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.

enlarge the map

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. You can enlarge the map then click on the icons to learn about programs in different areas. 

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.

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.

Calling on Tech Volunteer for Long-Term Involvement

Nice article in today's Chicago Tribune under headline of "When hackathons won't cut it: Non-Profits cut longer term partnerships with tech experts."

Chicago tech leaders Derek Elder, co-founder of ChiHackNight and Adam Heckman, of Microsoft were quoted in the story.

Heckman said “It’s not just about building a solution; it’s about helping them with their processes and looking at it holistically,” 

Elder said "My experience has been proven out time and time again: You can’t do anything meaningful in a weekend. With a lack of sustainability, a lot of projects will start up and die off. Our resolution was to do it every week and make it easy to attend.”

How true. My web sites have all been built by volunteers. This was the home page of the Tutor/Mentor Connection site in 1998, built by Matt Mead and his company.  Matt was a volunteer in the tutor/mentor program I led and he said "I hear you are trying to build a web site."

The current Tutor/Mentor Connection web site was rebuilt by the tech department at IUPUI in 2005 and hosted there till 2011. Now it's hosted on a volunteer in Indiana on a different server, still connected to IUPUI.

Here's another example. I've been  using maps since 1994 to focus attention and resources on tutor/mentor programs in all poverty neighborhoods of Chicago. From 2001 to 2008 a volunteer from Madison, Wisconsin was my map maker. He built the first map gallery.

I've always been dependent on volunteers to help produce these maps, and one reason I've struggled is that I could never find a volunteer who could produce a marketing plan with a realistic cost estimate for what we were trying to do, thus when a wealthy tech guru once showed interest and asked "what will this cost" my feeble response was "I don't know."

The T/MC Organizational History and Tracking System (OHATS) was launched by a volunteer in 2000 and rebuilt by another team of volunteers in 2007.  However, I can't access the data or add to it since 2013 since I've not had the tech support needed. I've not had anyone summarize the information since 2002 due to lack of volunteer or paid talent.

These are just a few of my web sites. All need help to update, improve, add content and attract visitors.

If you want to take the time,  you could visit this wiki and look at the "projects stated since 1993" and see how each requires on-going tech support which I've never been able to find on a consistent basis from volunteers or support with donor dollars.

I've used this graphic for 20 years to show that youth in tutor/mentor programs should be supported by volunteers and leaders from every industry, university, faith group and hospital, as part of their own workforce development and social justice commitments. 

If this were happening, volunteers from the tech industry might be more likely to make longer-term commitments to a non profit or social enterprise, or might be part of a "relay race" of volunteers, with one volunteer passing on the project to others who follow him/her.

Without this consistent support it's difficult to build strong, constantly improving organizations, and thus it's almost impossible to solve complex social and environmental problems, or help kids born or living in poverty move from first grade to first job over 20 years of consistent support.

Finding Help for your NonProfit - Business Locator

I've been reviewing links in one section of the Tutor/Mentor Connection web library and found a site that allows you to map locations of different businesses in different geographic locations.

I created this map, showing banks in Chicago on the near SW side of the city.  If you were operating a youth program in this area, reaching out to these banks for volunteers, board members and donations would make sense, since they share the same geography and its problems and opportunities.

Using the site you can create maps showing a wide range of businesses, not just banks.

The site was not created as a resource for non profits, but instead to support small business development. However, I think creative non profit leaders could use it the way I've described.

Visit the site, click here, and make your own maps.

Mapping Networks - Chicago Hack Night.

A few weeks ago I posted this photo, with a story about my attendance in weekly ChiHackNight meetings in Chicago.

Every week between 80 and 120 people attend and the event starts with a round of introductions. As this happens I'm impressed with the range of talent in the room, and frustrated that the introduction process does not lead to greater connections beyond what takes place each week.

I've begun to Tweet my introduction as an example of what I hope others will do.

