Give Gold Medals for Ending Poverty

The 2024 Olympic Games have started in Paris, France.  My Chicago Bears will be playing on Thursday in the Hall of Fame NFL football game, kicking off a new season of  hope for me and fans across the nation. These events prompt today's post.

Since Gold Medals are being awarded for outstanding individual and team efforts I want to inspire you to read articles I've posted since the mid 2000s about giving "Gold Medals" to those who do outstanding work to help mentor-rich non-school programs be available to K-12 youth living in  high poverty areas. 

That award could have categories for a) building public awareness; b) recruiting volunteers; c) raising and/or giving money; d) supporting program infrastructure; e) starting new programs in places where more are needed, or where specific types of programs are needed.  

These are medals that can be earned by people who "help" tutor/mentor programs thrive and constantly improve. A second category could be awarded to those working within individual programs, such as a) outstanding student effort; b) outstanding tutor/mentor volunteer; c) outstanding tech support or infrastructure volunteers, d) outstanding program design; e) outstanding communications via website and/or blog;  etc.  

What categories would you recommend?  Who would judge such events?  Who would provide awards?

When you think of team sports, do you think of all the resources and talent needed to put a winning team in the Olympics, or in the NFL or any other professional or college level sport?

I've used this graphic in many articles to visualize the different roles that need to be taken to make high quality, non-school, youth tutor and/or mentor programs available to youth living in high poverty areas.  

While it's the responsibility of the people who organize the team (or the program) to find all of  these resources, couldn't awards be given to those who help draw these resources to one, or many, tutor/mentor programs in Chicago or other places?

Below are four graphics that visualize the need for "teams" of talented people to help youth have the support they need. 

The graphic below shows that such teams are needed in every high poverty neighborhood, in every individual program, and at the city-wide level, to assure that there are teams operating in every high poverty area. Here's one article using this graphic. 

The "Virtual Corporate Office" graphic shown below uses a map of Chicago to signal a need for tutor/mentor programs in EVERY high poverty area of the city.  It shows a variety of activities that could be happening within each program.  And it shows support that industries could provide to help one, or many, programs operate at a high level of efficiency.  Here's one article using this graphic.

Imagine how many more people might be thinking about these graphics if they were being promoted on social media by star athletes, in every sport, or celebrities like Beyonce or Taylor Swift.  Imagine an award ceremony, attended by the First Lady, or First Gentleman, giving gold medal recognition to those who help tutor/mentor programs help kids move through school and into adult lives, jobs and careers.

If celebrities, and every-day people, make an on-going effort, every week, for many years, to draw attention and support to libraries where they can learn about ways to help youth and youth serving programs, the attention and resources flowing to these programs will grow, helping them keep people in place longer, and build greater knowledge and capacity to help youth through school and into adult lives.  

That idea is visualized in the graphic below, used in this article.

Many awards are given for doing good work. I wrote this article in February 2024 about the NFL Honors Awards.  I wonder if anyone has a library that just lists all the different awards that are given to people who do "good things".  

If such a list existed, we could compare the award criteria to those I suggested above.  Do they make a long-term impact, or are they random acts of kindness?  

When I say, "long-term" I'm thinking of programs that connect with youth when in elementary or middle school, then stay connected through high school graduation, or longer. See this graphic in this article.

To help kids through school, these awards need to be given every year, in every city for many years, if the goal is to help end poverty for every youth through education and a decent job.  

Awards should even be given to bloggers who create their own articles calling for people to build and sustain youth serving organizations in more places. 

Maybe someone could give medals to youth who create and share new versions of these graphics. I outlined this idea many years ago on this page, but never found someone to make it a reality.  Could that be you? 

If you're doing this I'd love to see your article.  Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and/or LinkedIn. See my links on this page. 

If you value what I'm sharing, please consider making a contribution to help me pay my bills.  Visit this page. 

Borrow from planning strategies I've shared for over 25 years

During the late 1990s I participated in many on-line discussions.  I printed copies of many messages that I posted and I've been digitizing these recently.  Yesterday I found a June 19, 1999 post made in response to a request for help from an educator in St. Paul, Minnesota.

