Planning Cycle for Youth Tutor Mentor Programs

In my latest newsletter I included some screen shots of posts made on Twitter by Chicago area tutor/mentor programs. Many were announcing end of year celebrations on ZOOM and inviting others to join in ... and make donations to help them continue their work for another year.

It's now June and in a short two months school will start again. Hopefully it's face-to-face for most kids but continues virtually for those who thrived in that environment due to many different factors.

This also means that those site-based tutor and/or mentor programs who have been virtual for most of 2020-21 are now doing the planning needed to start face-to-face activities again.  I've not seen enough reports talking about how the past year has impacted volunteer and student retention. 

I have seen articles showing how Chicago has become more split between affluent and low-income. I wrote an article a few weeks ago asking some questions of how this changes how volunteers and youth connect in site-based non-school programs.

To support planning for those starting new programs, or improving existing programs I'm sharing three presentations from my library that I hope will be useful. 

Steps to Start a Tutor/Mentor Program

Steps to Start a Volunteer Based Tutor Mentor Program from Daniel Bassill

Operating Principles for a Volunteer-Based Tutor/Mentor Program

Tips for Operating A Successful Volunteer-Based Tutor/Mentor Program from Daniel Bassill

Year-Round Planning Calendar - For use by leaders and organizers

Planning Calendar for Volun... by Daniel F. Bassill

These are three of several dozen visual essays that I've created over the past 20 years, sharing my own experiences in leading two volunteer based tutor/mentor programs from 1975 to 2011.  Both are still operating.

You can find my complete collection of essays at this page on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website. (Note. If some of the links to PDFs on SlideShare do not go directly to the presentation, use this link and find the presentation you're looking for.  I updated about half of these in early 2021 and that broke the old links.)

I urge you to use these to start discussions in your own organization and/or community. Use them in high school or college courses to teach students to become leaders and/or supporters of long-term, mentor-rich programs.  Create and share your own interpretations.   Visit this Intern blog to see how students from various colleges did this type of work between 2005 and 2015. 

Thank you for reading and sharing my articles.  I hope you'll reach out and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. See links here.

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