Map Gallery Online, By Popular Demand!

As readers of this blog know, we at Tutor/Mentor Connection(T/MC) have spent the past several years using maps to identify and analyze areas of our city where support for at-risk youth needs to grow, in order to make our students brighter, our workforce stronger, and our streets safer.

T/MC maps indicate areas and neighborhoods where at-risk youth might need additional support in their studies and life direction. The maps then try to reveal available resources that local tutor/mentor programs and community leaders can mobilize to improve that new support for students.

Thanks to everyone who came to see the “Mapping Solutions” art at Webster Wine Bar this past month, and who provided feedback about what they saw. The response was incredible actually, from servers who told me they never saw so many people stop to look at art work in the gallery before, to the many local business owners and mapping professionals who suggested I take the gallery “on the road.” (Stay tuned!)

Of course not everyone could make it to the border of the Lincoln Park and Bucktown neighborhoods of Chicago, so by popular demand (thanks to everyone who asked to see pictures), I’ve decided to put the gallery online this month.

As I put the maps up, I will explain the reason I chose to feature these “samples” of what we can do with T/MC map technologies. This will serve to demonstrate our current mapping capacity, hopefully get you thinking a bit about how you could use the map (and what additional cities and neighborhoods you'd like to explore), and hopefully lead to a discussion of how we can find the investment needed in 2011 to use state-of-the-art GIS technology to better support students and the non-profits who serve them.

If the response at the gallery was an indicator, you don’t want to miss this month’s “Mapping For Justice” blog installments. So go ahead and subscribe or bookmark us!

And check back this weekend for the first set of “Mapping Solutions” gallery maps.

Onward friends!


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We at Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) have spent the past several years using maps to identify and analyze areas of our city where support for at-risk youth needs to grow, in order to make our students brighter, our workforce stronger, and our streets safer.

We operate on a non-profit budget and rely on donations and charity to continue our work, using state-of-the-art GIS technologies in support of our community-based mission.

Please consider a small tax-deductible donation to this important charity this holiday season.

Map Gallery Opens!

Tutor/Mentor Connection is a Chicago non-profit whose maps chart instances of issues like crime, violence and failing schools against the prevalence of student tutor/mentor programs. By showing this relationship, we want to create connections between at-risk students and business leaders, politicians, educators and citizens who are willing to help.

I've worked on, and featured these maps on this Mapping For Justice blog for the past three years.

Here is your chance to see them up close and personally. With a glass of wine in your hand :)

The main gallery event – with $5 wine specials and complementary appetizers – is this Wednesday, November 17 (“GIS Day”) from 6pm till 10pm at Webster Wine Bar (1480 W Webster, Chicago).

Join us to see for yourself how Tutor/Mentor Connection is Mapping Solutions... to the issues that concern all of us!

(If you can't make it, the maps will be up through Saturday, November 26... so drop me a line and I'll try to meet you over there at your convenience... without a great $5 wine deal though :)

And a side note:

If this is a cause/technology that you feel is important, please consider a tax-deductible donation to this event.

We have made a lot of progress with our mapping over the past two years thanks to a $50k donation in late 2007, and also thanks to your continued generosity toward our various fundraisers.

As a non-profit, however, it is an ongoing struggle even in the best of times to continue investing in new technologies , toward the organizational goals, and toward continued momentum. With the state of the current economy, charitable contributions are at a 20-year low, and more than ever, we're in jeopardy of losing that momentum we've created.

I know times are tough, but if this is a cause that you feel is important, please consider a tax-deductible donation to this event, and/or please help us find new investors. (If you you or anyone in your network would like to help us take our technologies to the next level, in support of helping at-risk youth, please drop us a line today.)

But enough heaviness. Let's drink some wine!

Mapping For Justice-T/MC via Loyola University Chicago

Hi all,
I am final year graduate Computer Science student who is one among the three students from Loyola University Chicago who is involved in Mapping for justice project with Cabrini Connections. We are currently mapping Banks and their locations as our assets, to help T/MC in finding out valuable resources as part of our project.

To start with, we have been collecting bank data from various resources for Geocoding it in our maps in the future. As I have mentioned earlier the three students working on this project are Peter Hoy, Brad Drury and Alexander(me). We are being assisted by our mentor Prof. David Treering who is a GIS specialist and also a faculty at Loyola University Chicago. He has given this exposure for us to serve our community in a better way as a part of our curriculum.
Mike Trakan also a GIS specialist, singer and song writer has been our guiding force in developing this project. Dan, head of T/MC programs and Mike have been working on similar kind of projects for years in developing this society. We as students are starting our services to serve our community through the opportunities like this. Please contribute to the developement of T/MC in any ways possible. More info can be obtained through this blog space. Will keep posted....

Mapping Solutions Gallery Sample: US Rep Luis Gutiérrez and his 4th District

See how Tutor/Mentor Connection maps connect politicians and ideas to help inner city kids

Here is a sample of the type of map you are going to see at the Mapping Solutions gallery at Webster's Wine Bar on November 17, as part of international GIS Day.


