Work Together To Solve Chicago's Problems? Maybe. Common Goals? Yes.

I've been seeing some high profile community leaders post articles calling on people to "work together" to solve problems of Chicago. While this sounds right, the reality is that there are too many problems,  in too many places, and too many of us to be all "working together".

Put your name in the BLUE box.

Instead, I invite leaders, and individual citizens, to frame a vision for solving any of Chicago's complex problems, that is big enough for many, many people to provide time, talent and dollars, individually, or in groups and collaborations.

This strategy map is one vision that I'd like many leaders to adopt. If you read from the top blue box it says "my vision is".... Here's an article where I zoom into different sections of this map. Most of the articles on this blog and on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC site provide ideas that people and organizations could adopt to achieve this vision.

On the right side of the above map you'll see a box that says "in comprehensive programs". If you open the link you'll see the map at the right. This shows that at every age group kids need a wide range of supports. Most of these are naturally occurring in affluent communities. Many are not readily available in high poverty neighborhoods.

It's the role of organized programs to help make more of these available.

It's the role of donors, policy makers and business leaders to make good programs available in every high poverty neighborhood.

I've been using maps since 1993 to focus attention on all of the neighborhoods of Chicago (and now its suburbs) where concentrated poverty makes life difficult for youth and families.

What makes "let's all work together" unrealistic is that groups of people need to adopt different neighborhoods and work to make needed youth supports available to kids from when they are born to when they are starting jobs and careers, and then until they are able to choose where to live and raise their own kids.

Piloting strategies in one or two places, or supporting one or two high profile programs, leaves generations behind. We need a cavalry charge supporting problem solvers in every neighborhood, with a learning strategy that connects us in ways that we're constantly learning from each other.

How do we mobilize and/or empower people, teams, groups, organizations, etc. to help make this happen?   I wrote about this last week in this article.

As a matter of face, I've written about these ideas hundreds of times since starting the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011.  Unfortunately, too few are listening and too few are helping. It's not too late. You can start reading through these articles at any time.

Many say the new tax law will remove the motivation for many to make tax deductible donations to non profits.  I think this is a test for our society. Do we help poor people and people with disabilities or health disparities because it's the right thing to do, or because you get a few dollars back from your donation?

I've not had a 501-c-3 tax status since 2011, but I'm still doing work I started in 1993, and still dependent on others for help.  Because I'm no-longer a 501-c-3 organization, my level of donations have dropped to just a few thousand dollars a year. Yet, those people who have continued to provide $100 to $750 a year have done so because of what I'm trying to do, not for the tax deduction.

If you'd like to join them, click here and use the PayPal button. You can do this at anytime of the year. You don't need to wait until you're preparing your taxes.

However, you don't need to support me to use the ideas I share and apply your own time, talent and dollars to help solve complex problems facing your community.