nptech.info

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S5Ze8P3LJEI/AAAAAAAABY4/R15PJF6hrr4/s1600-h/MadnessVideo4a.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S5Ze8P3LJEI/AAAAAAAABY4/R15PJF6hrr4/s320/MadnessVideo4a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446645188494304322" //abr /br /Chicago teens show how they are helping make a difference for the future of tutoring/mentoring at Cabrini Connections and through the Tutor/Mentor Connection.br /br /Watch the video at a href="http://vimeo.com/10028296"http://vimeo.com/10028296/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-5964450358975213425?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

This a href="http://boxesandarrows.com/view/5-steps-to-building"article/a on Boxes and Arrows web site has some great tips for anyone seeking to build a community on the Internet.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-6977378681704777343?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S5JxiMTTjTI/AAAAAAAABYw/UYoPjCstKpk/s1600-h/2010-ElementarySchools-lo-res.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S5JxiMTTjTI/AAAAAAAABYw/UYoPjCstKpk/s320/2010-ElementarySchools-lo-res.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445539731676040498" //abr /br /Mike Trakan has published his first 2010 map showing under-performing Chicago Public Schools, poverty, and availability of non-school tutor/mentor programs. a href="http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com/2010/03/you-cant-solve-problem-at-same-level-of.html"Read his article/a and think of ways you and your company can think "out of the box" in where, and how, you connect with kids.br /br /If you like these maps, support the Tutor/Mentor Connection by voting in the a href="http://www.refresheverything.com/tutormentorconnection"Pepsi Refresh Challenge/a. You can help us get a whole year of funding!div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-1919495814946526201?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Below is a screenshot taken from a new flash animation launched today. It was created in one week, by a graduate student from the University of Michigan's Alternative Spring Break Program.br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S5Ftdp9ckpI/AAAAAAAABYg/wR6D02m9MpY/s1600-h/Vol_Leadership2010.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S5Ftdp9ckpI/AAAAAAAABYg/wR6D02m9MpY/s320/Vol_Leadership2010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445253780714853010" //abr /br /Click a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/flash/vol_leadership.swf"this link/a to view the presentation. As you click each circle, you will go around the cycle four times, showing how a volunteer who joins a tutor/mentor program today, might be a leader mobilizing others, in a few years.br /br /We apply this thinking at Cabrini Connections. Imagine if there were fifty or more programs in Chicago, Houston, LA, NYC and other big cities, each building volunteer involvement this way.br /br /What's special, is that this project was created by Li Li, a graduate student from the University of Michigan. She was part of a one-week a href="http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/SIASBBlog/"Alternative Spring Break Program/a. She read this a href="http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2009/10/transforming-adults-involved-in.html"blog article/a, then interpreted it in here presentation.br /br /Furthermore, this is not just some classroom exercise. Li Li's presentation is now in the a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/library"list of articles/a that we share in the Tutor/Mentor Institute. Anyone in the world can now look at this and apply these ideas to their own work.br /br /Li Li is one of a a href="http://michaelcnt.blogspot.com/"growing number of interns/a who are coming to the Tutor/Mentor Connection to create new interpretations of ideas we've posted on the web site for many years. br /br /If you and your college, or high school, would like to become part of this process, just introduce yourself here, or on our a href="http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com"Tutor/Mentor Connection/a site.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-8475175883694697465?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4_lRT0vUHI/AAAAAAAABYQ/rvztsmm9jkQ/s1600-h/KudoPG1.