Tips for Starting, Leading a Volunteer-Based Tutor/Mentor Program

I led a volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs serving 2nd to 6th grade youth in Chicago from 1975 to 1992.

Based on what I had learned from my networking with other programs in Chicago, and my 17 years working in retail advertising for the Montgomery Ward corporation, I formed the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) in 1993 to collect and share information that anyone can use to build personal and/organizational strategies that reach more k-12 youth living in high poverty areas and help them stay in school, stay safer in non-school hours, expand their network of adult support, and move toward graduation, advanced education and to jobs and careers.  

As we formed the T/MC in 1993 we were also launching a new volunteer-based tutor/mentor program aimed at helping kids who aged out of the first program after 6th grade have continued support all the way through high school. I led that until 2011.

I'm still connected to former student and volunteers from the programs I led, and now I see them posting photos showing their own kids finishing high school and college. That was the goal.

In 2011 I formed the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC to help keep the T/MC in Chicago and help the ideas spread to other cities with high concentrations of persistent poverty.  I still lead both. 

Note the use of maps in my essays. I focus on actions that need to be repeated over and over for many years in many places of Chicago and other cities. Such actions would lead to high-quality, mentor rich programs operating in every neighborhood with high concentrations of poverty. The information I share was intended to be used by our own volunteers, students, staff, leaders and donors at Cabrini Connections, the program we lead.

It's also intended to be used by others in the for-profit world, education, and the for-profit world. In fact, if leaders in business, religion, health care and universities adopt this leadership strategy, employees can form tutor/mentor support teams using the ideas we share.

As we enter a new school year staff and volunteers at tutor/mentor programs throughout Chicago and the rest of the country are beginning to plan 2025-26 events.

I'm sure that somewhere, meetings are being held where someone is asking "what roles are we looking to fill on the year-end dinner committee or volunteer recruitment committee?"

Since the programs I led aimed to empower many teams of volunteers and students to support different activities and events throughout the year, I thought I'd share some ideas that I've learned over my 35 years of leading a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program.

I'm not going to write a long blog article, instead I encourage you to open this "Steps to Start a Program" pdf and use it as a guide in forming teams that want to have an impact.



Then review this "Operating Principles" pdf which focuses on good planning. I show two pages from that essay below.



This page of the "Operating Principles" pdf focuses on types of talents that need to be part of an effective committee.

Do you have someone who can be the project manager for your committee? Or someone who is an effective communicator? Perhaps the most important role is that of a "recruiter" who can find people with these talents and bring them onto a committee or a board.

This Tutor/Mentor essay shows how volunteers from the business community can help expand learning opportunities in organized tutor/mentor programs.  

This Total Quality Mentoring visual essay shows the same ideas, but in a different format. 

I hope these planning guides help you identify the skills and talents your volunteers might contribute to one or more of the projects your planning for the coming school year.

If you're with a business or a university and can form teams of volunteers, your team can help every tutor/mentor program in Chicago and other cities by the way it mobilizes resources and points them to individual organizations.  You can use the ideas from this volunteer recruitment visual essay.

If you find these ideas useful please connect with me on LinkedIn, BlueSky, Twitter, Mastodon, Facebook, or Instagram. (see links here). 

Use your own media to help share the ideas and others that you'll find in dozens of articles on this blog.

I depend on a small group of donors to continue doing this work. If you can help please visit this page and send a contribution.

After, or before, the march, do the reading.

 Are you planning to march in a "NO KINGS" protest tomorrow? Have you been protesting already?  I've been limited due to carrying an oxygen tank with me whenever I go outside, but I'm going to try to go out tomorrow.  Be safe.

A few days ago I found this article on my LinkedIn feed. 

I hope you'll read it. As the world descends deeper and deeper into chaos it is more important than ever that we find places to connect and learn from each other.  

I've been building the Tutor/Mentor library since the 1970s, with books, videos, articles and research that I've found interesting and useful and have archived, to make it available to others.  I started putting this on the Internet in the late 1990s and have added to it regularly since then. 

Below is a map showing the entire library. Click here to view

This now has more than 2000 external links, plus hundreds of articles, visual essays and videos created by myself and interns who have worked for me in the past.  Many of the websites I point to have their own extensive libraries.  

