Reaching youth in high poverty areas - distance matters

My blog articles aim to motivate readers to think of ways they can be strategically involved in helping kids born or living in high poverty areas move through school and into adult lives over a 12 to 20 year period of consistent support.

In the concept map below I show the logic model that I’ve developed over the past 30+ years and a progression of thinking that I hope you and others will follow.

If you read the concept map, from upper left and follow the 1-7 numbers you'll see the following:

1) Our attention is drawn to problems by negative news stories and new research.  Many stores point to the need for more youth-serving programs. 2) Much of the research shows the benefits of organized, on-going programs. 3) Organized programs provide a way for volunteers and youth to connect. 4) Someone needs to have a list of existing programs so while media attention motivates people to look for ways to get involved, they have a resource that shows them choices of where to get involved.  

5) Once it's accepted that organized programs are needed in many places, we need to recognize that each of them needs a constant flow of the same type of resources (ideas, talent, dollars, technology, etc.). 6) That leads to building an understanding of the challenges of existing funding systems, then innovation of new ways to generate a better flow of flexible dollars into every high poverty neighborhood of Chicago and other places with concentrations of persistent poverty.

7) So, where are people meeting to talk about this?  What research is available to support these conversations?  

Most kids have a wide range of support from family, community and schools. Kids living in high poverty areas have fewer of these supports. Plus, there are many more challenges impeding their progress. The concept map shown below visualizes these challenges. 

Volunteers who kids meet in organized tutor/mentor programs can be extra adults who help kids overcome many challenges.  But if you look at the maps of Chicago you can see that there are challenges in connecting volunteers who model jobs and different learning opportunities with kids living in areas of concentrated poverty in the city and suburbs.

Distance matters. I write more about that below.

I pointed to a report from A Better Chicago in an article I wrote on April 5th. Pages 26 to 29 of the report focus on the need for community based programs, such as tutor/mentor and learning.

They show that high poverty areas have fewer programs and that “youth of all ages and races overwhelmingly want more access to programs in their communities.” 

I’ve shown this same information on maps since we published our first Directory of Chicago volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in 1994. 

I continue to share lists that people can use to find programs. You can find them here. 

If you’ve read many of my blog articles you’ll notice that I focus on Chicago and big cities. Mainly that’s because it’s where I lived and worked since 1973 and where I began leading a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program in 1975. 

You'll also see that I'm trying to draw attention and resources to every high poverty area, and every volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning program, not just those with the highest profile. Good programs are needed in every neighborhood. That means they need good leadership and consistent funding.

In this article I want to talk about distance, or the time it takes for a volunteer to go from work to a place where she can meet for one, or two, hours with a youth who lives in a high poverty area and attends a school in a high poverty neighborhood. And the three time frames where these connections need to be happening. 

I've used the two graphics shown below for many years. The first shows the role of volunteers from many backgrounds connecting with youth in organized tutor, mentor and learning activities.

The second shows that the non-school hours have two time frames. The traditional afterschool hours, from 3pm to 6pm, are a time frame when parents are still working and kids need supervision. Organized programs are needed in almost every neighborhood. 

The after-five PM hours are a time frame when volunteers are traveling from work to home and can stop for a few hours at a tutor/mentor program site in a high poverty neighborhood to serve as a tutor, mentor, coach, program leader or in other roles.

Both of these graphics emphasize the 12 years it takes for EACH child to grow from first grade to high school graduate, and the 4 to 8 years after that as young people finish extra education and start to find jobs and build careers.

I've used maps since 1993 to show the distribution of volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in Chicago. 

I’ve been trying to build a nuanced understanding of this since we started collecting information about programs. In our Directories we provided information by age group (elementary, middle school and high school) and by type of program (pure tutor, pure mentor, tutor/mentor).   In this article you can read about the interactive program locator that we built in 2004 and updated in 2008, which is now only an archive. It shows what we were trying to do and what others might build in the future. 