Introductions at #chihacknight. I'm Dan. View my https://t.co/AjhEu0LmtE to see my interest in #maps

— Daniel Bassill (@tutormentorteam) May 24, 2016

Then, a couple of weeks ago I saw this message posted on the Slack group for ChiHackNight

alexsoble [6:42 PM] Feedback! Ideas! Questions! Here or (better! open!)https://github.com/alexsoble/chi-hack-night-intros/issues
I clicked into the link and found this graphic, and two others like it.  

Alex Soble was thinking along the same lines as I've been, so as people were introducing themselves he was categorizing them on his laptop. After a few other steps, he created this graphic, showing the mix of talent in the room, and showing how some talents, such as web developers, are more represented than others.  You can follow what Alex did, and what value he thinks this offers, by visiting the link above.

I've been involved in hundreds of conversations over the past 20 years focused on solving the complex problems that face Chicago, and almost always we come to a point where we're talking about "getting the right people" into the conversation.  However, in most gatherings, I don't see attempts by organizers to map who is in the event, for the purpose of  understanding who else needs to be involved, or for the purpose of knowing if the group is growing from year to year, or if there is consistent participation by key people.

I've attempted to map participation in the Tutor/Mentor Conferences I've hosted since 1994. You can view maps here.  I created an on-line attendee list so people who attended could connect with each other. 

I've posted dozens of articles focused on network building, learning and network analysis on the Tutor/Mentor blog since I started it in 2005. Here's one titled "Want to Change the World? Who is Helping?"

Knowing who is attending an event and what their talents are, or where they live in a geographic region like Chicago would be a huge first step in getting the right people connected and in giving voice to more people.  However, I want to take it a step further.  

Below is a concept map that shows "talent" I seek to help me further the goals of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.   I feel this could be a worksheet used by any organization.  If we can put names in each box, indicating someone dedicating time, talent and dollars toward that functional area, as part of a commitment to the overall mission, we'd probably be on the road to success if we filled most of the boxes. 

Thus, I hope people like Alex keep innovating ways to map who is in the room and that they will try to create a template that enables people attending an event to fill out a form as they register, so there is an automatic way to gather and report this information.

I was chosen as a client for an Information Visualization MOOC  hosted by Indiana University in 2015 and again in 2016. I described my goals in this article.  The 2015 team made some progress (see report), and no students chose my project in 2016. Thus, when I share articles like this I'm inviting some of the people attending events like this to add their own skills to this effort.

If we can make collecting and displaying this information easy and inexpensive, and convince higher profile organizers to embed this into their on-going activities, we could reach a tipping point where this becomes and automatic part of efforts to bring people together to solve big and small problems facing our communities.

You can find a library of links to articles about collaboration, mapping, visualization, etc. in this section of my web library.

Why I Attend Chicago Hack Night events

I've been attending Chicago Hack Night events for at least 2 years and I'm writing this article to help celebrate their 200th weekly gathering.  This image is from this week's event, where the Heartland Alliance presented information. You can see me in the middle, sitting by the wall. That's my usual spot. Helps me see better.

So why do I attend?

First, I'm not a technologist. I've been using technology as a tool to work smarter, think better, share ideas and network with others since the early 1980s.  I attend Hack Night meetings because I'm inspired by the ideas shared by speakers. I'm inspired by the talent and the work being done by people who are attending. I'm also  hoping to share from my own knowledge and experiences, while finding volunteers to help with my own work.

Here's a few highlights from my journey through technology and innovation, starting in 1980, when I was one of the first people at the Montgomery Ward Corporate Office in Chicago to have an Apple Lisa on their desk.  Ron Mantegna and Ken Novak, peers in the Retail Advertising department, were the catalysts who suggested that using the computer to create ad diagrams and update them would be more time efficient that doing them by hand, since the company changed ad plans so frequently.  At first, pepole laughed at me sitting at the computer, and called it a toy. By 1990 the entire multi million dollar ad planning and development process at Montgomery Ward was computerized based on the work we started in the early 1980s.

