Does your youth-serving org have a blog?

I've been sharing images from the Kumu.io project created by the IVMOOC student team at Indiana University in my last few posts.  Below is another.  This shows participation in the two 2011 conferences. 

I created this after spending time yesterday updating the list of blogs written by tutor/mentor program staff and leaders.  One was by a college student working at Femi Memorial Outreach.  I looked at the 2011 conferences to see if I could find the program and created this image. I circled Femi Memorial Outreach.  You can do the same.  Open the map at this link.

If you search the Femi blog for "tutor/mentor" you'll find a few articles written about the conference. 

In this one she wrote:

Keeping up the Tutor Mentor Connection
If you guys have been keeping up with our posts, you'd know that I mention the Tutor Mentor Institute more than any other organization. When I started working seriously with Femi Memorial Outreach, my first big non-profit conference was sponsored by the Tutor Mentor Institute. I think I learned more in that one, activity packed, day than I had in my first month as an administrator and program developer.

In this one she wrote:

This past Friday I went to the Tutor-Mentor Conference. There was an outstanding turnout from various different education and mentor programs from across the Chicago area. I don't think I fully realized the impact and breadth of education non-profits throughout the Chicago area until Friday.

On the surface, the scene looked like a group of regular people, sleepy eyed, and pounding back cups of coffee as the 8a.m conference began. But, throughout the day people slowly removed their shell and opened up about their projects: executive directors, media relation managers, tutors, and people with projects so new, they hadn't even started yet. The level of enthusiasm was unending.

If you explore the conference participation map you'll find many organizations who participated multiple times.  If you browse the conference tab on this blog, you'll see more than 200 articles.  In a few you'll find links to stories others wrote about their participation.

In 2014 Steve Sewell wrote this article and Valerie Leonard wrote this article.

Kelly Fair of Polished Pebbles wrote this article in 2014. 

I was prompted to look at the list after seeing an announcement from Jeffrey Beckham, Jr., the Executive Director of Chicago Scholars, introducing an article he posted on Substack.com.  It was titled, "The Democracy our Young People Deserve".  I hope you'll read it.

Sadly, my list of blogs has many that are no longer being written and too few from the more than 100 Chicago area youth serving programs on my lists.  

I look at the websites on my list at least once each year, just to make sure the links are working. I'm also trying to find out if they are writing blogs or are using media like Substack.com or YouTube to share their ideas. 

I need your help.  Please look at what local programs are doing and how they are sharing their "What works and what does not work." messages. If you find blog articles or other places where programs are sharing, please send the link to me via LinkedIn, Twitter, BlueSky or Facebook.

In response to the comment I posted on his article, Jeffrey Beckham, Jr. wrote, "And I deeply agree with your invitation. We need more tutor and mentor leaders telling their stories publicly through blogs and reflection. The narrative must belong to those building hope, not only those creating fear."

I agree.  

Are you hosting events and want to map participation? Visit this page to learn about the open source mapping tool created in 2025 by IVMOOC students at Indiana University.  

Thanks for reading.  If you're able to support my work with a contribution, please visit this page.