this information to locate programs in different neighborhoods.

As more leaders draw attention to this resource, more volunteers will respond, and the volunteer recruitment campaign will draw more volunteers to tutor/mentor programs operating in different parts of the city and suburbs.  Any city can duplicate this strategy, during the same August-September time frame.

The campaign’s timing is linked to the start of each school year when all tutor/mentor programs in the region are looking for volunteers. The campaign officially kicks off in early August and runs through September.

The primary emphasis of the campaign has always been to create a higher level of advertising, and public awareness, that encourages people to visit the Program Locator and Chicago Program Links sections of this web site, where they can shop for where they want to be involved as a volunteer, donor, leader, etc.

Goal of Campaign:

1. Continue to attract an increasing number of individuals to volunteer to be a tutor or mentor, or provide financial support, with one of the over 200 program sites in the Chicago area.
2. Provide support to other communities to expand the campaign and T/MC strategies throughout Illinois and the nation.
3. Expand partnerships with businesses, hospitals, universities, and faith groups. Enlist campaign Chairpersons from these networks to provide leadership and communications support needed to mobilize more volunteers and dollars for all tutor and mentor programs state wide.  The SunTimes Marovitz Lawyers Lend A Hand to Youth Program is a model we hope will be duplicated.
4. Enlist media and corporate sponsors to help create marketing and advertising strategies that promote the campaign's "Get Informed, Get Involved" call for tutors, mentors and donors.   Read ROLE OF LEADERS . Learn how Athletes and Celebrities can use their visibility to make the connection to tutor/mentor programs.
5. Increase faith-group involvement. Build commitment to quarterly messages from the pulpit, as a means of building awareness through faith communities to business, social, and alumni groups in which members participate.
6. Establish additional neighborhood and community recruitment collaborative efforts to help promote and support tutor and mentor programs within their business areas during the campaign and year-round.

Review a power point presentation of Recruitment Campaign Goals: Recruitment Campaign

Click here to read articles that illustrate the benefits to corporations, employees and the community from a volunteer involvement strategy.

Read the Tutor/Mentor Blog

The Recruitment Campaign was first offered in 1995 and has been part of a year-round strategy led by the Tutor/Mentor Connection since then. After 2011, the Tutor/Mentor Connection has been operated by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.   Visit the other pages of this web site to learn more. If you'd like to find ways to launch a similar campaign in your company, or in another city, or to link your campaign to the Chicago Campaign, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

If you, or an organization that you work with, in Chicago or in any other city, would like to work with the T/MC on this volunteer mobilization, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NOTICE: There are not enough programs in some parts of the city and suburbs.
Many parents and prospective volunteers are calling the T/MC looking to join programs. However, some programs are already over-subscribed and cannot expand the number of kids/volunteers. In other cases, there are no programs at all, especially for junior high and high school. If you find that there are no programs, or not enough spaces in existing programs, consider taking on a role of organizer or capacity builder. The only way a program will grow in an area with no programs is if a core group of adults takes the lead to form a program -- and other groups take the responsibility to help them have the funds needed to operate and grow the program. The information on this website is intended to help new programs form. If you find that you need to help start a program, please use these resources often.