After the Elections - Still Want to Make a Difference

The Editorial in today's Chicago SunTimes provides 5 ways people can vote with their time and their actions, to make a difference in Chicago. It's a good reminder that while we spend millions to elect a President and other public officials, it is the work of individuals, and groups, that will determine the quality of live in this country.

In past articles I've talked about failing education, and how to respond to acts of violence. In the SunTimes article the writer wrote "Nobody can clean up the big problems on the day in an instant -- the faltering economy, the war in Iraq, global warming."

I agree. And I thank the SunTimes for pointing to the Tutor/Mentor Connection web site as a resource for finding places in Chicago where you can be a tutor, or a donor, or where you can use your talent to help build a web site, or do the accounting, or help with fund raising.

But this is just the starting point. The Tutor/Mentor Connection web site is a resource library, where you can find articles about where tutor/mentor programs are most needed, why they are needed, and how you can help make them more effective. If we want to end poverty, or solve any other major issue, we need to build personal involvement, and build a learning process, so that as we continue our involvement, we understand the issues more, and we can be smarter about how we use our time, talent and dollars.

I outlined these steps here.

If you get involved in tutoring/mentoring, and use the T/MC site as a resource, and a place to share your ideas and experiences with others who are involved in different programs, even in different states, the collective experience of each of us will add up to an army of knowledge, and commitment, that will help any leader we elect to make a bigger difference in the future of our society.