By aggregating and segmenting data about existing programs we can ask "How many programs are needed? and "Where are more programs needed?"    Below is a map created in 1997 that shows this question. You can see it in this article. 

When you first look at the map at the right you might say "there are a lot of programs". But when you segment by age group served and type of program you'll see far fewer, especially for older youth.  

We never reached a point where we could survey to learn about arts, technology, STEM, youth leadership, etc. forms of learning in non-school, volunteer-based programs but adding that would offer valuable insight to planners and funders.

We created the map below in the late 2000s. It shows the expressways and rail lines that bring people from the suburbs into the city every day (and from the city to the suburbs). 

Big cities like Chicago, with a large geographic footprint, are measured in miles. From North to South is a distance of about 25 miles.  From the LOOP area in central Chicago to the Oak Park border on the West side is 10.2 miles. Driving through congested areas makes this a long trip for any volunteer trying to leave work during the school day to go to a public school or after school program.  Doing this weekly for several years is a difficult commitment.

Yet, if that volunteer works in the LOOP and lives in Oak Park or further West, there are many places near the transit stops or off the Expressway where that volunteer might stop for a few hours, and keep participating for multiple years.  In the program that I led from 1975 to 1992, hosted at the Montgomery Ward Corporate office on Chicago Avenue, we welcomed volunteers who came from as far away as Naperville! 

Other big cities probably have the same geographic challenges.  Yet there is a huge pool of potential volunteers to draw from, due to the massive population of Chicago and other big cities. There are also huge numbers of kids living in high poverty areas.

So, if you looked at the concept map at the top of this article, are  you talking with people in your network about ways you and them might help tutor/mentor programs grow in Chicago or other cities?

So be the YOU in the graphic below. Share my articles and the resources in the Tutor/Mentor Library and grow the number of people who are thinking strategically, and long-term, about ways to build and sustain mentor-rich non-school programs that help kids in high poverty areas move from birth-to-work.

Every city just needs a consistent, year round communications program that draws volunteers and donors to every existing youth program and shows where more are needed.  Visit this page and see the event strategy developed by the Tutor/Mentor Connection between 1994 and 1998 that I continue to support. Borrow from these ideas to build your own year-round campaigns. 

Then, for all of you who don't live in big cities who are saying "What about us?", start building a library of information, with maps, showing where organized tutor/mentor programs are needed and where existing programs, and volunteer opportunities are located.  And build your own communications campaigns.

In smaller communities it might take less time to go from work to a school during the school day, so more volunteers might engage that way.  However, in rural areas where population density if far less and geography far larger, the problem is different. Mapping where kids live who might benefit from tutor/mentor programs, and places where they might connect with volunteers, is still a step toward a solution, because it provides a solid information base to work from.  However, building long-term, face-to-face connections with volunteers who model many different career opportunities may be more difficult.

In big cities and rural areas and reservations on-line mentoring and tutoring has a lot of potential, but it's long term impact on helping kids through school and into adult lives has yet to be proven.  I point to e-Mentoring and e-Tutoring programs in this section of my library. Learn from what they are doing.

What I'm showing in articles like this  is that there are a lot of questions that need to be answered and a lot more people need to be involved, in many ways, for many years.  So if this is something you've been thinking about, please introduce yourself and share your research and your ideas.

This is me in the mid 1990s with a map of Chicago in the background. This could be you in the next few years.  Hopefully it will be many people, not just one, or two.

Let's connect on social media. This page shows where you can find me.

And, this page shows how you can make a contribution to help fund my work. Your help is needed. 

Presidents' Summit for America's Future - 28 years later

In April 1997 representatives from 50 cities and every state gathered in Philadelphia for the Presidents' Summit for America's Future.

I was one of the 10 people representing Chicago and the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) was one of 50 "Teaching Example" organizations who was invited to have an information booth at the Summit.