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 155px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4_lRT0vUHI/AAAAAAAABYQ/rvztsmm9jkQ/s200/KudoPG1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444822560056234098" //abr /br /This graphic is part of a a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/flash/eventyear.swf"flash animation/a created to illustrate the year-round event cycle, and strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection. It was created by two interns from Korea who were with Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection for six weeks in Jan/Feb. 2010. You can read more about a href="http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/profiles/blogs/making-progress-toward-goals"this in this blog article/a.br /br /These interns and other volunteers are connected to each other in the a href="http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com"Tutor/Mentor Connection Ning/a group. This is more than Facebook. It's a planning and collaboration space. If you browse the groups you can see how I'm able to coach the work each volunteer is doing, and how they are beginning to network and share ideas with each other. br /br /You can review work done over the past few years, and you can follow work being done right now. You can add your own ideas, or you can borrow these ideas to help you in your own program, or your own community or country.br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4_m8z7gcxI/AAAAAAAABYY/dCDhlu0zUjc/s1600-h/dosomegood1.jpg"img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 188px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4_m8z7gcxI/AAAAAAAABYY/dCDhlu0zUjc/s200/dosomegood1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444824406920557330" //a If you appreciate what the Tutor/Mentor Connection is offering, I hope you'll take a moment to vote for us in the a href="http://www.refresheverything.com/tutormentorconnection"Pepsi Refresh Project/a. You can help us get funding for an entire year! This means we'll be able to do more of this type of work and bring more attention and support to tutor/mentor programs in many places.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-800798476070165092?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Yesterday I wrote about President Obama asking for $900 million to reduce the high school drop out rate. br /br /I don't have much influence with my single vote on how the Federal government uses my tax dollars, but I can influence the futures of inner city kids by what I do as leader of Cabrini Connections, a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net"Tutor/Mentor Connection/a.br /br /Now you can have an influence on what the Tutor/Mentor Connection does to help volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs grow, and thrive, in all parts of the Chicago region. br /br /Here's a pdf showinga href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/PDF/tmc_resources.pdf" resources provided by T/MC/abr /br /Here's some articles showing the a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/collaboration-and-capacity-building-articles/130-creating-network-of-purpose-tmc-strategy-"Network of Purpose/a. br /br /View the a href="http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/"Program Locator/a and see how it helps you find where tutor/mentor programs in Chicago are located.br /br /Vote for us in the a href="http://www.refresheverything.com/tutormentorconnection?utm_source=emailutm_medium=emailutm_campaign=good_luck"Pepsi Refresh Project/a. br /br /span style="font-weight:bold;"With your help we can win a grant of $250,000/span, which is a full year of funding for the Tutor/Mentor Connection. With this we upgrade the maps, the web library, the outreach and we help every tutor/mentor program in the city get the ideas, the volunteers and the dollars they also need.br /br /If you help the Tutor/Mentor Connection grow in Chicago you also help similar strategies grow in your own city because your leaders can borrow ideas from the T/MC and the resources we share in our library and through the May and November Conferences, as well as on-line forums.br /br /This contest runs through March 2010. Right now we're in 284th place. We need to be in the top two to win the grant. Can you help?div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-7972155746832818375?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4waomQSImI/AAAAAAAABX0/9dxu4aeRiUQ/s1600-h/Comparison-FailingSchools-07to08.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4waomQSImI/AAAAAAAABX0/9dxu4aeRiUQ/s320/Comparison-FailingSchools-07to08.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443755334350021218" //abr /The span style="font-style:italic;"Chicago SunTimes/span has a a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/2076525,obama-money-dropouts-030110.article"story /atoday, showing how President Barack Obama seeks to "fight the nation's school dropout epidemic by providing $900 million to states and education districts that agree to drastically change or even shutter their worst performing schools."br /br /Closing poorly performing schools is a popular solution, but it does not change the poverty that causes youth to come to school poorly prepared to learn. This map shows poorly performing school in Chicago. It's one of many maps you can find on the T/MC a href="http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/mapgallery.html"Map