I tell this story because it has repeated over and over for the past 30 years. Others with better knowledge of how computers and the Internet work have prodded me to adopt new ideas and have supplied the tech talent to help me implement those ideas.  In the early 1980s it was Ken Novak who introduced me to Excel and helped me create a forecasting system that was used in the advertising planning process and generated millions of dollars of benefit. Later it was Ken who introduced new versions of technology, and this idea called "email".

As I applied these tools for my retail advertising job, I also applied them in my role as the volunteer leader of the tutoring program at Montgomery Ward.  While we spent millions on mass communications to draw people to 400 stores around the country, I spent time and talent to create mass communications (starting with duplicating machines) that told our 200-300 volunteers what to expect each week at the tutoring sessions.

In 1997 my first web site was created by the brother of one of our volunteers. Then, in 1998, Matt Mead, another one of our volunteers, said "I understand you're trying to build a web site. I can do that for you."

When Matt and I started talking I said "We'll need people with different talents to help us."  So, he created this graphic as the home page for the www.tutormentorconnection.org site that he built for me, using a technology called 'revista' which enabled me to edit text on the site. In 2005 this site was rebuilt using dot.net.nuke, by a team from IUPUI in Indianapolis. 

I've used this hub and spoke design over and over since then to communicate how I was trying to connect others to myself, and each other, in a constantly growing community of people and ideas focused on helping inner-city kids have the extra support they each need to move through school and into jobs.

In 1999, Steve Roussos, who was then a PhD student at the university of Kansas, used power point to create this visualization to describe the work I was doing. He called it a "Tutor/Mentor Learning Network", and drafted this paper to describe it to donors. I've built hundreds of power point presentations since then, inspired by Steve's work, including this PDF.  Steve was also the creator of the www.tutormentorexchange.net web site in 1998, which now is the home site for the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. In 2000-2001, he also created an on-line documentation system called OHATS (Organizational History and Tracking System), modeled after work being done from the University of Kansas.


While I started collecting information about Chicago tutor/mentor programs in 1993, I did not have an idea of how to display that information until the librarian at the United Way/Crusade of Mercy showed me a geography magazine, and one of my volunteers at IBM introduced me to GIS mapping, and to the Metro Chicago Information Center in 1993.

I started mapping the database of programs in 1994 and published the first Chicago Tutor/Mentor Programs Directory in 1995, with contact information and address for more than 120 different youth serving organizations, along with dozens of more organizations who were working in some way to improve the life-outcomes for kids in poverty.

When I started the T/MC web site in 1998 this list of other organizations became the core of a web library that now points to more than 2000 other web sites, including Chicago Hack Night and similar data networking groups.  If you look at the link to the web library, you'll see it's outlined  using a concept map (CMAP tools), which was introduced to me by a former Peace Corps worker in 2005. I've created a whole library of concept maps since then.

In 2004 an intern from IIT and India recognized my goal of sharing this information on the Internet, and created a searchable program locator that duplicated what was in the printed Directory. This enabled users to search by zip code, type of program and age group served, to produce a map showing that program, and others in the same zip code.

In 2007 another volunteer from India, added an interactive map feature to the program locator, enabling us to zoom into neighborhoods to not only find organizations based on age group, type of program and time of day, but to also see indicators showing where the programs are most needed, and what assets were in that area who could be collaborating to help sustain existing programs or build new programs.

Now (when this is working properly) users can create their own neighborhood map view, to help bring others together to help support existing program or build new ones to fill voids.  This PDF describes how to make your own map using this program locator, or other data maps that now are available on the internet. Browse this blog, and the Tutor/Mentor blog, and you'll find many examples of this type of map-story.

In 2009 Valdis Krebs, one of the world's foremost experts on Social Network Analysis, spoke at the Tutor/Mentor Conference that I hosted in Chicago, then donated software that interns could  use to create maps showing participation in Tutor/Mentor Conferences.  This blog shows maps created in 2010. This article shows how I'm still trying to find interns and volunteers to create maps and visualizations that show how networks grow as a result of the work I and other innovators do.

