(Click on the map to enlarge.)
Now I am not a spiritual leader by any means, but it's hard to not see that a common message shared by the holiday spirit of Hanukkah and Christmas, is that people of faith are encouraged to give as well as receive. Charity, kindness, and love for neighbors is a shared set of values, I think we would all agree.It's also hard to open the New Testament and not stumble onto reference to these virtues. Corinthians 13 for instance teaches Christians that "And now faith, hope, and charity abide, these three; and the greatest of these is charity."
And please check back here this week for specific ways you and spiritual leaders in your faith community can ally with Tutor/Mentor Connection to support more and better non-school mentor programs in high-poverty neighborhoods.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Note: since 2011 the Tutor/Mentor Connection has been operated by Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. While this is not a tax exempt organization, it still depends on contributions to continue this work. Please consider a small donation this holiday season
Every dot on this map represents a faith based organization. Some are in high poverty areas where tutor/mentor programs are most needed. Others are in middle class neighborhoods where people may be struggling to keep jobs and pay mortgages and deal with their own family health. Others are in areas of high affluence, where there may be more ability to give.
ReplyDeleteIn all of these communities we hope that groups are forming and reading Mike's blog articles, as well as those posted on the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Cabrini Connections blogs. If you read and reflect on what we write each week, each of these dots will begin to have strategies that connect them to tutor/mentor programs in one, or more parts of the city, as well as to people in other faith groups who are discussing the same issues.
Let us know if we can help your congregation form such groups.
Dan Bassill
Tutor/Mentor Connection