With help from our Public Relations partner, Public Communications, Inc., we created a video to share.  Sadly we had limited funds for distribution so I doubt that many people ever saw it.

I embedded the video in this 2023 article. 

And, I wrote about the Summit in this 2017 article. 

I also wrote about the Summit in this 2007 article.

I hope you'll take a look and share the ideas with leaders in your community. Sadly, persistent poverty is still embedded in many cities, states and reservations across America.

Innovating new funding solutions

I wish peace, good health and happiness to all who celebrate any religious holiday this weekend.  However, I'm not sure any GOD is going to help us unless we do more to help ourselves.  Thus....

A few days ago I shared an article titled, "Funders, here's the blueprint for saving democracy", written by Vu Le.   I wrote about it in this article. 

I've used the term "blueprint" in many articles, to show a range of actions that donors, leaders, policy-makers, etc. need to be taking to help make sure well-organized, long-term, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs are available in EVERY high poverty area of Chicago and other places with concentrations of persistent poverty.

I've been using this "Mentoring Kids to Careers" graphic, along with various versions, since late 1990s, to emphasize the same goals.

In the lower left corner is a map of Chicago, with high poverty areas shaded grey. These are the areas where mentor-rich programs are most needed BECAUSE of how they can expand social capital and aspirations and open doors to opportunity.  

What makes my work unique is that I don't just point to the research.  I maintain a list of Chicago volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs and look for ways to draw volunteers AND donors DIRECTLY to each program, throughout the year.   My long-term goal has been that a program website serves as the "grant proposal" and donors use that, plus the information I share about long-term mentoring, and the need for such programs in high poverty areas, to make funding decisions.

In this article you can find my list of programs and see how I plot them on a map. This helps people find existing programs and hopefully is used by planners to determine where more are needed.

Below I've created another version, highlighting one stage on my career ladder.

Kids grow one year at a time. Support  needed for many years.

It's great to be able to provide a youth tutoring and/or mentoring activity that lasts for one, or two years, but it takes 12 years to move from first grade through high school and four to six more years beyond that to be starting a job and career. Expanding the "who you know" network is critically important for kids living in areas of segregated, concentrated poverty where "who they know" is not as extensive as it is for kids living in more affluent areas.

The challenge Chicago and other places face is building and sustaining k-12 support programs in every high poverty neighborhood.  I've written about this often since starting my blog.  

View in this article

I've been writing articles and sharing graphics like this for nearly 20 years, but as just one voice, I don't have enough impact to influence the massive changes that are needed in how such programs are organized, designed and supported.

Below is another graphic that I use to emphasize the need for continuous flows of flexible operating dollars to youth programs in every high poverty neighborhood.

View in this article

The benefit of long-term support of mentor-rich programs as a form of social capital was reinforced in this 2023 article which points to a report from MENTOR, titled "Opportunities to Invest in Long-Term Social Capital for Our Youth: A Philanthropic Agenda".    

View this group of articles and find more research that donors can use to support funding decisions.

Here's an article about philanthropy that I wrote about in 2018 after it was published by Open Impact. It's titled, "The New Normal: Capacity Building During a Time of Disruption"

I read the article and saw many ideas which I've been trying to implement via the Tutor/Mentor Connection/Institute, LLC since 1993. So I decided to put it on Hypothes.is and re-read it, highlighting relevant parts, and writing comments in the margin that show my own efforts.

In the paper's introduction the writers say "we hope this paper will spark and important conversation". I agree. 

In my comments I suggest that philanthropy would dramatically change if donors were shoppers and if non-profits and social change organizations would put enough information on their web sites for donors, volunteers and clients to make better choices of who they support, and in what ways.  I also emphasize the use of maps to support a better distribution of resources to all high poverty areas of the Chicago region and other places where help is most needed.