When I attend Chicago Hack Night and similar gatherings of tech and data visualization people, I'm trying to connect with talented people who will help me continue to build tools and visualizations that bring people and ideas together and focus actions on places where time, talent and dollars will be needed for many, many years. I'm also sharing ideas from my own experiences and library, that others can apply in their own work.

The Chicago Hack Night has a tradition of letting everyone introduce themselves at the beginning of each week's gathering. As I do this, I am posting my intro on Twitter, as I did this week.

#chihacknight intros. I'm Dan. Search Tutor Mentor on Google. My Web sites in first 10. View images; see my use of #maps, #visualizations

— Daniel Bassill (@tutormentorteam) March 29, 2016

Last September I saw a Tweet with a network analysis map like this. I followed it and introduced myself to Marc Smith, who then pointed me to information that I could use to learn about NodeXL, and how I could ask him to create similar maps for me.  I created this tutorial so others could learn from my own journey.   

If every participant of a networking event, or conference, hosted by someone in Chicago or another city, were to post a tweet with #chihacknight , etc. maps using NODEXL could show who was participating and how they are connected to each other. Such maps can demonstrate the impact event organizers are having, while also helping participants expand their own networks and find talent and sponsors who will  help them with the work they are doing.

I really appreciate Chicago Hack Night and it's organizers and sponsors for creating a space where I can be inspired by the work of others, where I can share ideas that any of the participants might apply in their own work, and where I might find people who will volunteer time, talent and dollars to help me keep doing what I've been trying to do for the past 20 years.

I encourage anyone who has read this far to go to this site and see the many ways Chicago Hack Night is supporting technology innovation in Chicago.

Thus, I'm not a data scientist, or coder, and I depend on the talent of other people to create and maintain the technology platforms that share my ideas and bring people together to help youth in high poverty areas of Chicago. The examples posted on this blog are just a few showing how others have helped me in the past, and can help me again in the future.

They also may serve as inspiration for a project someone in Chicago, or elsewhere in the world, will develop and apply in the future.

While I'm not able to stay each week and contribute on the many projects in process, I'm available to connect between sessions to offer suggestions and/or point people to some of the resources and ideas I share.  Just Tweet me @tutormentorteam or introduce yourself in the comment section below.

Mapping Resources - What We've Been Trying to Build

Last week I posted an article talking about visualization strategies and encouraged readers to pass this on to others who might help us do the work, and share the tools and ideas with other cities.

I'd like to follow that up with an invitation for readers to look at the mapping strategies I've been developing since 1994.  The map above was created using an interactive map found here. 

This map uses poverty data and information on poorly performing Chicago public schools (from 2007 data). It shows locations of known non-school tutor/mentor programs, from the surveys done by the Tutor/Mentor Connection. And it shows assets who could be working together to help tutor/mentor programs grow in the map area shown. Assets are businesses, faith groups, colleges, hospitals, political leaders, etc.  Every neighborhood has a different mix. You can see more maps made using the Program Locator, on this blog, or on the Tutor/Mentor blog. Visit the map gallery, and see similar maps, but made using donated ESRI software.

I created this wiki page to show what I've been trying to do with GIS maps (starting in 1994), and to show current 2016 challenges. While others have been building their own online directories and are using maps, I don't see many with the goals I list on this wiki page,

I created another wiki page, just focusing on the Program Locator, and current challenges. 

While I'd love to have volunteers, partners and leaders form Chicago step forward to offer time, talent and dollars to help me do the work described in these wiki pages, this map shows that cities throughout the country have some of the same problems that we face in Chicago, meaning leaders from any city could step forward to help develop the program locator and our mapping capacity, with the goal of applying the strategy in their own cities. 

In fact, big cities throughout the world face the same challenges, so teams from anywhere could be helping me do this work. Actually, they already have been helping me. The program locator was created in 2008-9 by a team from India. The first on-line directory was built by a student from India in 2004. An intern from South Korea helped update one section of the program locator in 2014.

