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by TutorMentor from Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection

Last Post 7 days, 22 hours Ago


School Boycott, or not?
Aug 22, 2008 | 11:38 AM
Category: News
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This map shows locations of poorly performing schools in Chicago, as an overlay to high poverty neighborhoods.  There certainly are a lot of these and thus, Rev. Meeks has a good reason to be mad and to want to see something changed.

However, I'm not sure that anyone has a plan of what happens after a boycott, if there is one. 

What I do know is that school will start in a couple of weeks, and kids in every neighborhood with poor schools could benefit if there were a comprehensive volunteer-based tutor/mentor program that they could go to once a week to connect with volunteers who might help them build career aspirations, help with study skills, or give them a safe place to be during the non school hours.

There are not enough programs like this in the city , and those who do operate in various neighborhoods are not only looking for volunteers, but they are also looking for donors to help cover the rising costs of operating a program, or to make up for the loss of other donors who have stopped giving because of their own financial woes.

If you're reading this, I encourage you to reach out to people in your own personal and business network and encourage them to seek out tutor/mentor programs in Chicago to offer help.

This won't be a quick fix, but it will be a step in the right direction, and one that can assure extra help, right now, for kids lucky enough to find a program where they can participate.

Read more on my http://tutormentor.blogspot.com blog
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TutorMentor

I have led a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program serving inner city youth in the Cabrini-Green area since 1975. I've also held various advertising jobs with the Montgomery Ward Corporation from 1973-1990. In 1990 I created a non profit to mentor Cabrini Green youth and in 1993 I created Cabrini Connections (http://www.cabriniconnec
tions.net) and the Tutor/Mentor Connection (http://www.tutormentorco
nnection.org ) The aim of Cabrini Connections is to build a non-school adult support network, where volunteers from diverse business background serve as tutors, mentors, coaches, leaders, advocates and friends, with a commitment to "do all we can" to help each teen who joins us when entering 7th grade be starting a job/career by age 25. The aim of the Tutor/Mentor Connection is more ambitious. We want to help programs like Cabrini Connections be available to k-12 youth in all high poverty areas in the Chicago region. We maintain a database listing more than 250 tutoring/mentoring organizations in the region and host this an a library of information about tutoring/mentoring and how to operate a non profit. We host a May and November conference intended to draw people together to share what they know. learn from others, and build collaborations that increase resources for all programs in Chicago. Through the Internet we connect with leaders of tutor/mentor programs in cities throughout the country and the rest of the world. Take a look at our sites and join us if you'd like to end poverty by building a more comprehensive support system for inner city kids. http://www.tutormentorcon
nection.org http://tutormentor.blogsp
ot.com http://tutormentorconnect
ion.ning.com http://www.tutormentorcon
ference.org http://www.cabriniconnect
ions.net

Member Since: 5/21/2008


 

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