Gallery/a that show the impact of poverty on how inner city kids learn. br /br /On the a href="http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/InteractiveMap.aspx"Interactive Program Locator /ayou can build your own map, showing where poorly performing schools are located, along with concentrations of poverty.br /br /Our maps are intended to draw more people from beyond poverty to the various volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring programs operating in the non-school hours. Such programs can expand the network of adults surrounding kids, and broaden student learning aspirations ....IF, those programs have the type of leadership and funding needed to connect youth and volunteers and keep them connected for multiple years.br /br /I don't see this concept in the education reform ideas coming from Washington, or locally. Yet, unless we expand the network of people working to help poor kids to careers, I'm not sure that $900 million more invested in schools will have the impact everyone wants.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-3620547348864567148?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4v0l-knwoI/AAAAAAAABXs/VpqAEdI7lIQ/s1600-h/Industries.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 148px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4v0l-knwoI/AAAAAAAABXs/VpqAEdI7lIQ/s200/Industries.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443713507896312450" //abr /br /In January2010 the a href="http://lawyerslendahand.org/grants"Lawyers Lend a Hand to Youth Program/a sent out contributions to 33 different tutoring and/or mentoring organizations serving youth in the Chicago region. You can see the list, with links to each organization, at a href="http://www.tutormentorconnection.org/tabid/645/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/454/Default.aspx"this article/a.br /br /a href="http://www.cabriniconnections.net"Cabrini Connections/a received one of these grants, and we are thankful. However, no foundation funds all of a non profit's total annual budget, or even more than a small percent. br /br /Thus, as we applaud the leadership of members of the legal community who are helping raise these funds, we encourage leaders in every other industry to form similar programs, using the a href="http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/InteractiveMap.aspx"Tutor/Mentor Connection maps/a, and a href="http://www.tutormentorconnection.org/TutoringMentoringResources/LinksLibrary/tabid/560/Default.aspx"library of programs/a, to choose where you distributed operating dollars, and encourage employee volunteer involvement.br /br /We also encourage non profits who operate tutor/mentor programs to network with T/MC in a href="http://www.tutormentorconference.org"conferences/a and a href="http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com"on-line forums/a, so we can work together to help expand the revenue available to operate, and share ideas that help us use these dollars to build constantly improving programs in all parts of the Chicago region.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-5714810033893811651?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4hDWiXqzZI/AAAAAAAABXk/bWnPlfX8_Qg/s1600-h/BradTVInstallb.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 143px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4hDWiXqzZI/AAAAAAAABXk/bWnPlfX8_Qg/s200/BradTVInstallb.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442674204139507090" //abr /br /The previous article talked about how businesses can use their resources to "Pull" kids through school. Bradley Troast, our Northwestern University PIP Fellow wrote a href="http://cabrinipip.blogspot.com/2010/02/contextmedia-donates-tv-to-cabrini.html"this article/a, showing how a href="http://www.contextmediainc.com/"ContextMedia/a, donated and installed a beautiful 32" flat-screen television at Cabrini Connections, to enhance our communications to our students and volunteers.br /br /This is an example of how a company can use its own technology to help a non profit. Watch for future articles showing how we continue to work with this company.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-1288894743156114483?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4gTeYlFSoI/AAAAAAAABXU/RsgrxMunpGQ/s1600-h/Push_Pull.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 158px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4gTeYlFSoI/AAAAAAAABXU/RsgrxMunpGQ/s200/Push_Pull.