This work could be a project of a team of students/faculty and alumni from a college or university in any of these cities.  It just takes one or two inspired people to see the potential and begin to build support for the idea.

If you're one of them, I look forward to hearing from you.

Creating Map Stories Following Negative News

This album shows some of the map stories created by Tutor/Mentor Connection since 1993 as part of a strategy intended to increase attention on volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring as a strategy for engaging more adults in a wide range of long-term efforts to help kids stay safe in non-school hours, expand their social capital, and keep moving through school toward jobs and careers.


Find more photos like this on Tutor/Mentor Connection
In this blog, the Tutor/Mentor Blog and the Tutor/Mentor Institute,LLC site you'll see numerous examples of maps included in stories.

In this article we describe how youth from many different schools, non school programs, colleges and faith groups could create their own map-stories, focusing on their own school neighborhood or community.

If you are already applying these ideas please share your web address so we can point to you and learn from you. If you'd like our help in developing this strategy, introduce yourself.

Community Mapping Benefits

"Community mapping can be an extremely useful tool to build the capacity of nonprofits to effectively engage in policy advocacy. Mapping holds vast potential for advocacy because of the power of maps to both analyze and communicate complex information and relationships." That's a quote from this Policy Link report titled "Community Mapping for Health Equity Advocacy".

I've been trying to build this type of mapping capacity for nearly 20 years. This map shows how we can create maps showing political districts and share them as part of advocacy and capacity building. It's one of many maps that you can see in this blog and in many articles on the Tutor/Mentor Institute Blog, PDF Essays I've created, and on the Tutor/Mentor Institute web site. I encourage you to read through the Policy Link report and browse this site to learn more about ways maps and visualizations can be used.

Include this strategy in your efforts to help youth in poverty

Since 2005 interns working with Tutor/Mentor Connection in Chicago have been creating graphics and visualizations to communicate our strategies in new ways, and to new audiences. Below is a presentation created from this pdf, by Byeonghui Kim, an intern from South Korea. Past presentations can be seen here and here. View this page to see how interns learn what the strategies are as they go from first day on the job and through their internship period. Students in high school and college, as well as volunteers in different industries, could be creating similar presentations and using them to mobilize resources to support birth-to-work mentoring strategies in every city in the world. If you'd like to be part of this project, introduce yourself on the Tutor/Mentor Connection forum.

Class Divide in Chicago - New Maps

This image is from an article in The Atlantic Monthly Place Matters story titled Class-Divided Cities: Chicago Edition Maps are used to show the different economic and intellectual divisions in Chicago. There is an interactive map in this article that enables you to zoom in. This map is similar to the interactive map on the Tutor/Mentor Program Locator that enables you to build your own map, adding layers of information showing where tutor/mentor programs are most needed, and also showing what tutor/mentor programs are operating in different parts of the city.

The Tutor/Mentor Interactive map was built in 2008-09 by a team in India using part of a $50,000 donation given in November 2007 to upgrade the mapping capacity at the Tutor/Mentor Connection. We ran out of money to keep building this or updating it in spring 2009 and in 2011 the non profit hosting this project dropped it completely due to lack of funding. I created the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC to find ways to keep it going. My team in India has disbanded and I don't have the money to bring them back, or find local talent to update the Program Locator. I'd like to find a way to connect with talent that created the map for this Atlantic Monthly article, or who could do such work. If we can update the Program Locator and add funds for marketing and teaching people to use it in Chicago, we should be able to find ways to share this with other cities without them having to build their entire system from a zero base. If you're interested in helping please introduce yourself on Facebook, Twitter, Linked in or on this Ning site.

MapAList - Cool Address Mapping Tool

This is a new mapping application, called MapAList, that I've added to the COOL TOOLS section of the Tutor/Mentor Library.

I've been attempting to map participation in Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conferences held since 1994 to demonstrate the impact I've had in bringing programs together over a period of many years. This mapping can be done via a Social Network Analysis process or from a GIS mapping process (or both). I've never had consistent talent to do this work, and the tools have been pretty complex. Now that the technology is more available, I still need volunteers, interns and/or business partners to create these maps and communicate their meaning. Contact me if you'd like to become involved in this project.