She wrote "We are struggling with how to implement something in the wake of Littleton. We have no money and right now little direction.  How did you get started?"

Below I've posted JPGs showing my response. You can open the PDF and enlarge it to read it more easily.

I began by writing, "I've been listening to this conversation and have not entered because "venting" is not as productive as "building" solutions.  Michael (and others) asked for suggestions of what we could be doing.  Here's what myself and a few volunteers have been building for the past six years in response to these issues.  I invite any of you to borrow from these ideas, or join in."

I described the Cabrini Connections program that we created in late 1992 to help 7th and 8th graders connect with volunteers who would help them through school.  Then I wrote, "However, it's not that which I'm offering as a plan (although I welcome anyone who wants to borrow from what we do with these kids)."

I continued, "We recognized when we formed Cabrini Connections in 1992 that there are nearly 200,000 youth in Chicago alone who could be described as "at-risk" because of poverty, segregation, lack of jobs and poor schools.  We realized that the Mayor, the media and the leaders of the school system would never give day-to-day commitment to building quality afterschool/nonschool tutor/mentor programs with adult mentors serving as friends, coaches, counselors, career advocates and leaders.  These folks just had more pressing issues than this single issue.

So we formed what we call the Tutor/Mentor Connection, with a simple goal of reaching out to our peers with a "what can we do to help you succeed?" message.

Enlarge the JPGs to read more, or open the PDF. 

In the concluding paragraphs, I wrote:

Think of the potential.

"What this means is that anyone in this list could use the events we have in place in Chicago, duplicate them in their own cities, and lead a campaign which motivates people to be involved, motivates their peers to become leaders, and build resources for the movement. Each event builds to the next event and each year builds greater awareness of the movement, the programs in the movement and the leaders who champion the message.

This is not "venting".  This is an action plan started by individuals who said "the buck stops here" and each day for the past six years we've got up in the morning and said, "what can we do today to move this forward".  We had no money when we started. We had no corporate or foundation support and no rich friends. We still have little money and we've no government funding.

If we could build this in Chicago, think what any of you could do in your own communities."

---- end1999 message ----

In the mid 2000s I created this graphic to show the quarterly events we had piloted and how year-to-year repetition and support from high profile leaders could lead to greater and greater support for volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs throughout the Chicago area.

Open this PDF to learn more about the year-round strategy.  Visit this page to learn more about events piloted by the Tutor/Mentor Connection in the 1990s. 

I've shared this message over-and-over for many years with people in almost every state and in other countries.  In this folder you can view contact history with a few people in other places.

However, I'm like a prophet in the desert saying "there's a better way".

I've had too few resources to share these ideas as widely and as effectively as they needed to be shared, or to do the follow-up work to know who has tried to implement the ideas.

However, based on what I do see on my social media platforms, and the continuing persistent poverty in many places throughout America, the type of campaign I've described still is not taking place in most cities and states.  

Think of the potential.

Assign someone to do the research, digging through my archives, to learn what I and others have tried to do, then build a network of people who will use those ideas to do better work over the next 10-20 years.  

If you're leading a campaign like I describe, or know of others who do, please share links in the comment box so others can learn from your efforts.

I'm on Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. Find links on this page.  Please connect with me. Share your strategies and share mine.  

If you're able to help me, visit this page and make a small contribution to Fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.  

Understanding complex problems using concept maps

For many years I've posted articles describing the information-based problem solving strategies that I've piloted since forming the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993, and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011. 

Since 2005 I've communicated my ideas using concept maps, created using free cMapTools.  Below is one of those. Open the map at this link. 

This map includes three elements.

1) The "mentoring kids to careers" graphic focuses on the 10-16 years of age-specific support needed to help kids living in high poverty areas move through school and into jobs and careers.

2) There's a small inset of a map of Chicago, with high poverty areas highlighted.  In my last article I focused on using maps to understand where help is needed and to guide distribution of resources to all of these places.

3) The right side of the concept map shows many of the challenges that kids, families and schools in high poverty areas face. Each of these needs to be understood, then addressed. 

What my maps do not have is a narration on the maps that explains what the viewer is looking at. That could be fixed with an audio narration, or perhaps by using a different tool than cMapTools.  Below I'm pointing to some options.  I've tried to explain some of the maps with articles like this one and, this one. 