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442621562392234626" //abr /br /This is a graphic I use often in this blog, and in the a href="http://www.cabriniconnections.net/7-success-steps"Theory of Change/a page on the Cabrini Connections web site. It conveys a lot of information, but I'm not sure how many people can really look at this, and understand what messages it is communicating.br /br /When I'm able to sit with someone and explain this concept it might make more sense (I hope) but I am not able to meet with all of the people in Chicago or around the country who need to understand and embrace this concept in their own strategic uses of time, talent and dollars.br /br /Thus, I'm constantly looking for people to help me communicate these ideas in different ways. Below is a screen shot from a new flash animated created by Jawon Koo, an intern from IIT who has been at Cabrini Connections since late January.br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4gUnhdJ8nI/AAAAAAAABXc/mgmIya53ZmA/s1600-h/PushPull_Flash.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4gUnhdJ8nI/AAAAAAAABXc/mgmIya53ZmA/s320/PushPull_Flash.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442622818905354866" //abr /br /You can play this a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/flash/goal.swf"here/a. br /br /In the a href="http://www.cabriniconnections.net/learning-and-enrichment"photos/a and a href="http://www.cabriniconnections.net/home"blogs/a on the Cabrini Connections web site, and on those of other tutor/mentor programs in Chicago, you can see volunteers connecting with youth. In some cases they are working with art, technology, or video. Thus the volunteers are transferring work skills to the kids. They are also expanding the network of people who will help the kids reach life goals.br /br /The volunteers are also expanding their own networks at the same time. Thus, if a business encourages volunteer involvement in a tutor/mentor program, span style="font-weight:bold;"as part of their own workforce development strategies/span, they help pull kids from first grade to a job, while expanding the skills and networks of their own employees. This "a href="http://orgnet.com/Managing21CenturyOrganization.pdf"Managing the 21st Century Organization/a" article illustrates why this is so important.br /br /Read more of the articles on this blog, and become a sponsor and partner of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Cabrini Connections.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-8522293571291278505?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4WG1KHSA6I/AAAAAAAABXM/Q3GP8Hzh41Q/s1600-h/FilmClubVideo.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 289px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4WG1KHSA6I/AAAAAAAABXM/Q3GP8Hzh41Q/s320/FilmClubVideo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441903972553196450" //abr /br /This is a video created by Cabrini Connections film makers and members Shaquille Strauther, Melissa Young and Ashaunti Roby, who wrote, produced, edited and directed this video to promote their upcoming fundraiser this Saturday 2/27/10 from 4pm-7pm at the a href="http://www.GreenHeartShop.org"Green Heart Shop/a .br /br /Buy tickets here to come to this fun event and support Cabrini Connections: http://theawesomes.eventbrite.combr /br /The video not only supports the a href="http://www.giveforward.org/theawesomes/"Cabrini Madness/a fund raising effort of this team, but also tells of the work being done by the a href="http://www.GreenHeartShop.org"Green Heart Shop/a ()1911 W. Division St. in Chicago, which is another non profit group that is hosting the fund raising event.br /br /This video demonstrates that workplace volunteers, working with inner city kids, can teach skills that they youth apply in their own service to others. These are skills that can lead these teens to part time jobs as they go through high school, and into jobs and careers.br /br /However, without the investment of donor dollars, programs like Cabrini Connections can not make such extra learning available for these teens. I hope you'll help by attending the fund raiser Saturday, or by supporting The Awesomes in the Cabrini Madness campaign.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-5932486862471410146?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4L0Gut6RWI/AAAAAAAABWw/wK9v-EvWDeg/s1600-h/CabriniMadnessvideo2.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4L0Gut6RWI/AAAAAAAABWw/wK9v-EvWDeg/s320/CabriniMadnessvideo2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441179696273966434" //abr /br /Watch this Cabrini Madness a href="http://vimeo.com/9632360"video/a, showing how teens, volunteers and staff make fund raising FUN. br /br /Be a Fan! Be a Booster! a href="http://www.giveforward.org/cabrinitmc"Pick a team/a and support it with your donation.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-4811279970276618282?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4GBPkMQNEI/AAAAAAAABWg/s-8sR1NHuZ0/s1600-h/SgtDan.JPG"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 130px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4GBPkMQNEI/AAAAAAAABWg/s-8sR1NHuZ0/s200/SgtDan.