On-Line Social Mapping Ideas

I first met Jim Cory of Horizon Mapping in Madison, Wisconsin around 2000 via an on-line discussion hosted by the Global Bank. He mentioned that he was doing some work with mapping so I sent him an introduction and asked if he could help me. Jim has been building maps for me for 10 years and helped create the first map gallery and interactive maps.

This map story is one that Jim did for me several years ago.

It's part of a "Rest of the News" strategy which I've been promoting since 1994 as an effort to turn "bad news" media stories into advertising that draws volunteers and resource providers into neighborhoods where tutor/mentor programs are needed. Without having help from GIS volunteers like Jim I could not be making these maps.

I recently asked what he knew about creating Google maps. After a bit of research Jim created this page, which is a tutorial that anyone can use.

I've already added a map to the Tutor/Mentor Connection forum, which will add to the network analysis work my interns have been doing. These maps will show where people in the forum come from and will hopefully help those located in the same parts of the world connect and share ideas and resources with each other.

Thanks Jim. I'll be sure to integrate these ideas into future mapping and network building that I do.

More ideas for mapping and using GIS

This is an article showing Digital Mapping approaches that appeared on the Georgetown Commons.

If we can attract the attention of universities and companies already committed to mapping perhaps we can find partners, volunteers and investors to build our own mapping capacity and role it out to cities all over the world.

Can you help?

Maps and What's Possible

A couple of years ago the Social Edge forum hosted a discussion titled "Maps and What's Possible" featuring the Tutor/Mentor Connection's uses of maps. That's not the first time our use of maps have received attention.

 This is the front page of a 1999 story in the URISA Newsletter (see pdf). In 2004 our use of maps was nominated for a Global Innovation Award, as described in this pdf.

 In 1995 our strategy was described as a "Master plan for saving youth" in this Chicago Tribune article.

 Our mapping strategy is outlined in this wiki and I'm looking for partners, volunteers, investors and benefactors to help us develop this strategy so it can be applied in big cities all over the world, as well as in other social benefit sectors.

 Can you help us find these resources?

SunTimes series focuses on neighborhood of NBA Star

For the past week feature articles in the Chicago SunTimes have focused on the gangs and violence in the Englewood area of Chicago, near where Chicago Bulls Star Derrick Rose grew up. This was one article.

In the Tutor/Mentor Blog I used this same map, and pointed to a parallel story from Maywood, where a teen was killed while sleeping as a result of a run-away car that crashed into her home. The drive of that car had been shot.

In another set of articles I've been writing about sports and teamwork and showing how athletes could be "coaching" fans to support the growth of a wide range of youth serving organizations in different neighborhoods of Chicago and other cities.

The map at the right is one that was signed by nearly a dozen high profile athletes almost 15 years ago, showing their interest in an "adopt a neighborhood" concept that I have been trying to build support for. I'd like to find a sports writer who would want to champion this and other Tutor/Mentor Institute ideas. I can't carry this ball all by myself.

I also can't continue to host this map-resource without finding a sponsor/partner or benefactor to provide at least $50k a year to staff the project and support the continued upgrade of the technology and the data. Just one NBA or NFL star who wants to have a career beyond playing days is all this needs to become a beacon of hope for youth throughout every NBA city.

If you're interested why not come to the Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference in Chicago on Friday, Nov. 4. See details at http://www.tutormentorconference.org

Sponsoring Dragons To Assist Youth Programs

Occasionally, Mapping for Justice gets a chance to get out of the cubicle and work with kids in the tutor/mentor programs I write about.

This month, Mapping For Justice has decided to support a team of students in the Cabrini Madness tournament – a yearly fundraising “tourney” that brings together "teams" of students, volunteers, program staffers, and outside leadership like you.

