A few months ago I started searching the internet for other tutor/mentor programs who were using blogs to tell their story, or using blogs to connect their readers with the Tutor/Mentor Connection. I've not found many tutor/mentor programs yet, but have connected with a few others who are helping me spread the word.
Neighbor Networking , Gift Hub and the Smart Communities wrote about the Tutor/Mentor Blog exchange in their blogs.
On April 17, the Chronicle of Philanthropy Give and Take Blog wrote about an article that we started on this blog.
As a result of this networking, Paul Perena did an interview for his Blau Exchange site.
We've started several blogs out of Cabrini Connections which you can see here, here and here.
Our interns and college volunteers have also created blogs, such as The Beginning: Blogging as a Volunteer and here.
This led me to be contacted by Vermont Mentoring, who launched their own blog just a few days ago. As a result, our own Cabrini Writing Club is reaching out through their own blog, to create an exchange between our Chicago program and other programs in other cities.
What's our goal? By connecting leaders, volunteers and donors who support volunteer based tutoring/mentoring, or education to careers and other programs that build connections with adults, and provide learning activities that stimulate creativity, problem solving and critical thinking skills, we build a network of people committed to a common purpose.
The first step in network building is always the hardest. That's finding all the people who you want to be connected with each other, and finding a way to communicate to them often enough that some begin to respond. This is not a short term process, and if no one maintains the data base, it's difficult for anyone to be reaching out to build this network.
The network of bloggers is growing. We hope it leads to more participation in the May and November conferences and that this leads to actions that help more and better programs be in place as we stat school again in August and September.
If you are telling your tutor/mentor, arts or technology story with a blog, I encourage you to join us and help us expand this network.
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