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440771929253360706" //abr /br /I'm trying to figure out how to use a PhotoStudio Darkroom program to copy slides to my computer and convert them to JPG images. This picture was taken while I served in the Army in Korea in 1970.br /br /This next photo was taken at the Korean National Military Cemetery in Seoul. I think it captures a since of peace, and honor, for those who have given their lives for their country. br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4GB0IlKC6I/AAAAAAAABWo/zJhkBNEA_cA/s1600-h/KoreaNational.JPG"img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 130px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S4GB0IlKC6I/AAAAAAAABWo/zJhkBNEA_cA/s200/KoreaNational.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440772557496781730" //a I've got a lot to learn to convert these pictures the way I need to, with the right lighting. I'm also trying to figure a way to crop, using this program.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-4897948917304248308?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Two stories in today's Chicago Tribune that I encourage you to read:br /br /a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/chi-103009-report-cards-story,0,1553698.story"Income-based gap proves hard to close/a shows that since 2002 the achievement gap has actually grown wider between low-income students and higher income students in Illinois.br /br /a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-youth-violence-pride-20100220,0,248470.story"Lesson from the street: Don’t back down/a is the second story. br /br /Unfortunately, other than being in the same paper, I don't see an effort to link the two stories. As you're looking for solutions, and ways Tribune readers can get involved, I encourage you to read stories I've written in the past about a href="http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search/label/strategy"strategy/a, a href="http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search/label/leadership"leadership/a, a href="http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search/label/violence"violence/a, a href="http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search/label/media"media/a, etc. The tags on the side of my site, are like chapters in a text book. br /br /Follow the links in these articles and you'll be more informed, and hopefully find more ways to be involved.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-7194271760020903002?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S37dy_L1njI/AAAAAAAABWQ/k83XqT7EC3g/s1600-h/breakthrough.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S37dy_L1njI/AAAAAAAABWQ/k83XqT7EC3g/s200/breakthrough.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440029267934420530" //abr /br /This a href="http://breakthrough.org/video/55/network-model-video"video/a from a href="http://breakthrough.org"Breakthrough Urban Ministries/a does a wonderful job of showing how a tutor/mentor program builds a network of support for inner city kids. Show it to people you work with, and encourage them to be volunteers and donors to help programs like this grow in all poverty areas.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-2201847015058841811?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

As a non profit leader I need to find ways to reach more people every day, with ideas that motivate them to support my organization with time, talent and dollars. However, my cause is not the only social issue on the minds of potential volunteers and donors. Everyone has many issues, ranging from family, job, health, politics, etc. that they are concerned about. br /br /Thus, we need to constantly innovate ways to draw attention to all tutor/mentor programs, as a way to draw attention and resources to our Cabrini Connections program. If you read some of the 500 or so articles I've posted on this blog, you'll see that they almost all focus on this challenge.br /br /Since my organization is smaller than a five-man basketball team, my job is to recruit volunteers and other people who will take a role in this huge vision. I have done that consistently for the past 35 years, and I keep looking for new help every day.br /br /One source of help are interns who come to me from various colleges, and various countries. Eunsoo Lee and Jawon Koo are college students from Korea who have spent five months at Illinois Institute of Technology, and the past six weeks at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection.br /br /I asked them to try to convert this pdf essay ona href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/images/PDF/Collaboration%20Goals.pdf" collaboration /ainto an animated presentation that more people might look at and respond to. br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S37E8fSXH-I/AAAAAAAABWI/Bk8zaH5vBtQ/s1600-h/KudoPG1.