The tournament helps teach students to advocate/compete for themselves, while helping the Cabrini Connections program raise a few bucks (which is vital for a non-profit to continue pairing adult mentors with youth from all over Chicago) - all while having a little fun. Check out the tourney website.

So this Cabrini Madness season, Mapping For Justice has decided to support and help promote... drum roll...

Team 5Ds (aka The 5 Dragons), captained by an amazingly talented young man, Charles Hill, with lots of help from other bright Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students, Sean Mayfield and Erin Smith.

Every small donation you make with me, and every time you pass this article to friends and colleagues, we help support student efforts to support themselves, while raising awareness about the virtues of these programs - programs that not only help each student, but in turn help society, and help you and me as taxpayers.

Additionally, 10% of your donation will go to Cabrini Connections Tech Club, a weekly club that teaches tech-related volcational skills to a group of students who want a little extra help on their way from the CPS to college and career.

Meet the students captaining this effort:
Charles Hill
Sean Mayfield
Erin Smith (profile coming soon)

Please consider helping Mapping For Justice help Team 5Ds by making a small tax-deductible donation here.

Wish us luck, and please check in occasionally to find continued tourney updates here.

Breaking News! Maps to Help You Fight Crime and Poverty!

I woke up today to "Breaking News" that proclaimed at least 8 people had been shot overnight in Chicago. As usual, I read names of kids who died, and recognized addresses from some of the same high-crime neighborhoods I've mapped before. I came into the office and mapped the locations, as I always do, to try and get a picture of where non-school tutoring/mentoring programs are offering guidance to youth, in proximity to the violence last night and low-performing schools.

Please click on the map to see a larger, higher-resolution, and more detailed view.

When you look at the map I made, try to locate the green stars. These are non-school tutoring/mentoring facilities. If you go to our interactive, online mapping tool, you can click on the stars and get contact information that will tell you details and contact information about each program.

If you use our map tools - either my Map Gallery or the Interactive Asset Map - try to do some quick and dirty math. Try to think about how many kids are packed into a typical struggling Chicago Public School. Assume that each of the green stars/programs has a limited capacity - limited by a lack of funding and a need for volunteers... and well, x > y in most cases where there is high-poverty and inevitable crime.

(See this discussion for much more detail as to "where and why tutor/mentor programs are needed most.")

Then ask yourself if you think it's a good idea to mentor youth who are living with challenges that come from low school performance, poverty, and survival... challenges that, without guidance can turn to anger and violence. Like it did last night.

Here's the great thing if you do think it sounds logical to tutor and mentor kids who need a little extra guidance...

You can help!

How?

* For starters, you can use your social network. Most in your network might not yet know there are opportunities in tutoring/mentoring to meet and coach great kids with tons of potential but uncertain futures...

You can exponentially raise awareness of the problem and educate/mobilize an army of those with the time to volunteer an hour or so a week.

* But not everyone will have an hour to consistently spare... perhaps instead they have personal means or a charitable connection that would welcome the tax write-off that comes from donating to a non-profit... thus ensuring that those with the time to volunteer have places to do it.

* And hey - don't let me stop YOU from getting involved yourself!

I think both you and your network should join me here at this blog to consistently discuss The Rest Of The Story... and other tidbits related to maps... and education, community, social justice, and problem solvers like Tutor/Mentor Connection. Please bookmark my blog and come back for new maps and discussions.

* I also know YOU would love the experience of volunteering with a kid you'd otherwise never have the chance to meet... and very possibly could change your life as much as you change his/hers.

Please contact us to volunteer... or donate at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/donate.

* One last - but hugely important thing you should do:

Our growing mapping capacity (as evidenced today by my ability to turn out a map within hours of a request - for discussion of the news in this case... but just as easily for those whose strategies/partnerships need a map of locate assets, resources, or programs) is not-for-profit, and supported by benefactors and donations.

If you know someone with a charitable interest in causes that combine social justice, kids, education, workforce development, and the war on poverty... we need their help to continue our efforts into 2010 and beyond. Please pass the message to any potential benefactors who can help us reach our $50,000 goal. Have them contact me or http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/donate for details.

