Current Newsletter

Edition: Dec. 28, 2011 Issue No. 105



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* Happy Holidays * January National Mentoring Month * What Information is Available? * Help Collect Information about Chicago Programs * President's Message - New Ways to Share Ideas

issue 01

Tis the Season of Giving Thanks and Giving Hope and Opportunity

Image created by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Each year I meet new people through the conferences and networking and that enriches my world in many different ways. I thank you all for the work you do and for sharing the information I send in these newsletters.


January 2012 National Mentoring Month Activities
US Post Office Mentoring Stamp During January national and local media will promote mentoring all over the country. Read more about this at http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/ A Mentoring Summit will be held in Washington, DC on January 24 and 25, 2012. See info at http://www.mentoring.org/program_resources/training_and_events/national_mentoring_summit On January 11 Join mentors and mentoring programs from around the country all on the same day to share the experiences of mentors and encourage others to learn about mentoring https://www.facebook.com/events/209615825783874/ Tutor/Mentor Institute and Becoming We The People plan to host a panel discussion on Monday, January 29, 2012 in Hyde Park. Watch for details in early January

issue 02
What Information is Available to Support Collective Efforts to Help Kids to Careers? How do we increase the number of people using this?
Image created by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC There is a wealth of information on the Internet that program leaders, volunteers and supporters can all learn from. Below are links to articles that might be read and discussed during January's National Mentoring Month. * ThisCivic Enterprises report, titled Untapped Potential: Filling the Promise of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Bigs and Littles they Represent * Public/Private Ventures Brief, titled Mentoring, Policy and Politics, http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/224_publication.pdf * Strategies for Quality After School Programs & Activities \| The Wallace Foundation - http://www.wallacefoundation.org/cost-of-quality/quality-strategies/Pages/default.aspx#gqs * Long-term mentoring – read article about Friends of the Children. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/for-children-at-risk-mentors-who-stay/Mentors in this program are PAID and make minimum 3-year commitments. What can volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs learn from this model that will recruit volunteers and keep them involved with youth for multiple years? * Mentoring Kids to Careers. Add your own ideas to this map. Use any of these ideas in your own planning and operations - http://debategraph.org/mentoring_kids_to_careers * Challenges facing non profits – how does this affect our sector? http://tinyurl.com/TMC-ChallengesFacingNPOs * Using maps to understand availability and distribution of different types of tutoring and/or mentoring programs at schools and in non-school hours. http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/mapping-the-programs * Connect your ideas with others throughout the world. This link points to one on-line place where people from many cities can connect. http://debategraph.org/mentoring_kids_to_careers Visit the Tutor/Mentor Connection Links Library for more resources to use in organizing and sustaining volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring programs. http://tinyurl.com/T-MC-Library

issue 03

Help collect information about Tutor/Mentor Programs in Chicago region (you can apply this same information to duplicate this in other cities)

Each year Tutor/Mentor Connection has tried to reach out to over 300 Chicago area organizations to update the data in the Tutor/Mentor Program Locator shown at http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/Prgloc.aspx

That has always been difficult and it is more difficult now that we're transitioning to a new Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC structure. Thus, we're looking for partners in different zip codes or community areas who will be responsible for collecting information about local programs and for network-building at the neighborhood level. These two links provide information to use.

a) Information Collection - Shared effort. http://www.scribd.com/doc/75699079/Community-Information-Collection-A-Shared-Effort

b) Tutor/Mentor Program Survey - http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/PDF/tmc_annual_survey.pdf

This role could be a service project for a group of teens or college students, or could be done by volunteers from a faith group or company. Email tutormentor2@earthlink.net if you're interested.

Image created by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

If we can increase the number of potential donors who search these web portals to locate organizations working with youth, the web sites of each organization can provide information that donors can use to decide who to support and how to send a contribution.

* MENTOR resources and referral service - http://www.mentoring.org/program_resources
* ServeIllinois - http://www.serve.illinois.gov/
* VolunteerMatch - http://www.volunteermatch.org
* ChicagoVolunteer.net - http://www.chicagovolunteer.net
* Idealist - http://www.idealist.org
* Chicago Program Links - http://tinyurl.com/ChiTM-Program-Links
* Additional on-line volunteer search web siteshttp://tinyurl.com/T-MC-Volunteering

president's message

Finding new ways to share ideas.

by Daniel F. Bassill

Image created by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

This page shows videos from the November Conference Executive Director panel along with other videos created by the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Tutor/Mentor Connection. http://www.tutormentorconference.org/Institute%20Theater2012.htm

This page shows how ideas can be posted and shared on Scribd.com. I started posting on October 20 and have recorded more than 1700 reads since then. If you post your own ideas and vision this way it can help us build more understanding of the value of tutor/mentor programs and expand the pool of resources supporting all of us.
http://www.scribd.com/daniel-f-bassill-7291

Young people can help create and communicate these ideas. Follow blogs at http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/profiles/blog/list . Enlist young people in your own area to do this type of work to help tutor/mentor programs become more available in more places.

Dropout Crisis continues to cost all Americans
Read blog articles I've written since new information was published in December. Follow the links to more resources on this topic. http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search/label/drop%20out

Learn about January 16-23, 2012 Jelly Week collaboration event connecting communities from around the world. http://jellyweek.tumblr.com/ Learn about Jan 19, 2012 event where I'll be sharing ideas with a group in Sweden. http://www.facebook.com/events/275713469145061/

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Spring 2012 Conference

There are two major events in Chicago in May and June, including the National Conference on Volunteering. At this point a sponsor has not come forward to help pay for a spring Tutor/Mentor Conference and a date has not been set. Learn more about ways to sponsor at http://www.tutormentorconference.org/sponsor.asp

Help needed with Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Tutor/Mentor Connection
Time, talent and dollars are always needed to do what we do to try to help hundreds of tutor/mentor programs reach thousands of kids. Since we're operating as a LLC and not a 501-c-3 new ways of asking for donations and raising money are needed. Yet, if you support the ideas we share and the work we're trying to do, a tax deduction should not be the motivation for helping. If you agree read more at http://www.tutormentorconference.org/hope_and_opportunity.htm

Thank you for reading. Enjoy a safe and happy holiday season.



The Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-2011) is now operated by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. http://www.tutormentorexchange.net Thank you for reading this newsletter and sharing it with others. You can add new people to our newsletter list using this link. http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=nlofiegab&p=oi&m=1106096863597

Daniel F. Bassill President Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Tutor/Mentor Connection

Read the blogs at : http://tutormentor.blogspot.com http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com Follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/tutormentorteam Linked in group on volunteering - http://tinyurl.com/TMC-LinkedIn-Volunteering Tutor/Mentor Institute on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TutorMentorInstitute Read past newsletters newsletter/earchive

* Strategies for Quality After School Programs & Activities | The Wallace Foundation - http://www.wallacefoundation.org/cost-of-quality/quality-strategies/Pages/default.aspx#gqs