Luis Gutiérrez currently represents Illinois's 4th U.S. Congressional District. He will soon be running for mayor of Chicago. He is one of several politicians (with the power to build support for tutor/mentor programs) that will be featured in our Mapping Solutions gallery.

Our maps show where tutor/mentor programs are needed most by showing, in the maps above for instance, "poorly performing schools" and high levels of poverty - two indicators that there are many "at-risk" youth who need extra guidance away from the streets and toward college, jobs and responsible decision-making in their adult lives. (Click on the map to get an expanded preview.)

Then click here for a detailed look at why this should concern you, and what politicians like Gutiérrez can do to take the lead in saving us money, protecting our streets, and guiding our future neighbors through tutoring/mentoring.

Come out to the event, talk with us, and see similar maps.

And please click here to contribute a small donation so we can continue Mapping Solutions to poverty, crime, and the drop-out crisis for our politicians.

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Who are we?

Tutor/Mentor Connection is a Chicago non-profit that helps connect business leaders, politicians, educators and citizens with afterschool and tutor/mentor programs, in part through a series of web-based maps. Using technology donated by Esri, our maps chart instances of issues like crime, violence and failing schools against the prevalence of afterschool and tutor/mentor programs. By showing this relationship, we want to create connections between at-risk students and business leaders, politicians, educators and citizens who are willing to help.

What are we going to do?

We are raising money this fall to continue and improve our map capacities, to build new support for students through tutor/mentor programs, and to forge new alliances among community leaders who want to help.

Additionally, this year, we are hosting a map gallery , entitled Mapping Solutions , on Wednesday, November 17 2010 to draw support to GIS Day by displaying our unique maps for the general public, business and political leaders. Maps will be on display for purchase starting Monday, November 15 to Sunday, November 27.

The fundraiser event will take place on Wednesday, November 17.

Webster Wine Bar , 1480 W. Webster Ave, Chicago, IL 60614.

Why are we doing this?

In this day and age, maps can show a lot more than how to get from Point A to Point B. By mapping the geographic relationship between social issues in Chicago and their critical solutions, we want to show where our community has opportunities for Chicago leaders to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children.

Please consider a donation, and try to come out on November 17 to see for yourself how Tutor/Mentor Connection is Mapping Solutions.

Mapping Solutions: Celebrate GIS Day with us November 17th

See how Tutor/Mentor Connection maps connect adults and ideas to help inner city kids

Mapping Solutions is one of the things that Tutor/Mentor Connection does everyday. Can you help?

Where do poverty, violence, school performance and community support intersect? Our maps can show you.


Who are we?

Tutor/Mentor Connection is a Chicago non-profit that helps connect business leaders, politicians, educators and citizens with afterschool and tutor/mentor programs, in part through a series of web-based maps. Using technology donated by Esri, our maps chart instances of issues like crime, violence and failing schools against the prevalence of afterschool and tutor/mentor programs. By showing this relationship, we want to create connections between at-risk students and business leaders, politicians, educators and citizens who are willing to help.

What are we going to do?

We are raising money this fall to continue and improve our map capacities, to build new support for students through tutor/mentor programs, and to forge new alliances among community leaders who want to help.

Additionally, this year, we are hosting a map gallery , entitled Mapping Solutions , on Wednesday, November 17 2010 to draw support to GIS Day by displaying our unique maps for the general public, business and political leaders. Maps will be on display for purchase starting Monday, November 15 to Sunday, November 27.

The fundraiser event will take place on Wednesday, November 17.

Webster Wine Bar , 1480 W. Webster Ave, Chicago, IL 60614.

Why are we doing this?

In this day and age, maps can show a lot more than how to get from Point A to Point B. By mapping the geographic relationship between social issues in Chicago and their critical solutions, we want to show where our community has opportunities for Chicago leaders to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children.

Please consider a donation, and try to come out on November 17 to see for yourself how Tutor/Mentor Connection is Mapping Solutions.

Music For Maps... New Maps Coming Soon!

Wow what a month.

The first annual Tutor/Mentor Jam was a huge success.

Last Sunday, we put on a show for a community of business, political, and media leaders... who join forces with local artists/musicians, volunteers in mentoring programs, and curious/concerned music fans on the West Side of Chicago.

Community coming together to network and make a difference! That's why I'm here - this is what my maps work to accomplish.

We had a pretty good turn out for the first year too, on a warm Sunday afternoon - we ended up with somewhere around 175 in attendance (about 75% capacity)... they got to hear new local music, meet local radio reps, hear media leaders and volunteer mentors talk... there was a lot of networking, we brought new visibility to a great cause, and it was a ton of fun.

I'm hoping to ride that momentum into the school season, as the school year starts...

Check back soon for details about:

1. A partnership between students at Loyola University and Mapping For Justice...

2. A map gallery at a local bar/restaurant coinciding with International GIS Day in November...

3. Our bi-annual Tutor/Mentor Conference in November...

4. New innovations in our online mapping capacities.

If any of this seems interesting to you, drop me a line.

We're always looking for volunteers and investment for next year's Tutor/Mentor Jam, and with everything we do!