I first connected with the organizers of this Summit ten years ago, during a Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference, held in Chicago. Nathan Harris and his wife Carrie, have been attending these conference almost every year since then
In 2004 we began meeting in Indianapolis, at IUPUI, with the goal of helping a Tutor/Mentor Connection grow in Indiana. That process has been slow, but one outcome was that IUPUI rebuilt the main Tutor/Mentor Connection web site in 2005 and still hosts it today.
The timing of the Summit is perfect. It not only brings people together to share ideas, but serves as a recruiting fair to help programs in Indianapolis recruit volunteers for the start of the 2010-11 school year.
The on-going idea sharing with IUPUI has helped the Tutor/Mentor Connection do things it could not do with its own limited resources. It's helping Indianapolis duplicate what we're doing in Chicago, without "reinventing the wheel".
Our hope is that businesses, universities, hospitals, faith groups, foundations, and non profits, will join together in these events, and in on-line forums, so we're all doing as much as we can each day to change the future for kids living in poverty.
We'd like to be working with business and non-profit groups, and university teams, in every city, the same way, and for the same purposes as we've been building our relationships in Indianapolis. If we can expand the number of connected cities and organizations, where each member is sharing ideas and resources, based on what we know, and what we have to offer, we can each be more successful of reaching kids with high quality, mentor-rich programs.
Join us if you're close to the Summit this Saturday. Or join us in the Tutor/Mentor Portal on the internet.
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