Read about Annotation

Thus, I invite you to read "The New Normal: Capacity Building During a Time of Disruption" with three purposes:

1) build a deeper understanding of what I've been trying to do, and to find reasons to support my efforts and help carry them into the future;

2) build a deeper understanding of the challenges facing all social benefit organizations, in the US and the world, and a commitment to draw others into this conversation; and

3) see how on-line annotation works and build a commitment to launch other articles and invite more readers and learners to join in.

I look forward to meeting you in the margins.

So far no one has joined me in reading the New Normal article.   Maybe that's because so few people actually see my articles.

I post on Facebook, Twitter, BlueSky, Mastodon and LinkedIN and occasionally on Instagram. I also have graphics on Pinterest.com.  If you do a Google search for "tutor mentor" my web sites will be on the first page (after paid advertising). Thus, if people are looking, they can find me.

If you're connected to any youth-serving programs in any way (student, alum, volunteer, board member, staff, donor) you can help them attract support by sharing what the organization is doing and making an effort to raise the organization's profile.

You can even write articles like mine.

Thanks for reading!  Enjoy your weekend.

A way forward for philanthropy. A path out of darkness.

My main website is still not working so I'll use my articles to point to the type of links I include in the library.

Here's an article titled, "Funders, here's the blueprint for saving democracy".    It's written by Vu Le, who I've followed for several years.  I urge you to read it.  

I've used the term "blueprint" in many articles, to show a range of actions that donors, leaders, policy-makers, etc. need to be taking to help make sure well-organized, long-term, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs are available in EVERY high poverty area of Chicago and other places with concentrations of persistent poverty.

I've also used visualizations to communicate ideas, like this one, which I used this in 2021 in an article where I first quoted Vu Le.  

Again, I urge you to read Vu Le's current article.  

You want a plan to save democracy? He says we already have many blueprints, but donors don't use them.  In his current article he says,  "You want a plan to stop fascism? Here it is, broken down into two parts:"

He starts out with "First, stop the bleeding" and list 8 steps that donors should take.  

I love the first step, which I show below:

"Change your founding charters so you can give out more money and fund differently and more effectively, such as funding progressive individuals, movements, mutual aid, LLCs, religious orgs, 501c4s, PACs, and so on. Stop letting policies written during different times and by people who are less likely to suffer under this regime dictate your actions in the present moment."

I've operated as an LLC since 2011 and if donors had been following this thinking since then all of the content that we created through the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) in the 2000s would still be working, with many upgrades that would draw youth programs together and draw volunteers and donors more consistently to every youth tutor/mentor program operating in defined geographic areas.

His second set of strategies come under the heading of "Fight Fire with Fire".

He wrote, "Gather your team and read Sally Covington’s report that spelled out all the strategies conservatives have been using for decades that liberal-leaning funders have largely avoided, which has contributed greatly to the situation we find ourselves in today. (This report is so vital, I’ve created a link you can easily remember: tinyurl.com/rightwingfunding)

It’s time we use conservatives’ strategies, which focuses on FIVE KEY AREAS, which I summarize here but overlay a progressive lens. These strategies need to be funded through Multi-Year General Operating Dollars (MYGOD), for 20 or 30 years at a time, which is what the right has done, which is why they’ve been so effective."

When Vu Le says "Gather your team" I think of the graphic below. Share Vu Le's article, and mine, and start discussions with friends, family, co-workers, etc. and figure ways to adopt the blueprint he's shared.

While I focus on  helping mentor-rich youth-serving organizations grow, which help kids through school and into adult lives, the graphic below shows many other issues that also need long-term, flexible funding.

A similar concept map could be created to show all of the issues we need to address to not only save Democracy, but to move closer to the ideals expressed in the forming of America, which have made this a land of hope, and opportunity, for immigrants of all backgrounds, since the day the first European set foot on these shores.   

Such a strategy would also address the challenges facing the people who occupied the North American continent before the arrival of Europeans.

I have used cMapTools since 2005 to create concept maps like the one shown above (click here).  Since my website is not opening, I can't point you to the page with my entire collection.  However, I invite you to skim these articles and open the maps I've been sharing.