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 155px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S37E8fSXH-I/AAAAAAAABWI/Bk8zaH5vBtQ/s200/KudoPG1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440001943379845090" //abr /br /This is the result. It's a a href="http://api.ning.com/files/MDWDdYqeO4x3DM3CvTqPK12BTi9DX2WuDUHzoRhbJr4q*R52KZwUKv6z3hDzv1dVKvGoyDo*HyFi7odg1If7GA__/EventYear.swf"flash animation/a. It's in two parts. Eunsoo Lee did the first part and Jawon Koo did the second part, which you can see a href="http://api.ning.com/files/SPLxgH1Cu0PMVvbmmciXrj3sKqxLqQ2JOcloDz36M2LPyV9MzJ03fJxYnCisWZ9-dr*7G8QR*vsa1y68JFWrTw__/MP2.swf"here/a.br /br /I hope you'll look at these, and share them with people where you work, worship, socialize, and study. Not only can you implement these ideas, you can even start a student project where you create your own versions of these presentations. As more and more groups work to create new ways to share these ideas, we'll attract a growing number of leaders who help tutor/mentor programs find the dollars, volunteers, technology and other resources needed to connect youth and volunteers and keep them connected for many years.br /br /This is a way of giving each of us the daily attention we need in a very cluttered communications environment.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-3209621385858087274?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Today's Chicago Tribune had an article titled, a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northnorthwest/ct-met-broke-agencies-0218-20100218,0,3365141.story"Nonprofit groups hang by a thread waiting for state funds/a. In this case the non profit is Youth Crossroads, a Berwyn, Il. group that is included in the a href="http://www.tutormentorconnection.org/FindaProgram/ChicagoAreaProgramLinks/tabid/561/rrcid/51/rrscid/0/rrpid/2/rrepp/10/language/en-US/Default.aspx"Chicago Tutor/Mentor Programs Links/a Library and has attended a href="http://www.tutormentorconference.org"Tutor/Mentor Conferences/a in the past.br /br /Below is a map showing where a href="http://www.youthcrossroads.org/"Youth Crossroads/a is located in the Chicago area. On the a href="http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/InteractiveMap.aspx"Tutor/Mentor Program Locator/a the green stars represent volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring programs. Each one of these groups is struggling to find donors and operating dollars. We create these maps, and this blog article, to show how others can point their friends, and philanthropy dollars, at all of the tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago region, on a consistent, year-round basis, so they call all stay in the business of helping young people. br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S31cztTReVI/AAAAAAAABV4/MX4VjwKiidk/s1600-h/YouthCrossroads.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S31cztTReVI/AAAAAAAABV4/MX4VjwKiidk/s320/YouthCrossroads.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439605968336943442" //abr /br /Last night I attended a "Speed Dating" Volunteer Recruitment event hosted by a href="http://www.womenoncall.org"Women-OnCall.org/a. It was intended to introduce busy professional women to volunteer opportunities in non profits. Out of about 70 registered organizations, I was one of 3 or 4 of the 170-plus tutor/mentor programs in Chicago who attended.br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S31ei4qDIXI/AAAAAAAABWA/lTfk_rJKje0/s1600-h/networkrole.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S31ei4qDIXI/AAAAAAAABWA/lTfk_rJKje0/s200/networkrole.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439607878350741874" //abr /br /As I talked to volunteers, my goal was to enlist people who would use T/MC maps, and the ideas on the a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net"Tutor/Mentor Institute/a site, and lead on-going efforts that would help women business professionals take on leader and volunteer roles at ALL of the tutor/mentor programs, not just one or two who were able to successfully recruit a few of the volunteers attending last night's event.br /br /I find this a difficult concept to communicate. In every business, leadership and marketing teams work every day to expand the number of customers they have, and the number of stores they have in all parts of the city. I even show this distribution of businesses in the a href="http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/AssetMap.aspx?map=Banks"ASSET MAPS/a on the Program Locator web site.br /br /Yet, I find it difficult to find volunteers who can transfer these skills into the non profit sector, and work to build an entire system of well-organized, volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs reaching kids in all poverty neighborhoods of the city. br /br /Most of the articles I've written for the past 5 years focus on this strategy. I know people in different parts of the world are reading some of these. I was contacted by someone from the United Way in Detroit this week who said he's been following my blogs