Use this map and list to find volunteer based tutor and mentor programs in Chicago

Since 1993 the Tutor/Mentor Connection has been maintaining a list of Chicago area non-school tutoring and/or mentoring organizations and sharing this information in an effort to help existing programs attract a more consistent flow of needed resources, while also helping leaders identify places where more programs are needed.  In 2011 the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC was created to continue this service.

You can find contact information for nearly 200 Chicago area youth serving programs by browsing the Chicago Program Links list. You can also use the map, shown below, to determine what groups operate in different parts of Chicago...or near where you live, work, or along the route you travel as you do to and from work every day.  The program links list is also organized by sections of the city and suburbs, for the same purpose.



This map can also be seen here.

If  you click on an icon you can find the organization's name and their web site. Copy and paste the web address into your browser and you can learn more about the program, depending on how well the web site communicates the program purpose, history and design. Below is a JPG showing what the map looks like when open opened.

Some of the locations on this map are headquarters sites of organizations that offer community based mentoring (mentors meet with kids at different places), or are organizations with many different sites where they offer services. Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago and Working in the Schools (WITS) are two who fit these descriptions. You'd need to go to their web sites to see their lists showing locations where they are active.

This information can also be a starting point for others to get to know these organizations better, to help each of them attract needed resources, and to help share ideas across different programs so all will improve.

This map replaces an interactive Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Locator developed by the Tutor/Mentor Connection between 2004 and 2009. Since 2013 I've not had funds or technology support to  update the site and in August 2018 the link to Google maps stopped working.

In this section and this section of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC Planning Wiki you can read the history, goals and current status, for building a map-based tutor/mentor program database.  Such a platform can be applied in any city to support the growth of needed services in all high poverty areas, thus volunteers, partners and financial support can come from any place to help this work become a reality.

Until I'm able to get the original program locator working properly again, you can still use the Chicago programs list and map shown above to seek out existing programs where you can offer your support or try to enroll a student.

I depend on contributions to maintain this list of programs, the Tutor/Mentor Connection web library, my blogs, etc.

Please make a contribution so I can keep this information freely available to all.  Visit this page to find an address and a PayPal button.

Tutor/Mentor Program Locator Not Working. Use This.

I'm sad to report that as of yesterday the interactive search page, and interactive map pages of the Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Locator, is no longer connecting to Google maps, and thus not working.

If you browse back through articles written on this blog since 2008, or on the Tutor/Mentor blog, you'll see many examples of how I've used the Program Locator to create map stories, and how I've tried to teach others to use this.

The Program Locator not working is part of a larger on-going problem that has grown since 2011. I don't have a source of funding or technology/coding support to update the sites and/or fix problems like this.   I keep looking for new partners and/or investors, in Chicago or in any other major city in the world, who might want to take part ownership of the work I've been doing, to apply the ideas to their own community.  If you know such people, please point them to this blog and to my profile on LinkedIn.

In the meantime you can still view locations of Chicago non-school,  youth serving organizations on a map, and browse my list of more than 200 Chicago area programs, by visiting this page.

You can also visit this concept map and find several sites that you can search for contact information about tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and other US cities.

I started using maps in 1993 and have always been dependent on volunteers who could had the skills to use GIS mapping technology and/or who could put our maps on interactive web sites. I've never had the funding needed to do all that I was trying to do, nor to consistently do any of this work. However, I keep sharing the vision for the Program Locator on several wiki pages.

Vision for use of Geographic Maps - click here
Program Locator Database - overview
Vision for a future program locator - click here

Elections coming - Vote for People Using Maps in their Leadership

Il 4th Congressional District

The Tutor/Mentor Connection started using maps in 1994 to help leaders understand where non-school, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs were most needed, and where existing programs were located.

This blog was created in 2008 to share maps that we were able to created between then and 2011.

 I've encouraged politicians to use maps since we launched this strategy.  Sadly, I've never seen this happen consistently.

Yesterday I had another opportunity, when I had a brief discussion with a leading candidate for the Illinois 4th Congressional District election in November.  Above is a map of the district. Below is one of many presentations I've created showing uses of maps:

Is Your Elected Representative Using Maps? from Daniel Bassill

See more articles and ideas for using maps on this page of Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web site. 

Browse past articles on this blog and the Tutor/Mentor blog to see ways maps can be embedded into stories.

Help me keep the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC resources and stories like this on line. Make contribution using PayPal form on this page. 

Interested in helping me rebuild and update this resource? Introduce yourself with comment or connect with me on Twitter @tutormentorteam or on Linkedin.

GEOFRED blog and map - Health Disparities

The Federal Reserve Banks have a wealth of resources on their web sites. This map is from the GEOFRED site of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Read the blog article and follow the links.

This introduction is provided:

GeoFRED maps can help us understand a lot of things, including trends in regional socioeconomic data, which could ultimately provide insights for policy recommendations. In this post, we look at two important indicators of health throughout the United States: premature deaths and preventable hospital admissions. High levels of premature deaths indicate issues with public health.

I've been posting links to mapping and data platforms on this blog since 2011. Original articles, posted between 2008 and 2011, show map stories created using ESRI GIS software and an interactive Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Locator (created in 2008).

My goal is to provide tools, and examples, that encourage many others to create map stories that show indicators of need in different places and draw attention and resources to organizations working in those areas to help kids and families. 

In this article I've been aggregating links to additional articles that include data maps.

If you're creating maps stories using some of the platforms I point to please share links to your blogs and tell of the successes (or challenges) you are having.

World Migration Map Combines GIS and Social Network Analysis

I'm on Twitter @tutormentorteam and my feed constantly introduces me to new ideas.  At the left is a world map showing migration patterns, to new countries and from home countries. It was created using a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps, and Social Network Analysis (SNA) tools.

This article shows how the map was created, tells why it was created and points to a live tool that anyone can use to better understand one of the most important issues facing the US and the world as we move further into this century.

If you operate a volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor program and include a computer center at your facility, you and your volunteers could be reading these articles and then teaching young people to use the tools. In a few years, they could be creating these stories and in a few more years they might be leading companies or leading the nation, using these technologies as decision support tools.

Policy Map - Looks like great resource

Social Needs Index map

I use Twitter daily because it constantly feeds me new ideas and resources. For instance, yesterday I saw a post about a PolicyMap Social Index map. Today I looked up the site and found a wealth of resources.

The map at the left is from a blog article titled, "Social Needs Index", posted on June 25, 2018.

In the resources section is a "Mapchats blog" with a collection of useful articles that show "insights into GIS, Data and Mapping".

The only negative to this site is that it's not free, except to read the articles. The subscription prices will be out of reach for many....but not all.

If you're using data and maps to make a case for investment in specific geographic locations the site is worth adding to your own resource library. I'm adding it to this section in the Tutor/Mentor web library.