Furthermore, I encourage you to skim the collection of articles I've written about philanthropy (click here).

Then, read these "tipping point" articles. 

And, read my "blueprint" articles.

In many you'll see that I believe this information needs to be aggregated, and taught from universities and high schools as kids move from first grade through school and through their adult lives.  It needs to be part of on-going learning, just as conservative radio and TV had been embedded for the past 60+ years in an on-going public education and influence program.

Donors need to fund this, too.

Thank you Vu Le for your articles.  If people share these in their networks that's the first step toward making them a reality.

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website down for repair

I'm sorry to report that my main website, at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net, is not working today.  I'm in the middle of updating to a new cPanel and am stuck because I'm still using the original Joomla from 2007-8 when the website was rebuilt.  The original was built in 1999.

This means all the links in this blog, that point to my library, and lists of programs will not work.  

Links to my concept maps, like the one below, do work, although links within the concept maps, to my website, will not work.

Links to PDF visual essays, such as you see in these articles, will still work.   

Sadly, I'm not a web developer and have always depended on others for website work. Right now I don't have money to hire anyone for major work, but will be looking at a site like Fiver, for a project-based tech support. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Using Research in Planning, Problem-Solving

Last week A Better Chicago released a new report titled "State of Chicago Youth, 2025". I wrote about it in this article. 

I’ve been collecting similar information for over 30 years, showing where people need extra help, why, and what type of help could be offered to youth via organized, on-going, volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs.

And, I’ve been pointing to that research in articles on this blog. I’m sharing a few below. I hope you’ll open the links and take a look, then share the ideas through your own blogs, videos, etc.

Here’s an article where I use maps to show where people need extra help.

It’s one of dozens where I show the four-part, information-based problem-solving strategy that I’ve piloted since forming the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993, and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011. It’s one where I point to a section of my library with hundreds of links to articles and research about poverty, racism, inequality and social justice. And, it’s one where I encourage others to share this information in their network, so more people find it and use it.

When I formed the Tutor/Mentor Connection the goal was to help every existing tutor/mentor program in the Chicago region get the operating resources, volunteers and ideas each program needs to grow. Here’s one of many articles that focus on the challenges of finding on-going funding for mentor-based programs.

My leadership of a single volunteer-based tutor/mentor program from 1975 to 1992 and a second program starting in 1993, along with my career in retail advertising with the Montgomery Ward corporation, provided the foundation ideas for the Tutor/Mentor Connection.

These experiences led me to understand that organized volunteer-based programs were a way to connect kids in high poverty areas to people, experiences and opportunities that were not readily available in their own family/neighborhoods, due to extreme poverty. Over time, I began to understand this as a form of ‘bridging social capital’ and visualized it in graphics like the one shown below.

Here’s one of many articles where I write about mentoring as a form of social capital.

In my work at Montgomery Ward’s corporate headquarters, from 1973 to 1990, I learned how my department, and other functional teams, supported more than 400 retail stores spread in 40 states. We helped each store be good at attracting customers, selling merchandise and earning a profit. (at least we tried)

Thus, when we formed the Tutor/Mentor Connection plan in 1993 our initial strategy was to learn what programs existed in Chicago, then to build a public awareness strategy that would attract more attention, volunteers and donors to each program, and to every high poverty neighborhood.

This article shows how we began publishing a Directory of programs in 1994 and how this information was used to support programs.

In this article I describe an on-going information-based planning process, that uses information like I’ve been collecting.

This could be led from institutions who have deep roots in geographic areas, like hospitals, universities, businesses, etc.

To do this research, someone needs to host a library like mine, with lists and directories of youth serving programs, then use that information in an on-going planning, program development and public education and resource generation strategy.