for many years.br /br /One way I've been trying to help more people understand these ideas is to convert them into animated presentations. This link goes to a a href="http://api.ning.com/files/KkLUaBueUjSFF*F54PRboKAxWyxx5SPyUvLt6fJ4AexEQA9lk1PNNAJ7rWrMivFbPbjFcZIO*teHaaV6bAMMRw__/EventYear.swf"new presentation/a that's going live this week. It illustrates the year-round strategy of the T/MC and the role individuals and organizations can take to help programs like Youth Crossroads have the operating resources they need on a continuous basis.br /br /If you'd like to volunteer your time, talent, even dollars to help the Tutor/Mentor Connection communicate these ideas, or to lead efforts that distribute volunteers from your industry into every tutor/mentor program in the City of Chicago, or in your own community, join me on our a href="http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com"Ning site/a, or call 312-492-9614 to discuss ways we can help you get involved.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-4234180947996084394?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Mentoring Partnerships in other states have annual conferences which are generously supported by big companies and foundations. How do we get that type of support for the a href="http://www.tutormentorconnection.org"Tutor/Mentor Connection/a and the a href="http://www.tutormentorconference.org"Leadership and Networking Conference/a that we host in May and November? That's what Nicole White of the T/MC is a href="http://nicolecabrini.blogspot.com/2010/02/tutormentor-conference-needs-your-help.html"writing about /atoday.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-780118104282544651?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S3rlZ_K6S7I/AAAAAAAABVw/XDLTJJKnGqA/s1600-h/Madnessvideo1a.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S3rlZ_K6S7I/AAAAAAAABVw/XDLTJJKnGqA/s320/Madnessvideo1a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438911734619982770" //abr /br /Think of all the ways volunteers, interns, students and friends of a tutor/mentor program can connect, learn from each other, and take on leadership roles that encourage other people to get involved. br /br /This a href="http://vimeo.com/9395712"video/a was created last week by a href="http://cabrinipip.blogspot.com/"Bradley Troast/a, a Northwestern University Public Interest Program Fellow, working with Cabrini Connections from July 2009 through June 2010. The announcer is a href="http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/profile/EWilson"E. Wilson/a, an intern from Loyola. br /br /The two people being interviewed are volunteers at Cabrini Connections. They are part of Team Impeccable, one of 13 teams of students, volunteers, board members and friends who are part of a href="http://www.cabriniconnections.net/cabrini-madness"Cabrini Madness 2010/a.br /br /Each team is trying to raise money to keep Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection in business. They are competing with each other to see who can raise the most by April 1, 2010.br /br /You can follow the progress of each team at our a href="http://www.giveforward.org/cabrinitmc"Cabrini Madness page/a. You can adopt a team by making a donation, then encourage other people to get involved, just by passing on this blog address, or links to the weekly videos that will be produced.br /br /This is a team building activities, a leadership development activity, and a service-learning activity for our teens and volunteers. It's just one of many learning and network-building experiences that happen each week in a program like Cabrini Connections.br /br /If you look at the a href="http://cmapspublic.ihmc.us/servlet/SBReadResourceServlet?rid=1238727620187_1131671353_30231partName=htmltext"Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy map/a, you'll see that our goal is to help programs like this be operating in all high poverty areas of the Chicago region.br /br /Can you help us?div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-7019211872835674270?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S3WTB5ldb9I/AAAAAAAABVI/jCNg2fLV17g/s1600-h/career.map.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 144px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S3WTB5ldb9I/AAAAAAAABVI/jCNg2fLV17g/s200/career.map.