Saturday, February 09, 2019

Updating Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Directory - Sharing With Others

I started building a list of Chicago youth tutor and/or mentor programs in 1993 and published this in a printed directory every year from 1994 to 2002. It never was sent to more than 500 people, so its reach was limited. We never had much advertising money so create events to generate news stories and  draw attention to the list.

We put the list of programs on-line in 1998 and in a searchable directory in 2004, which enabled more people to find the information. However, I've not had funds to update that since 2011.

Thus, the list of programs on the Tutor/Mentor Connection site is the most updated list, with nearly 200 programs included.  To keep this current I need to open every link to make sure it's working, at least once ever spring.  I'm doing that now.

As I do this, I've been using my WindowsSnippingTool to pull an image from each program's web site, which I've then been sharing on Twitter. I've posted a few Tweets below.








If you visit my @tutormentorteam page on Twitter, you can scroll through Tweets I've posted and see these, and more.

Below is a Tweet where I point to the list of programs on my web site, and shows the number of "hits" each site has received. This shows that I'm helping connect potential volunteers, donors, youth, etc. with these programs. That's been my goal since starting the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993.

I need help doing this.  

Take a look at the graphic below, which I posted in this article, talking about billionaires adopting Chicago neighborhoods.


I don't have a sponsor/benefactor, or source of revenue to do what I've been doing.  I keep reading about wealthy people making major gifts to universities, in many cases without a specific goal. Thus, my first wish is that one of these people adopt the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC, and Tutor/Mentor Connection, and a) provide a  major gift to help re-build it's programs and technology; and/or b) provide a major gift to a university to bring the Tutor/Mentor Institute (and Dan Bassill) into a university as a program that engages students, faculty, alumni and community.

You can use this map a second way. I'm looking for teams of volunteers (could be a student group at an area high school), who will adopt sections of the city and suburbs, and help update my programs directory. That team would do exactly what I do. Open the links to make sure they work. Find new links to replace broken links. Let me know of programs no longer active, or new ones now in the neighborhood. Then share information about programs you're looking at, using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

If you're not in Chicago, think of creating a Tutor/Mentor Connection type structure to do what I've been doing to help fill high poverty areas with needed youth tutor, mentor and learning organizations. Invite me to help you. 

If you want to take that role reach out to me on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIN.

Finally, you can make a small contribution to help me cover  monthly expenses, which now average about $700.  Visit this page and use PayPal to send a contribution, or to mail a contribution. 

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Posted by Tutor Mentor Connections at 11:29 AM

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