Connections to world of work and civic life.

I encourage you to visit Bob Pearlman's web site and read some of the articles. In this one, a quote that stands out is that "a social network is a student’s human connections to the real world of work and civic life."

This is what a program like Cabrini Connections offers. We connect kids who live in high-poverty inner city neighborhoods with people who can model a wide range of jobs and careers. We try to keep these kids and volunteers connected for many years, to expand their aspirations of what they can be, and to help them put these goals into the work needed to achieve those goals.

What the Tutor/Mentor Connection does is try to help such programs be available to youth in all of the high poverty neighborhoods of the Chicago region.

In some cities and states mentoring partnerships, with annual budgets of $350,000 to $1 million are trying to support mentoring programs. We have never had more than $225,000 in a single year, and we started in 1993 with no money and just an idea of what we were trying to create.

If you want to help us build this connection, why not make an endowment to the Tutor/Mentor Connection instead of building another building at your alma mater or at the local Hospital?

You don't need to be in Chicago, or the US, to offer this help. This Chicago Tribune article talks about virtual volunteering. You can be anywhere to help us, and you can be anywhere to draw ideas from what we do to help kids in your own community.

If you can make a donation to a Holiday Fund, you're helping us help these kids.