In the lower left corner of the concept map shown above, I wrote, "This information focuses on challenges facing youth in the United states.  What would this map look like for youth in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Central and South America?  Create your own version!"

Someone did! But I don't think this was inspired by my work.

Yesterday, I found Pierce Gordon who has used a different visualization tool, called KUMU.io, to create a visualization that focuses on Systems Thinking and Youth Unemployment in Botswana, Africa.  The graphic below is from that presentation.

I was alerted to this through a post I saw on Twitter (X). 

We recently ran across a Kumu project by Pierce Gordon which looks at youth unemployment in Botswana from a systems lens.
He created a powerful presentation showcasing the forces at play, as well as providing a cool intro to #systemsthinking!#kumunity #youthunemployment #SADC pic.twitter.com/PC6sNCFKgy

— Kumu (@kumupowered) July 16, 2024

This Twitter (X) post includes a video that provides a quick overview of the analysis.  I encourage you to view it.

Then visit the KUMU page on LinkedIn where they announced the presentation and provided this link to the KUMU project shown in the video. 

Here's another systems map, shared with me by Pierce Gordon. It is an "interactive Youth Employment System Map. Designed in 2021. It is the first attempt to map the youth employment system in England. It provides a visual representation of the barriers and opportunities young people from marginalized backgrounds face as they seek good jobs."  Visit this page and then follow the link to the causal loop map. There are great explanations for how to use this, and why.  

Spend as much time as you can to look at these presentations, then connect with Pierce, or Kumu, or both and learn how you can make similar visualizations. 

Then, take a look at some of the past articles I've posted about mapping complexity.

This graphic by Christian Sarkar was included in my Nov. 17, 2022 post.

In this 2018 article my headline was "Wicked Problems. Getting "Everyone" in the Room. Who cares?   

When we started building our list of Tutor/Mentor programs  in 1993, we also began building a list of others who were already involved, or needed to be involved.  I can't tell you how many meetings I've been in when business, philanthropy, media, entertainment, sports and/or political leaders were not participating.  

Below is one of my concept maps that visualizes the talent and skills needed in a big, or small organization.

This concept map shows talent and skills. In the blue box at the top is a link to a similar map, that shows organizations.  If you don't have these skills in your tool box, or a representation from all of the stakeholders in the ecosystem, you'll have a tough time getting anything done, let alone changing complex systems.

Back in 1973 when I began volunteering as a tutor at the Montgomery Ward headquarters in Chicago, I realized I knew little of "being a tutor" so I started searching beyond my own program's training materials for other people who I could learn from.  As I did this, I began collecting names and addresses. When I became a program leader in 1975 I expanded this search, reaching throughout Chicago and the country to find people involved with volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs.

When an executive a Wards said in 1976 "Dan, you don't know much about leading a tutor/mentor programs. Why don't you invite other programs to lunch and see what you can learn."   I did. They came. We all shared and learned.  

I kept doing that for the next 46 years.  I found out that by keeping a list, I was the only one who could effectively "invite" people to gather, or could "knowledgably" speak about the availability of organized tutor/mentor programs in Chicago.  

Building and maintaining a list is a huge, on-going challenge.  That's another story. 

But why do this?

At the top of the graphic at the right I show outcomes that "we all want" for kids.  At the bottom I show the need for an information base which should include "who is involved, and who needs to be involved". View this graphic in this article. 

The Botswana article and the Youth Employment in England map both focus on "System Thinking".  This is what I hope you'll focus on.  

In the past, I've posted many articles focused on Systems Thinking. Here's one.  I've also pointed to KUMU.io in several articles. 

Another concept mapping tool that I've written about is NodeXL.  I point to it in this article, titled, "Building Networks - Understanding Who is Involved."

In my past articles you'll see how I've been influenced by the work of Gene Bellinger, who I met on LinkedIn many years ago.  He posted this article yesterday, showing a causal loop diagram created using a tool, called "the brain". The question this addresses is "If the current societal tendency is toward collapse or dystopia what might a third attractor look like?"  

I've recognized the potential value of Kumu, and these other tools, but because all of my concept maps were made using cMap Tools, I have not been willing to recreate them using any of them.  But, as I wrote above, I've invited others to take on that task.