This is a missing step in most of the research I’ve seen for over 25 years. Researchers get the money to do the research and produce a report, with a big event that shares it with the public, but then don't have the money to continue to share that research and draw people together to use it over the following years.  What I do is aggregate links to that research and try to motivate people to use it to support youth tutor/mentor and learning programs in every high poverty area of cities like Chicago.

Over the past 30 years I've piloted actions that I share on my website and that anyone can borrow and apply in their own geographic area.

While I do find a few who host lists of youth serving programs, and even plot the list on interactive maps, I don’t find any with multi-year public awareness efforts aimed at drawing volunteers and donors to every youth-serving program within their city.  If you know of any who do this, please share the link and I'll add them to my library.

Furthermore, I don’t find any doing the deeper research asking “what youth programs exist in your area”.

Doing such research and maintaining a list of programs is a big job, especially in cities as large as Chicago. That’s why, for many years, I’ve tried to motivate universities to build a Tutor/Mentor Connection-based strategy on their campus. This is one of several articles where I share this invitation. 

Forming a College-Based Tutor/Mentor Connection by Daniel F. Bassill

Here’s an article where I show 30 years of effort to build strategic alliances with universities. You can see a wide range of interactions with many universities, but no long-term initiative led by, and funded by, any university.

Why wasn’t I successful? Money. Reputation. Clout.

I never had much of any of these so when I met with someone at a university, I’d receive polite nods, with a “I’m already over extended. Find a younger professor.”

 The answer: ultra wealthy donors

Here's one of several articles where I show the potential of strategic investment by one or more wealthy donors.  Here's another. 

How might we find such donors? 

They are all around us. Do you watch NFL football games? How often do you hear players praised for their philanthropic work? I posted this on Twitter in 2024 sharing the idea from this post.

What if a university aggregated this information and then used it to recruit a group of athletes who support the same cause, to support a Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy at the university that was building the database of athlete involvement?

What if? What if? What if?

What if you share this article in your networks? Maybe someone will read it and adopt the idea and actually take the next steps.

That’s why I write these articles.

If you're connected to a university, or looking to put your name on a building at your alma mater, I hope you'll make this your mission.

Thanks for reading.  There's a lot here, so bookmark the page and return often.  Then, look me up on LinkedIn, BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and let's connect.  If you're writing similar articles, which I hope you will, please share them.

Finally, if you're able, please visit this page and make a contribution to help fund my work. 

State of Chicago Youth - 2025 - Poverty Persists

This week A Better Chicago released a new report titled "State of Chicago Youth, 2025".  I show the cover page and a summary page below.

The report shows that "Too many youth -- especially in communities on the South and West sides of the city -- experience high rates of poverty, violence, unemployment, and homelessness. These long-standing inequities are reflected in every aspect of achievement and well-being including kindergarten readiness, grade-level proficiency in reading and math, high school graduation, college enrollment, and, ultimately, career success."

The report provides a lot of data and statistics, but it's not too long. Spend an hour reading it. Find the PDF on this page.

The report shows that "Of the 2.7 million people who live in Chicago, roughly 793,000 - 29% of the total population -- are under the age of 25, which is how "youth" is defined for purpose of this report.  Of this, 19.8% are under 18, and 5.6% are under the age of five."

Furthermore, "One in four Chicago youth (age 0-18) live in poverty and for Chicago's  youngest residents (age 0-5), that figure is as high as 90% in some neighborhoods."

The report uses a lot of percentages, but by my math that means about 187,900 kids, age -18 live in poverty areas of Chicago.

Compare that to the front page of this 1994 Chicago Tribune.

This shows the same areas of the West and South sides of Chicago as places with "240,000 kids in poverty's grip".  I don't think the lower number in 2025 reflects improvement as much as it reflects migration from the city to the suburbs and other places.  

In the summary page above the left panel shows that "Chicago is among the major cities that continues to experience uneven investment and development across neighborhoods, resulting in inadequate access to essential services, and disparities in economic, education and health outcomes. The data in this report reveals how these historic patterns continue to have a disproportionate negative impact on communities of color.  Understanding these persistent challenges is crucial for developing solutions that create equitable opportunities for all Chicagoans."