Did I mention by the way that the last generous $50,000 grant we received bought the interactive, online mapping tool that will help you find a place to volunteer when you get done reading this? Chris Warren even created a tutorial called Anyone Can Make Maps (That Means You!) to get you started...

Check it out...

And again, please lean on your network... Here's an article of interest: 10 Ways to Support Charity Through Social Media.

Unfortunately most people rely on "the news" for community information. And unfortunately if you're relying on Breaking News, all your getting is half the story - the problem... day after day... negative news.

Social networking allows you to fill in the Rest of the Story... that you and your network have the ability to help solve those problems.

Volunteering: Easy to get to Programs. Small Investment. Big Rewards.

I make maps that show city boundaries, locations of "failing schools," the 2000 Census bureau's poverty tracts... and then overlay these with locations of community assets and known non-school tutoring and mentoring programs.

The feedback I receive on patterns that emerge range from concern to shock to outrage.

But we at Tutor/Mentor Connection don't stop at exposing the clear lack of quality tutoring and mentoring programs - programs that exist as options for students who need a little help to compete for college placement, jobs, and ultimately community/business/political leadership.

We also propose comprehensive solutions.

My maps are free tools that business leaders can use in creating strategies that invigorate the local economy through investment in - and philanthropic funding of tutor/mentor programs.

We propose solutions to the problems that concern communities - strategies that universities, hospitals, places of worship, and concerned parents can use to address issues of crime, violence, and poverty.

We also provide district overviews of resources and assets for politicians to incorporate into the work they do for their constituency...

And we encourage the media to provide tutoring/mentoring-based solutions when discussing problems associated with inadequate school facilities, poverty, and gangs.

But one part of a comprehensive solution to the lack of non-school tutoring/mentoring options... a part that I frequently tend to gloss over... is you and your ability to volunteer as a one-to-one mentor for students at the programs.

Simply, without volunteers, there are no programs.

That's what this is all about: Pairing students with volunteers in long-term relationships whereby the student gains needed help on homework (tutoring) and needed direction in developing a course of action that will put her/him on college and career paths (mentoring). Many of these kids do not receive this guidance at home and are a bit lost on how to get there from here.

You've been there. For an investment of a couple hours each week, you can answer so many questions that seem simple to you but are not for the students. "How do I research schools? How do I fill out an application? Where do I start?"

For this same investment, you get to meet an amazing kid, and grow yourself. The volunteers at a tutor/mentor program like Cabrini Connections almost invariably report personal fulfillment and growth as a primary factor in staying on year after year.

Some of you think this sounds great, but how do I get there? "I commute on train... I don't have a car. I don't have a lot of time!" Not surprisingly, many programs are within seconds of a stop on your Metra line. If you have a monthly pass, as I do, perhaps you might consider jumping off for a few hours and then jumping back on after working with a student on an art or tech project?

Even more programs are within minutes of the route your CTA "el" train takes:


... And if you think outside the box a little bit, you might be able to combine efforts/communter options to make an even easier customized solution to your transport/volunteer concerns.

For instance, many people may be concerned with venturing alone into unknown high-poverty areas of the city. Who wouldn't be? Look at the highways in relation to programs and commuter rail in the maps above. Perhaps a safe, effective, and efficient strategy might involve carpooling to your downtown job with friends/coworkers (saving gas), heading to a program near a Metra stop with one or two members of the carpool, and then using Metra to head home together after a couple hours of tutoring?

I hope you use these maps to find a route that takes you to a program of your choice one night a week. Without your help... without volunteers, programs can't grow. New, needed programs can't start.

Please click on either of the maps above to get larger, detailed maps, to get started.

For details on the specific CTA Stations, please visit the CTA system map. For details about Metra Stations, their website is here.

And for details about the programs that are near stops on your commuter line, visit the Tutor/Mentor Connection's online searchable Program Locator.

For information about volunteering in general , go here.