Visualizations like the those I've shown in this post should be available in every metropolitan area in the world, as well as other geographies.  They address the "what do we know and what do we need to know" questions as well as "who is involved".  That should lead to, "who is missing, and how do we get them involved."

They should also focus on on-going actions that repeat over many years, and in many places. If you view my 4-part strategy map you'll see that all the information I point to in this article is just part of Step 1.  Step 2 and 3 focus on getting more and more people to look at this information and understand it.  Step 4 focuses on how people use this information in many places to help kids move through school and into jobs and careers.

There is a lot of information in this article, on my blog, and in the websites I point to.   It's too much for casual learning.  But if cities and countries are going to invest millions, or billions, of dollars in solving the complex problems we face, I feel they should invest a small percent in building an information base.

Looking at what I'm sharing should be part of their research.  Appoint someone from your team to follow these posts on LinkedIn and learn how concept maps and causal loop diagrams can support your planning and problem solving. 

One final thought. While the visualizations I'm point you to are fantastic, there needs to be a long-term, on-going effort, to share these and engage the public in using the information to help people in places where the maps show help is needed. I've been doing that on this blog since 2005.

If you've been doing work like this already, connect with me on social media (see where you can find me) and share what you're doing. 

If you value the information I'm sharing please visit this page and make a contribution to help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. 

7-19-2024 update - here's another KUMU visualization, titled "Aotearoa Futures Network Map" which explores the futures ecosystem in New Zealand.  click here

8-16-2024 update - here's a post on LinkedIn by KUMU, showing work done in Hawaii in 2022 and 2023 to create an Early Childhood Action Strategy.  Follow the links in the article to the project pages and KUMU visualizations. 

10-21-2024 update -  here's a post by Gene Bellinger where he talks about how he began creating systems thinking models.  His work has influenced my thinking since we met on-line more than 13 years ago.

11-18-2024 update - "Unlocking the Power of Systems Thinking. A Practical Guide to Systems Mapping" - article from the Kumu blog.

Build information base to support anti-violence efforts

 I saw an announcement that Chicago business leaders were pledging $100 million to support anti-violence efforts in Chicago.  Gee. When have I heard that before.  

Let's see. Here's a 2013 article talking about a $50 million business commitment.  How'd that go? 

Of course, I've been pointing to this October 1992 Chicago SunTimes article for over 30 years. 

What's not happening? 

First, there's no comprehensive strategy, and nothing has lasted for 10-20 consecutive years.

What should be in a comprehensive strategy?

First.  Maps.  Maps can show where poverty is most concentrated in a geographic region like Chicago. They can show other indicators, such as poorly performing schools, violence, health disparities, etc.

This concept map points to many data platforms leaders can use to build their own map stories and map-based strategies.  I've posted more than 280 articles on this blog demonstrating ways maps can be used.  I've posted many more on the MappingforJustice blog. 

Second. Understand the different needs of kids living in areas of high poverty vs living in other areas. Then inventory existing youth serving programs to understand what programs are serving which kids.

View the graphic shown above in this article.  It's one of several articles in this group, that focus on designing youth programs based on the needs of the youth being served.  View this article to learn of the Tutor/Mentor Connection's 1992-2010 efforts to collect, map and share this information.

Then, look at articles like these, asking "How Many Youth Programs are Needed?"

Concept maps can also serve as blueprints, showing what's needed at each age level. Use this map as a starting point, then create your own version.

Understand what other programs and leaders are already doing, in Chicago, and around the world.
Open the Tutor/Mentor Library and look through the different categories and sub-categories.  There are more than 2000 links to other people's ideas that you can borrow for your own planning.  Don't reinvent the wheel if you can avoid it.  Don't start something new if there's already a project in place that you can support.  

Third. Use this information in an on-going planning process.

This concept map shows the planning cycle. 

This concept map shows planning needed, that fills areas of the map with a full range of programs helping kids through school and into adult lives, and keeps those programs fully funded for 10-20 years.