Understanding these persistent challenges has been the goal of the Tutor/Mentor Connection since it was created in 1993, and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, since it was created in 2011.

And, motivating people to use that understanding to innovate strategies that build needed youth tutor, mentor and learning programs that help kids in high poverty areas move from birth to work.

Articles on this blog, and in the Tutor/Mentor library, are intended to help in this process. 

For instance, here's a graphic that I included in an April 2015 article that I titled, "After the March, do the planning".  (see more on that at the bottom of this article). 

The article includes this August 1993 Chicago SunTimes story, which leads off with a statement saying,  "Chicago neighborhoods that were poor 20 years ago are even more entrenched in poverty today because the city lacks a comprehensive battle plan".

This article concludes "While Chicago has “had all these sincere people making good efforts, one group working on poverty, one on education reform, one on community policing, these problems are too interwoven and too immense. The city needs all anti-poverty efforts “at the same table”.

"So many years. So few changes."  That was the title of this 2024 article.  It included the concept map shown below.

I'd love to find maps like this on the website of A Better Chicago and the dozens of other leadership organizations and foundations who focus on poverty and inequality, or workforce development and education, with explanations like I provide in my articles.

In fact, if you read to the bottom of many of my articles I'm encouraging people to create their own versions, using my history to stimulate their own thinking and actions.  There are more than 2000 articles on this blog to draw from and much more on the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website.

I posted a note on LinkedIn telling A Better Chicago that I was sharing their report and that I hoped many others would do the same.  

Why? Because building and sustaining public will has always been the missing piece in this strategy. That's what I've focused on.  And, it needs the involvement of many leaders sharing this message, in many ways, for many years. My 30 years of articles should be mirrored by thousands of similar articles.

This article describes the public awareness/education strategy that we launched in 1993 as part of the Tutor/Mentor Connection's strategy.  It includes the graphics shown below.

In the research section of the Tutor/Mentor Library, and in other sections, are countless reports similar to the one released this week by A Better Chicago.  While many were released to wide audiences with much media coverage, few have had an on-going public education campaign intended to influence actions of people who need to be strategically involved in providing the time, talent and resources needed to create greater hope and opportunity for people in every high poverty area of Chicago and other places with persistent poverty.

So how do we change this.  Not easy.  But, I've another graphic for you to consider. 

This article describes a role that universities, even middle schools and high schools, need to take. 

At the top of this graphic is the question. What can universities do differently, that might be a tipping point in terms of making well organized programs available in more places, for more years, reaching more youth, and helping them through school?

I answer by saying "build a pipeline of leaders, who work in these programs, and who work to provide the talent and resources needed by each program on an on-going basis".

I've been reading stories of billionaires giving vast sums of money to support charitable causes.  Why can't one provide the money for a few universities to invest in this "tipping point" strategy?  

At the left is a photo of me giving a speech, with the Chicago Tribune map in the background.  This is from the mid 1990s!

Obviously, too few people have heard this message, or we'd find websites in every major city wish maps and graphics and blog articles similar to what I've been sharing, with the same long-term purpose.

This week's report on the "State of Chicago  Youth 2025" from A Better Chicago is a new reminder of the work that needs to be done.  I hope you'll read the report, then dive into my articles and website.  

Maybe in 10 or 20 years a similar result will show more positive news.

While I write this, I realize there is an even bigger issue to address. People all over the country are taking part in protest marches today to try to stop "Trump and Musk's illegal billionaire power grab".  If that does not happen any progress toward the goals I've outlined above will be severely limited. 

Here's a site where you can learn more about getting involved.  Here's a section in the Tutor/Mentor library with political action resource links. Use the library to support your planning!

Thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing your posts and photos if you're protesting today, and your blog articles if you're sharing what I'm writing and the research by A Better Chicago.