Imagine all of the people who work in these organizations or write these article were connected in a huge information and problem solving web. Twitter had that potential. No longer. Other social media sites have also offered that potential.  I started connecting with others in the 1990s via email list conversations, then Yahoo Groups, then Google+.  

I built my library using this on-going question: "What are all the things we need to know and do to reach all kids in high poverty areas with organized tutor, mentor and learning programs that help them move safely through school and into adult lives, with jobs and careers that enable them to raise their own kids free of poverty?"  

Each node on the concept map has a small box at the bottom that leads to an external web site or another concept map.

One section that I've been building for the past 10-15 years focuses on race, poverty and inequality, which are root causes for why we need extra programs and where they are most needed.  This concept map show sections in this part of the library.

In 2016, after Donald Trump was elected to be President of the United States, I began building a list of articles on a DropBox page, showing the harm he was causing. I've expanded this list over the past nine years to show the forces that have put the rich in power over myself and the masses of ordinary people. 

A mid 2024 addition was a video of the Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series, which is described as "a deep dive into the history of how our world was constructed using white supremist lies, religious mythologies, and poisonous conspiracy theories".  It's based on a book by Jarod Yates Sexton.

Open this link to view Episode 1 of the series.  I've only watched the first two videos so far, but it's already pretty depressing, and a strong reason to vote for Kamala Harris, just to slow the forces working against us.

That video is only the most recent of a long list of articles I've put on this page. The graphic below shows a few added in mid 2022.

In a July 2024 article I wrote about the Internet as a force for Change.  By that, I meant that the Internet makes all of this information available to everyone with access. It's there, if you're motivated to look.  It does what the printing press began to do about 550 years ago.

In Episode 2 of the Midnight Kingdom lectures Yates shows how those in power try to control media and all forms of learning to shape a world view that supports them staying in power.  He also shows how people who are oppressed find ways to learn about issues and unite to create change.

The frightening thing is that they then become the ones in power, who apply the same tactics to stay in power.  This is a constant, never-ending battle.  

Now that Trump, and Project 2025 are in power, you can see them implementing the things Yates and others forecast in their articles and videos.  People are rising to stop these actions. 

That's where libraries like mine become important.

Here's a concept map showing another section of my library. It focuses on innovation, knowledge management, mapping, community building and collaboration.  

While much information is available to show the problems we face, too little shows how we can learn, share and come together to try to solve these problems.  The articles I point to in this section of the library can be used by people in any part of the world, to try to solve any complex problem.  Open and close the links under each node, just to learn what's available.

As long as people make an effort to aggregate and archive resources that show what's happening and why, we have a slim chance of blunting the power-grabbing tendencies of those in power and give representation to the rest of us.

This only works if before and after we protest, we're spending time learning ways to be more effective.  

Keeping this information available to you is an on-going effort. Since 2011 I've been the only one managing this effort (and paying for it from my own pocket and a small set of donations).

The history I point to extends back to the beginning of civilization when people in power began to use religion to force people to do the will of the people in power.  It will continue into the future.

Beyond my lifetime. Maybe beyond the current version of the Internet.

Thus, I appeal to young people, future thinkers, technologists, etc. to reach out and take ownership of my archives (and those of others) to keep the library updated, and to move it to new platforms as the current ones are shut down.

You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Facebook, Mastodon, etc.  See links on this page.  Please share my articles so others have access to this information.  Reach out if you want to help.

Finally, I appeal to you to join the small group of donors who make annual contributions to help me pay the bills.  Visit this page. 

Help Volunteer-Based Youth Tutor, Mentor & Learning Programs

While the USA trembles at the brink of chaos due to the actions of the current President, and reactions of those who oppose him, we still need to reach out to help youth get the extra support they need to move safely through school and into adult lives.  Organized, on-going, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs can offer some of that support, if they are available in the neighborhood where kids live.

That's been my goal since forming the Tutor/Mentor Connection in Chicago in 1993 and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011.

I've built a huge library of information that anyone can use to understand where and why these programs are needed.  At the heart of the library are my lists of nearly 200 Chicago area youth serving programs. Find this by browsing the Chicago Program Links list that I've been maintaining since 1993. 

You can also use the map, shown below, to determine what groups operate in different parts of Chicago...or near where you live, work, or along the route you travel as you do to and from work every day.  The program links list is also organized by sections of the city and suburbs, for the same purpose.



This map can also be seen here.