Before you do any of this, view this "Role of Leaders" visual essay, which I created in the late 1990s.  Look at "Step 2" on Page 10, where it says "Appoint a "get it done" leader.  and "Step 3" on page 11, where it says, "Do your homework."   Then, look at "Step 7" that focuses on CEO commitment to  year-to-year growth and process improvement.  

Role of Business Leaders - Helping Kids From Poverty Areas Move to Careers from Daniel Bassill

I share 30 years of thinking on this blog and on the www.tutormentorexchange.net website that leaders can use to build a comprehensive, long-term plan that actually reduces violence because it reduces the root causes, reaches kids and families in every high poverty area, and reaches the larger community to build and sustain the commitment, and financing, needed.

I've been spreading this message for over 30 years.  But, too few have ever heard what I've been sharing because I had too few resources to tell the story with reach and frequency.

That's still the case. But now, anyone who reads any of my articles can share them with their network, create their own versions, and build the awareness and commitment needed for building and sustaining strategic, long-term plans.

I'm on Twitter (X), Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Mastodon, Bluesky and other places. You can find links on this page.  Please connect with me. Share your own vision and strategies.

I'm also dependent on a small group of  donors to help keep this information available.  Visit this page and send a contribution if you'd like to help me. 

The Internet: A Force for Change

As I've digitized my files from the 1990s I've found many letters and messages posted to Internet conversations where I've shared many of the same ideas that I'm still sharing in 2024.  I feel that some of these are worth reposting, since so few people actually saw them in the 1990s. 

-- here's something I wrote in 1998 ---- 

"The Internet can be a powerful force for change, if we use it."   I wrote this on December 7, 1998, as a comment to a discussion on the "High School Reform Discussion Group".

First it allows us to "vent", but in doing so, it allows us to find folks from around the world with common concerns and interests.

It is what we do (or not do) with this which will determine the look of the future. I happen to believe we can do much more today to change the status quo, using technology, than we ever could have just a few years ago.

In my case, I look at school reform and school-to-work from a distribution and quality improvement point of view.  I've built a data base of nearly 10,000 people who have demonstrated some interest in helping kid during the non-school hours (and without schools, if necessary) and have begun to connect them with each other, using newsletters, conferences, and a website.

While I inject my own views, using charts and maps showing where poverty is concentrated in Chicago, and where afterschool programs are most needed, I also post websites and profiles of others who may have their own methods of helping kids.  The combined weight of this information provides choices for individual program leaders/collaborations to use in building and constantly improving their own location.

However, I don't stop with just sharing information.  I've identified common needs of programs serving kids in the non school hours (such as for volunteers, training, ideas, equipment, public visibility and operating dollars) and have formed events and partnerships to generate those resources, not just for my own program, but for every other program in the city.

At this point it is like trying to open a hole in the Hoover Dam of resources, using a toothpick. Slow going, to say the least.  But a trickle can lead to a flood, and we have made some tremendous headway.  For instance, the Chicago Bar Foundation has established a foundation which raises money for general operations of one-on-one tutor/mentor programs.  As long as we (I'm part of the Advisory Council) raise more money each year, we've pledged to giving programs on-going money...as long as they keep demonstrating constant improvement (in their own definition of improvement).

We've also developed an annual volunteer recruitment campaign timed for when kids are going back to school and when every tutor/mentor program is looking for volunteers.  This fall more than 80 different agencies in Chicago, Evanston,  Peoria and Quincy, Illinois all were recruiting on the same weekend at 20 different volunteer fair sites.

At the same time, we've generated a stack of newspaper stories on the needs of tutor/mentor programs that is now about 1.5 inches thick. Not bad since this is the third largest population center in the US.

All this is intended to draw direct resources to afterschool programs that already are operating, and focus on neighborhoods where there are voids, and where a church, a company, a health center or a library could host a new program to fill the void.  It's also intended to focus on the 20-year process of moving a child from first grade to a first job, with all of the many forms of learning a child needs to be exposed to during each of those years, and all of the different adults who need to be there along the way to help each child along.

As more and more people, businesses, donors and educators become more committed to the total process and an end result of a child in work and constantly growing, we'll come closer to the vision ... because we'll have more partners and resources helping it happen.

