The www.tutormentorconnection.org site is now only available as an archive.

Thank you to everyone who attended the November 4, 2013 Conference, our 40th in 20 years.

Below is the agenda below from the November 4, 2013 conference.  It was held at the Metcalfe Federal Building, 77 W. Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL.

Use hashtag #TMConf_Chi to connect on Twitter. 

8:15am-8:45am

Registration and Continental Breakfast
Plan to arrive with enough time to pass through security screening. Bring a valid photo ID with you.

8:45am-9:30am

Welcome:

Daniel F. Bassill, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

John Hosteny, Corporation for National and Community Service

The importance of "Intelligence Gathering" to build a "Network of Networks" to support volunteer service. Brandon Bodor, Executive Director, ServeIllinois Commission

Connection Cafe introduction - Melony Moy, &  Jordan Hesterman, Founder/Executive Director, Becoming We The People

9:40am-10:45am Workshops

Mentoring Urban Youth, presented by Guillermo Guitierrez, Urban Involvement Coordinator and Fernando Moreno, Leadership Development Coordinator, BUILD, INC

The workshop will consist of interactive learning styles, sharing successes and understanding challenges. Participants of the workshop will hear first hand from participants who have been mentored at BUILD and now are engaged in the development of their community.

Service Learning Projects for the Common Good, presented by Van Bensett, Project Director, Life Directions Chicago
This is a workshop on how to develop projects that bring together adult volunteers, college students and high school students in which cultural exchange is as important as the service provided.  The workshop will show leaders how they can increase their volunteer base through community service programs involving the youth in a program.

Best Practice in Program Delivery and Evaluation, presented by Channing Lennert and Kristen Strobbe, Working in the Schools (WITS)
This workshop is intended to serve nonprofit leaders who run volunteer-powered organizations that focus on tutoring and mentoring programming.  WITS staff will share best practices around program delivery and evaluation.  Volunteer training will be discussed, with a focus on expectation setting, and ongoing coaching and support within the tutoring/mentoring context. Participants will learn how to set volunteer expectations, and how to coach volunteers over time so they feel confident in their role.

Tips for Becoming an Effective Tutor and Mentor, presented by Marilyn R. Danos, BA. Behavioral Sciences and MS. Counseling.
This workshop will provide information, as well as tips, for becoming a compassionate, encouraging, and effective Tutor and Mentor, and for maintaining respectful and effective relationships with youth.

Discussion of National Service and Volunteering in Illinois, presented by Brandon Bodor, Executive Director, and Lillian Webb,  ServeIllinois Commission
This workshop will provide a big-picture overview of national service in the State of Illinois. Topics discussed will be the different streams of service, including multiple programs within AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and their areas of focus.

10:55am-12:00 noon Workshops

Starting the new school-year: Reflections of Executive Directors, Panel Discussion

Kathy McCabe - ED of Cluster Tutoring Program

Brenda Palm - ED of Working in the Schools

Kelly Fair - ED of Polished Pebbles
Jourdan Sorrell - ED of 100 Black Men of Chicago

Facilitated by Jordan Hesterman - ED, Becoming We the People

This panel will feature Executive Directors of three tutor/mentor programs in Chicago who will share the steps they go through each August/September to launch their programs for a new year, and some of the challenges they overcome. The panel will invite questions from participants. Topics to be covered:

a)      describe the August/September work process at your organization

b)      how do you recruit youth

c)      how do you recruit volunteers

d)      describe one, or two, major challenges and how you overcome it

Stopping The Violence: The Embodiment of Core Values and Key Components that Must be Employed and Embraced, presented by Bishop Steve Braxton, Founder, Marketplace Ministries, Inc, Freelance Writer, Author, Life Coach.

This workshop will be an interactive dialogue and discussion concerning 'Key Components' to help elevate, diminish and/or curtail crime, violence, drugs and gang activity among young people in the neighborhood-of-communities across the City of Chicago, in particularly, North Lawndale. Outcome: To gather a cadre of like-minded people to form a collaborative group to be a consistent voice to allay fears and make the community a better place that's closely akin to a 'Safe Haven' to live, work and play.

CSEC the (commercial sexual exploitation of Children) ie: Sex Trafficking and what The Salvation Army PROMISE Program is Doing to Combat it, presented by Salvation Army PROMISE Task Force

This workshop will provide information that is important to every organization working with youth. Attend and learn how you can bring this information back to your own program and community.  Information to be shared at conference. PDF1 PDF2

How to Create Your Own Maps to Support Neighborhood Collaboration and Growth of Youth Tutor/Mentor Programs in a Community, presented by Daniel F. Bassill, President, Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, founder of Tutor/Mentor Connection

In this workshop program leaders, community organizers and youth volunteers will learn ways they can create maps that they can use as part of an on-going effort to build and sustain volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs, arts and technology, and other needed services in areas as small as a Chicago community area.