If  you click on an icon you can find the organization's name and their web site. Copy and paste the web address into your browser and you can learn more about the program, depending on how well the web site communicates the program purpose, history and design. Below is a JPG showing what the map looks like when open opened.

Each green icon on the map is the location of a Chicago youth serving program

Some of the locations on this map are headquarters sites of organizations that offer community based mentoring (mentors meet with kids at different places), or are organizations with many different sites where they offer services. Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago and Working in the Schools (WITS) are two who fit these descriptions. You'd need to go to their web sites to see their lists showing locations where they are active.

You can also find links to Chicago area programs at
*  Facebook pages list - click here
*  LinkedIn list - click here
*  Twitter list - click here
*  Instagram list - click here

enlarge the map

This information can be a starting point for others to get to know these organizations better, to help each of them attract needed resources, and to help share ideas across different programs so all will improve. You can enlarge the map then click on the icons to learn about programs in different areas. 

Browse articles I've written since 2005 to see how maps can be used in stories written by many people to help draw attention and resources to tutor/mentor programs in different areas, or to help new programs form where more are needed. Click maps, media, violence for lists of stories. 

The map shown above replaces an interactive Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Locator (view archive version here and here) developed by the Tutor/Mentor Connection between 2004 and 2009. Since 2013 I've not had funds or technology support to update the site and in August 2018 the link to Google maps stopped working.

Since 1993 the Tutor/Mentor Connection has been maintaining these lists and an extensive library of information that shows where these programs are most needed, and why, and provides resource people can use to build and sustain programs in every high-poverty area of Chicago In 2011 the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC was created to continue this service.

This is work that really should be done at universities, where there is a constant stream of student brainpower to do what I've been doing by myself and with the help of a small staff and many volunteers.

I've tried to get this help.  In fact, I've been reaching out to universities for more than 30 years.  

Take a look at this presentation and see the many universities I've connected with and the work students have done in short-term internships and fellowships.  There are over 60 pages!  And many links to documents that show interactions with students and faculty.  Take your time to look at it.

Then share it with people like MacKenzie Scott, who has been giving millions of dollars to non-profit organizations.  Show how funding a Tutor/Mentor Connection-type program for 10 to 20 consecutive years on a university campus could leverage the donations being made and create a much greater, sustained, comprehensive, impact.

If donors provide the money, universities will establish programs, and my 30 year history of trying to support volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs and help kids in high poverty areas from birth-to-work will become a valuable resource.

That would lead to new, updated, map-based directories in Chicago and other cities, that are part of efforts to draw consistent operating dollars to programs in every high poverty area, which will help programs hire and retain staff, keep them operating longer, and have a greater impact on the lives of kids and families.

In this section and this section of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Planning Wiki you can read the history, goals and current status, for building a map-based tutor/mentor program database.  Such a platform can be applied in any city to support the growth of needed services in all high poverty areas, thus volunteers, partners and financial support can come from any place to help this work become a reality.

Until that happens, I still will depend on contributions to maintain this list of programs, the Tutor/Mentor Connection web library, my blogs, etc.

Please make a contribution so I can keep this information freely available to all.  Visit this page to find an address and a PayPal button.

D-Day. June 6, 1994. Never Forget.

I've used this photo often in past years in articles remembering the D-Day invasion of Europe on June 6, 1994, which was the beginning of the end of a long, terrible war.

I wrote this article on June 5, 2021.  I hope you'll take time to read it and compare President Obama's call to service to the actions of the current administration.   

Still judged by the color of their skin

For the past few years I've delighted at seeing alumni of the tutor/mentor programs I led sharing photos of their own kids finishing high school, going to college and graduating.  That was what we hoped would happen. 

However, I'm continuing to see evidence that this success does not lessen the fear that these young adults will become victims of police violence and continued racism in the USA.

Below are two pages from my Sunday Chicago SunTimes, showing a story about how at "Illinois public universities, campus cops pull over Black drivers at higher rates."  Read it here.

This story was also on the WBEZ.org site.  You can find it here.  I found this link on my BlueSky feed. I hope you'll join me there. 

These articles show that "Black driver stops far exceed Black enrollment, population. At every Illinois four-year public college campus police department that reported stops in 2023, the share of Black drivers getting pulled over by campus police surpassed both the share of Black students enrolled in the institution in the fall semester of 2022 and the percentage of Black individuals in the surrounding community age 18 and up."