We started my organization with no money and seven volunteers just six years ago. Our first conference was in May of 1994 and was attended by only 70 people. Our 10th conference was in November 1998 and was attended by 265 people.

Think what could happen if everyone on this list began to think in terms of "what do we need to do to make this happen" as they share what they think it should look like.

---- end 1998 article ----

Over the past few months I've been sharing archives of work I was doing in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s to support the growth of volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs that reach kids in every high poverty area of Chicago and other places.

One collection of records consists of copies of email conversations and posts from Internet list serves which were active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  Note above where I highlighted that I've "built a data base of nearly 10,000 people".  This grew to nearly 14,000 people by 2003. These were people who I connected with in Internet conversations or who responded to newsletters and media stories, with requests to be "added to the mailing list" or "receive a Directory" or "get more information about the next conference".  

Once I've digitized all of these files you'll be able to view them and see the wide range of people that I was connecting with in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Unfortunately the fund raising challenges of the early 2000s caused me to stop sending the  printed newsletters.  The last issue was this one from Spring 2004.  (open PDF here)

Prior to that I was only able to send the newsletter twice in 2001 and once in 2002.  We moved to an email newsletter, but only a small portion of the people on the database ended up on the email list.  

So these contacts have been lost.  At least until I find them, or they find me, and we re-connect on the Internet!  

What I wrote in 1998 is a vision that I still maintain in 2024.  There are thousands of people who could be connected to on-line libraries, and each other, and using this information to solve some of the complex problems facing the US and the world.

Watch for more posts like this in coming months as I share what I was writing in the 1990s and who I was connecting with.  The "we can do more if we're connected" is still true, but in a fragmented media and Internet world, it's still "like trying to open a hole in the Hoover Dam of resources, using a toothpick".

Let's connect.  Find me on social media.  See the links on this page.   Or, subscribe to my monthly email newsletter. 

And, if you're able, send a small contribution to help me keep doing this work.  Visit this page. 

What will July 04, 2025 look like?

In two days American's will celebrate the July 4th holiday. But with great fear among many of us, that this will be the last celebration of a democratic America.

November's elections will determine our future.  

I've been posting articles around July 4th for many years.  Below is what I posted in 2022, with a few updates.

Today millions of Americans are celebrating the founding of this country, while millions also are wondering when freedom and full rights of this country are available to them. Even more are fearing that freedoms that have been gained are now being taken away.

Many are sharing the quote from Benjamin Franklin, who said something like "It's a democracy, if you can keep it."

I'm often reminded of the image at the left. Is the person trying to stop a boulder from rolling downhill, to destroy everything below? Or is he trying to push it uphill, to achieve some lofty goal? 

Maybe both.  As you celebrate today, which role are you taking?

I've posted several "4th of July" articles in the past.

Below are a few concept maps that point to resources in my library that you and others can use to better understand the challenges we face and the opportunities that exist.

The many challenges we face: https://tinyurl.com/TMI-Potus46-to-do-list

Here's another view of challenges. http://tinyurl.com/TMI-civic-engagement

This concept map points to articles in the Tutor/Mentor library. https://tinyurl.com/Law-Justice-Poverty-Links

Since my focus for the past 30 years has been to help organized, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs grow in areas of persistent poverty, helping kids move from first grade through high school and into college and beyond, I've added another concept map from my collection.

This concept map shows challenges facing youth in high poverty areas as they move from birth to work. 



The challenges shown on this map are also shown on the  "POTUS TO-DO" list map shown above.

Getting people to vote has to be a priority over the next four months and next 40 years!  Look at the work Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is doing to unite poor and infrequent voters of every color, not just Black and Brown Americans.   

Let's mobilize our power! Today, we’re having a #MoralMarchOnWashington & then working to reach 15 million poor & infrequent voters who can, in fact, be a major swing vote that can transform the political landscape in this country. #PoorPeoplesCampaign https://t.co/t2KWlhH54g

— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) June 29, 2024

Look at the Twitter (X) feed for Dr. Barber, and see the ideas  he is sharing.  

As you gather with friends and family, or sit alone in your home, I urge you to take time bookmark these resources, then later take time to dig into the websites and articles I point to. Find ways you can help preserve and improve on what the founders created over 200 years ago.

Happy 4th of July.