Outline of information presented in workshop.
How to use Chicago Program Locator to make your own maps (PDF)

12:00pm -1:45pm

Box Lunch & Networking - "Connection Cafe"
We all share a deep commitment to improving the lives of those we serve through tutoring and mentoring programs.  This session combines lunch with a highly interactive and engaging networking session.  You will connect with others as we explore opportunities and challenges to strengthen and build our learning community so that we can better support our clients, our organizations, and ourselves.

1:55pm-3:00pm Workshops

Helping to Make Good Programs Even Better - Using The Elements of Effective Practice in Mentoring Programs Checklist, presented by Sheila Merry and Cheryl Howard, Illinois Mentoring Partnership

This workshop will include a discussion of the 6 elements of effective practice included in MENTOR national guidelines along with talk about best practices.

1)  Recruitment

2)  Screening

3)  Training

4)  Matching

5)  Monitoring and Supporting The Match

6)   Closure

This workshop will benefit leaders and staff of mentoring programs (programs that are big or small, just starting up or been operating for years).  Participants will learn what best practices are in mentoring programs and begin to think through how they might incorporate some (or all) of the elements into their programs to ensure youth and mentors are safe, well matched and benefit from the program.

Reaching out to Religious Groups, presented by J.P. Paulus, Do-Gooder Consulting and Jeremy Barahona, PURSUE Scholars
This workshop provides an interesting and entertaining discussion of some of the issues, as well as solutions that a nonprofit should consider in working with religious institutions. The discussion will include why religious institutions are important, how to connect with them, and anticipated obstacles (and solutions). Religious organizations are a major part of our society, and especially in communities of need. They are often a frequently untapped resource in helping our youth go to -- and graduate from --  college.  In some communities there are 80 different religious institutions within just one square mile.  PDF of presentation.

Starting a Faith Based Urban Mentoring Program: The Mars Hill Baptist Church Story, presented by Frank Walker and Jeffrey Green, Mars Hill Baptist Church Youth Mentoring Program
Participants will learn how to develop a faith based, youth mentoring program that serves the youth of the church and the youth in the community.  Participants will take away techniques used to fund the Mars Hill Baptist Church Mentoring Program from scratch. In addition, learn how leaders evaluated mentors, how they incorporate their church and its membership in the community building process and how the mentoring program works with the other youth ministries already established in the church.

This workshop will offer valuable tips for those who are planning to start a new mentoring program.

Engaging youth in News Literacy, presented by Riza Falk and Yenia Salgado,

Erie Neighborhood House
This workshop will provide examples of engaging ways to teach news literacy and develop critical thinking skills. We will also share  insights from our experience with peer to peer curriculum building and teaching.  The workshop is intended for anyone interested in news literacy and/or ways to develop critical thinking skills using lessons from news literacy.

3:10pm-4:15pm Workshops
 

Scream it OUTLOUD: Marketing to a Different Drummer, presented by Kahina Holmes and Willie Cole, Marketing and Communications Specialists
This workshop will show you how to effectively use social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, HooteSuite, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, etc.,  to introduce your programs to new audiences and keep your current audiences engaged and excited. Participants should bring their laptops for an interactive exploration of each site.

This workshop is for program leaders, staff and volunteers who utilize or wish to improve how they utilize social media to market their programs. Those who do not have social media implemented but would like to start marketing on the various network sites, should also attend. Participants will learn about each social media network, what each does, visit each website, and have the opportunity to ask any questions.   

StartingUp Now: Teach Students to Launch Their Own Business!, presented by L. Brian Jenkins, Founder & President, StartingUp Now
This workshop is designed for educators, youth leaders, adult learners who are interested in teaching entrepreneurial and business planning skills. Participants will learn how to train students to launch their own business using the StartingUp Now Learning System. The workshop introduces you to StartingUp Now tools and resources to lead a dynamic, team-based course, for 5th-12th grade, to launch their own business. Attend the workshop and receive a Free Basic Membership to the StartingUp Now Skillcenter!

Tips for Engaging Volunteers in Capacity Building, presented by Mark Duhon, Executive Director, Highsight
This workshop will show how Highsight has grown from a small volunteer base over the past 20 years and how volunteers and supporters now participate in a variety of social and fund raising events that enable the organization to offer its services. For program leaders, board members, volunteer managers, development managers.

Involving high school and college students in creating strategy visualizations and building community collaborations that support youth mentoring and tutoring programs in a community, hosted by Kathleen Engelken, Executive Director, Illinois Campus Compact and Daniel F. Bassill, President Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
This workshop will demonstrate ways youth can create and communicate strategy that mobilizes business, foundation, college and faith group support for the growth of youth serving organizations in a community or defined geographical area. This is a planning session intended to support further team building and youth leadership in 2014 and beyond.

Outline of Visualization Information provided by Dan Bassill.
Using visualizations to communicate strategy (PDF)