Monday, October 01, 2012

Who Else Taking this Role in Chicago Region?

This Slideshare presentation shows the role I've been trying to take for over 20 years to make volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs available in more high poverty neighborhoods of the Chicago region.



In 2010 a team of NetImpact volunteers compared the Tutor/Mentor Connection to mentoring partnerships in other cities and states. This PDF was the preliminary report.

If you work in the corporate office of Sears, WalMart, Walgreens or any other corporation with multiple stores all over the country you are supporting your branch locations with central office resources, including advertising. This is what I've been trying to do via the Tutor/Mentor Connection. Since we don't have hundreds of millions dollars for a central corporate office, we need to create a 'virtual corporate office' where many people take on roles that normally are provided in the headquarters of big corporations.

All of us working with youth are in the same general business of helping kids grow up and prepare for adult lives and responsibilities. Attracting strategic business involvement to support our efforts would serve the self-interests of every sector of the business community. We need their help in many ways, and many places.

It's obvious that I'd not had nearly the level of capital needed to achieve the goals I've set, yet even with the few resources that have been available each year I've built a powerful platform that is not duplicated in many other cities.

If you'd like to help build this, and then use it in your own city, contact me.

If you know of others who are doing the same work in the Chicago region please introduce us and invite them to participate in the November 19 Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference. Or send me invitations so I can be part of their events.

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