My response to John Lawrence would be to say "work aggressively to
extend and put in place the necessary infrastructure where the demand is
evidenced."
In fact, that is what my organizaiton, the Tutor/Mentor Conneciton
(T/MC) is attempting to do. Our focus is on the entire universe of CBOs
who are offering various forms of tutoring, mentoring and
school-to-career services to inner city youth living in Chicago.
We have built a database of more than 370 service providers and use GIS
maps to show where thos providers are located in relation to high
concentrations of poverty, poorly performing schools, and incidents of
youth violence. Our www.tutormentorconnection.org web site serves as a
"virtual library" anyone can go to for information that they might use
to build the capacity of any tutor/mentor program, in Chicago, or any
where in the country.
On August 1 we'll kick off a 7th annual Chicagoland volunteer
recruitment campaign, with Mrs. George Ryan, First Lady of Illinois,
serving as honorary chair. This campaign will peak the first weekend
after Labor Day when more than 100 CBOs will host displays at at least
20 different volunteer fair sites around the city. The goal is to build
visibility that draws volunteers, donors, tech partners, etc to every
single program in the city's poorest neighborhoods. An on-line
directory on our web site enables volunteers and donors to find these
programs even if they don't go to the volunteer fairs.
You can read about this campaign, and a year-round schedule of follow up
activities that are intended to help agencies keep these volunteers and
convert them to leaders and more effective tutors/mentors. Visit
www.tutormentorconnection.org
You can also get involved with this campaign, as a communicator, or
business partner to any of these programs. You can also help duplicate
this in other cities. The more aggressive we are, and the more personal
responsibility each of us takes for the result, the more likely we are
to put technology, as well as mentors and operating dollars, in places
where help is most needed.
You can also document your actions, if you choose to take them, at
www.tutormentorexchange.net. This is an on-line system where various
stakeholders can document what they are doing to achieve an
organization's mission. We've been piloting this for the past year and
you can now view a six-month report of 200 actions which have been
documented from Sept. 2000 to March 2001. Without accountability it is
unlikely we'll have the type of on-going actions that will ever bridge
the economic divides that separate the poor from the rich.
I hope you all take a look and that some of you join in this campaign.
My response to John Lawrence would be to say "work aggressively to
extend and put in place the necessary infrastructure where the demand is
evidenced."
In fact, that is what my organizaiton, the Tutor/Mentor Conneciton
(T/MC) is attempting to do. Our focus is on the entire universe of CBOs
who are offering various forms of tutoring, mentoring and
school-to-career services to inner city youth living in Chicago.
We have built a database of more than 370 service providers and use GIS
maps to show where thos providers are located in relation to high
concentrations of poverty, poorly performing schools, and incidents of
youth violence. Our www.tutormentorconnection.org web site serves as a
"virtual library" anyone can go to for information that they might use
to build the capacity of any tutor/mentor program, in Chicago, or any
where in the country.
On August 1 we'll kick off a 7th annual Chicagoland volunteer
recruitment campaign, with Mrs. George Ryan, First Lady of Illinois,
serving as honorary chair. This campaign will peak the first weekend
after Labor Day when more than 100 CBOs will host displays at at least
20 different volunteer fair sites around the city. The goal is to build
visibility that draws volunteers, donors, tech partners, etc to every
single program in the city's poorest neighborhoods. An on-line
directory on our web site enables volunteers and donors to find these
programs even if they don't go to the volunteer fairs.
You can read about this campaign, and a year-round schedule of follow up
activities that are intended to help agencies keep these volunteers and
convert them to leaders and more effective tutors/mentors. Visit
www.tutormentorconnection.org
You can also get involved with this campaign, as a communicator, or
business partner to any of these programs. You can also help duplicate
this in other cities. The more aggressive we are, and the more personal
responsibility each of us takes for the result, the more likely we are
to put technology, as well as mentors and operating dollars, in places
where help is most needed.
You can also document your actions, if you choose to take them, at
www.tutormentorexchange.net. This is an on-line system where various
stakeholders can document what they are doing to achieve an
organization's mission. We've been piloting this for the past year and
you can now view a six-month report of 200 actions which have been
documented from Sept. 2000 to March 2001. Without accountability it is
unlikely we'll have the type of on-going actions that will ever bridge
the economic divides that separate the poor from the rich.
I hope you all take a look and that some of you join in this campaign.
Dan Bassill
President
NOTE: new mailing address:
Cabrini Connections
Tutor/Mentor Connection
800 W. Huron
Chicago, Il 60622
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