It is frightening to read stories of young Black men and women talking about being routinely stopped and ticketed by campus police and see the lack of response from police leaders. If you're a White parent, this is not something you worry about when you celebrate your child's high school graduation and college acceptance.

It should not be something Black and Brown parents fear either.  But is is.

My Sunday SunTimes also had this story showing how "Sports was a major catalyst in the drive for equity after George Floyd’s murder, but time has erased all progress.." 

A year ago I wrote a similar article to this one. It also pointed to athletes talking about racism.  I included the graphic below, in that article with the same headline as I'm using today. 

Last year's article also included this:

"This was reinforced yesterday when I watched baseball star, Reggie Jackson, talk about the racial discrimination that he faced when playing in the 1960s and 1970s.  You can view the video on Twitter  (x) at this link." 

I wrote, "These are among many things happening locally, nationally and globally that scare me."

Locally, I see stories daily showing Black and Brown kids and adults shot and often killed in intentional and random shootings.  I see growing evidence that our highest source of justice, the Supreme Court, is corrupt and under the control of religious extremists.  

I see growing evidence of other forms of hate, from antisemitism to growing attacks on the rights of LGBTQ individuals and families, too.  

Globally we're facing a range of complex problems from a climate crisis, to war and conflict and massive suffering. Yet, in too many places, including the USA, we're electing right-wing leaders who care less about the poor and the planet than they do about their wealth and privilege. 

Last June I wrote, "While we're hopeful that November's US elections will bring control of the US House back to Democrats and Progressives, expand the majority in the Senate, and keep the White House, that's no guarantee that any of the terrible things happening in the US and the world will change."

That did not happen. A radical, greedy, cruel and careless man was elected President, progressives lost control of both the House and Senate, and Drump (you know who) has filled the top levels of government with radical extremists.   

Read the rest of my June 2024 article at this link.

Expanding the choir of "those who care" and "those who speak out".

My own long term efforts to help well-organized, volunteer-based, non-school tutor and/or mentor programs grow in high poverty areas of Chicago, where adults connect with youth when they are as young as elementary school, then stay connected through high school, and into adult lives, has always aimed to influence what the volunteers do to get others involved, not just to be an effective tutor and/or mentor.

I created this concept map many years ago to show how volunteers who are recruited from a diverse economic-social-educational background to be tutors and mentors can grow their understanding of the challenges kids and families in high poverty, highly segregated, areas face.  For some, this can lead to a much greater use of their talents and networks to help solve the root-causes and lead to a much brighter future for our kids and families, and ourselves.

http://tinyurl.com/TMI-Vol-Growth-Cycle

This chart shows a cycle that takes place almost every day, in hundreds of locations throughout the country. However, it may be happening with less purpose and impact in most places, than is needed to change the flow of resources to tutor/mentor programs and the number of people who get involved in the broader issues.  

Read this article to see a full explanation of the concept map, and see how interns from universities created animated versions.

Create a learning organization.

I've been building the Tutor/Mentor library since the 1970s.  Over the past 10 years I've added more and more links to websites that focus on race, poverty, inequality, and prevention.  Here's a cMap where I point to that section of the library.

Each node on this concept map opens to a collection of websites with an extensive range of articles that I wish I had had when I studied history, social studies and political science in high school and college in the 1960s.

I point to several hundred volunteer-based youth-serving organizations on this page of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website.  I don't find many showing a strategy aimed at educating their volunteers and turning them into leaders...beyond building support for their own program.   I'd love to have some look at my blog and website and see the value of duplicating my efforts.  

Maybe this is happening in more places and I just don't see it. Thus, I invite readers to look at the websites in my library, or in their own communities, and point out pages that show how volunteer-based organizations are systematically educating their volunteers and motivating them to become evangelists who reach out and educate others.

If enough organizations did this consistently for 20 or 30 years it would grow a movement of people that might be large enough to actually create needed changes. 

Thanks for reading this.

I hope you're saying "ENOUGH" and that you'll read and share my articles, and my library, with family, friends, co-workers, and others in your own network.  Until more people are personally connected to these issues too few will speak out or do the organizing work needed to innovate long-term solutions.

Please connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, BlueSky, Facebook, Twitter and other sites (see links here). 

And, if you're able, visit this page and make a contribution to help me do this work.