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437413785966833618" //abr /It's February. It's time to start thinking of the type of tutor/mentor programs that will be available in Chicago and other cities in the 2010-11 school year. With resources scarce, it's time for volunteer-based organizations to be thinking of how they convert current tutors/mentors into leaders and capacity builders.br /br /My thinking on this is expressed in a href="http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2009/10/transforming-adults-involved-in.html"articles like this/a.br /br /However, I'd like to encourage you to read some thinking from others:br /br /span style="font-style:italic;""WSM estimates there are more than 240,00 children in Washington State who could benefit from having a mentor and only 30,000 who have one. This leaves a gap of more than 200,000. With your help, we can close that gap.br /br /The challenge is not simply a matter of recruiting more mentors. Low capacity to meet demand and inconsistent quality of service are among the most persistent challenges facing the mentoring field. We need to ensure that all programs have the resources they need to meet the demand for their services."/spanbr /br /This quote is from the a href="http://www.wamentors.org/get-involved"Washington State Mentors web site/a. It could just as easily been referring to Chicago.br /br /span style="font-style:italic;""At every step of schooling, the tendency is to breath a sigh of relief when a youngster moves on to the next grade. Concern for specific individuals creeps in when learning, behavior, and emotional problems interfere with progress. Public Health concerns arise when large numbers of youngsters are reported as not doing well. Civil rights concerns spring forth when large scale disparities become evident. And economic concerns spring forth with enhanced visibility about the costs to society of so many students dropping out before high school graduation and the impact on global competitiveness of too few students going on to and succeeding in post secondary education.br /br /Reducing dropouts, increasing graduation rates, and closing the achievement gap require more than improving preK-12 instruction, enhancing school management and increasing the school's role in providing health and social services."/spanbr /From the front page of the Winter 2010 newsletter from the a href="http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu"UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools/a.br /br /span style="font-style:italic;""By connecting young people to caring adult mentors and role models, we can dare students to dream and inspire them to achieve the academic success that will prepare them for better life opportunities and good careers"./span Ron Gonzalez, Mayor, City of San Jose (2002)br /br /span style="font-style:italic;""We need to have the best and the brightest in the industry go and teach for a year or two. If you expose students to real people in high-tech, role models that are passionate about what they do, that will motivate them."/span Dan Walker, Chief Talent Officer Apple (2002)br /br /Both of these quotes were from a 2002 report prepared by A.T. Kearney, titled a href="http://www.jointventure.org/images/stories/pdf/2002workforcestudy.pdf"Connecting Today's Youth with Tomorrow's Technology Careers/a br /br /span style="font-style:italic;""Child poverty in the U.S. costs at least $500 billion per year, the equivalent of four percent of GDP."/spanbr /br /span style="font-style:italic;""If poverty has an associated cost, then the reduction of poverty should generate an economic return. This return would be realized both for individuals in forms of increased earnings as well as for the entire province in the form of reduced social expenditures and higher tax revenues."/span Quotes from a href="http://www.oafb.ca/assets/pdfs/CostofPoverty.pdf"THE COST of POVERTY/a: An Analysis of the Economic Cost of Poverty in Ontario, Canada. br /br /span style="font-weight:bold;"br /Don't these ideas apply to Chicago and Illinois just as much as they apply to California and Canada?/spanbr /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S3WTKRh0rFI/AAAAAAAABVQ/GdEgGg3Td5g/s1600-h/networkrole.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AFv8j8HY5eE/S3WTKRh0rFI/AAAAAAAABVQ/GdEgGg3Td5g/s200/networkrole.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437413929832983634" //a Now how are a href="http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/leadership-strategies"leaders/a using this information, and their own marketing and communications resources, and personal networking, to educate more people and mobilize more resources so that business mentors can connect with inner city youth in volunteer-based programs like a href="http://www.cabriniconnections.net"Cabrini Connections/a or those shown on this a href="http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/InteractiveMap.aspx"Chicago Program Locator/a map?br /br /Here's a new a href="http://vimeo.com/9395712"video/a showing one way we're encouraging our volunteers to become leaders. As they reach out to invite friends and co-workers to support Cabrini Connections, we hope they will use the ideas in this blog to educate those potential supporters so they go beyond a "random act of kindness and generosity" to becoming strategic supporters of mentoring kids to careers.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/12044401-7356052697472965512?l=tutormentor.blogspot.com' alt='' //div