Goals of Chicago Tutor/Mentor Conference.

I've hosted a Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference in Chicago every six months since May 1994 as part of an on-going campaign to help volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs grow in high poverty neighborhoods. The next is Friday, May 8 and today I responded to an inquiry from a past conference participant, saying "How can I help? What workshops are needed?"

I wrote,

We need speakers/workshop presenters who can "attract" others to attend the conference, because of who they are, and what they talk about. Topics that are valuable:

a) fund raising, building strong board and leadership team
b) marketing/communications/social media
c) planning, evaluation, program improvement
d) engaging youth in learning activities'
e) recruiting, training and retaining volunteers to be effective, tutors, mentors, leaders
f) tutoring strategies that you can incorporate in your program


In addition, the conference seeks to involve others who will bring their own network. Under a general topic of "How can we support tutor/mentor programs?" workshops could be organized by and invite people from these sectors who are already involved in supporting tutor/mentor programs, or who want to become involved
a) business
b) hospitals
c) universities
d) faith groups
e) media

Here's a video created for a past conference. The goals are the same for the next conference.

Conference Capacity from Cabrini Connections on Vimeo.

If you're interested in supporting the growth of non-school tutoring, mentoring and learning programs in Chicago I encourage you to visit this page to read about conference goals, and this page to see ideas about workshop topics that could be offered.

This graphic illustrates the goal of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and the conferences. I want to help organized programs connect with young people at some point along this time line, the earlier the better. Once a program connects we want to help them stay connected so that the young person finishes high school, college and/or vocational school, or the military, and is starting a full time job and career by their late 20s. I want such programs to be available to youth in all high poverty neighborhoods of big cities like Chicago, as well as to other youth who need extra adult support that programs like this can supply.

For this to happen people from every sector need to be involved. That's what this graphic is trying to communicate.

If you share the same goals, I hope you'll take a role in the May 8, 2015 conference and others after that.