Tutor/Mentor Volunteering is Adult Service Learning

Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present), Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present), www.tutormentorexchange.net
TUTOR/MENTOR
LEARNING NETWORK
Tutor/Mentor Programs are one of America’s best
forms of civic engagement and service learning.

• Computer generated
maps, like this, can show
where poverty is most
concentrated and were
poorly performing schools
are located.
• These are the
neighborhoods where kids
are being left behind.
Young people living in inner-city poverty
face challenges that most kids do not have.
Pg 2
See additional maps like this in 2008-2011articles on http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com

• poverty has not changed in the past 10, 20 years
• quality of life for minorities living in segregated poverty is poor
and should be something every citizen is concerned about
• Education, and expanding social capital networks of support, are
the keys to improving quality of life and to drawing business and
families into the city
• people come out when their lives are personally affected
• if you mobilize thousands of people, you threaten (change)
existing powers
• we need to build a broader coalition, including whites and
suburbanites, not just minorities
However, many people who vote and determine
public policy do not have a personal experience, or
investment in what happens to these kids.
Pg 3

Connecting adults from diverse
backgrounds with inner-city kids in
one-on-one tutor/mentor programs is
a strategy for civic engagement.
Tutor/Mentor Programs are the only form of civic engagement
that the T/MC knows of that connects a wide range of
workplace adults with minority inner-city kids on a weekly and
monthly basis. In many cases these last for years.
These adults model a wider diversity of career possibilities for
youth than what adults in their own neighborhoods model.
They also open doors to learning and career opportunities for
youth they mentor.
Pg 4
The Tutor/Mentor Connection was created by Dan Bassill in 1993 based on
his 1975-1992 leadership of a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program in
Chicago, plus his 17 years of retail advertising experience with the
Montgomery Ward Corporation, and 4 years Loaned Executive experience
with the United Way of Chicago. He has led this strategy through the
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC since 2011. Connect with Dan on social media.

The Internet offers opportunities to
educate tutor/mentor volunteers
about issues of poverty.
•As we help more adults join and stick with tutor/mentor
programs, and help these adults bond with kids and learn about
poverty, we have the potential to connect volunteers from
hundreds of programs into one tutor/mentor connection learning
network.
•As the numbers grow in this movement, and as we connect
volunteers from multiple programs and multiple cities, in Internet
based distance learning and activism projects, we have the
ability to become a policy force in Chicago and throughout the
country.
See eLearning goals at https://tutormentorexchange.net/conferences-and-online-
forums/88-e-learning-goals
Pg 5

Pg 6
Connecting an adult with a youth in a
Tutoring/Mentoring Program
Is the BEGINNING of a
tutor/mentor program's work, not
the end.

A Tutoring/Mentoring program
is where a community can launch a life-long connection
between caring adults and young people.
Programs that connect youth to adults from different
backgrounds, who model jobs and careers, and help
open doors are building bridging social capital.
Pg 7

Youth-Serving programs that
increase the pool of trained
workers, and
reduce the costs associated with
poverty, should be a priority of
any industry leader.
Pg 8

Pg 9

Helping volunteer-based
programs grow in high poverty
areas, where the tutor/mentor
bonds grow and have a long-term
benefit for the child and the adult
is the focus of the Tutor/Mentor
Institute, LLC and the
Tutor/Mentor Connection
Pg 10

To succeed each local program
must engage its volunteers,
youth, parents, alumni and
donors as learners and leaders.
Pg 11

School-Time Programs
3-5 PM Non-School Programs
Pre-K K-5th 5th-6th 6th-8th
High
School
Career
Track
After 5 PM and Weekend Programs
Our goal is to enlist leaders from different industries who will mobilize
volunteers and lead an on-going discussion of how to help kids get to careers.
Healthcare
Communications
Law
Government
Arts, Culture
Finance
Technology
Manufacturing
Agriculture
Hospitality,
Sports,
Entertainment
Education
Engineerin
g, Science
The arrow represents the
service learning loop
Pg 12

In each industry there are sub groups who each could be building
member understanding and support of tutor/mentor strategies.
Insurance
Healthcare
Juvenile Health
Suicide
Prevention
Child Abuse
Reproductive
Health , Parent
education
Nutrition
Education
Violence
Prevention;
handgun control
Mental Health
Depression
Pediatric Health
Substance
Abuse. Eating
disorders.
Careers in
healthcare
The HealthCare
industry has various
prevention and work-
force development
initiatives that should
be working together.
Health care needs to take the lead in
PULLING youth To careers
Pg 13

To SUCCEED
We must recruit business
leaders who will use their
resources in PULLING
Youth to Careers
To SUCCEED
We must help tutor/mentor
program leaders, volunteers,
schools and parents be more
effective in PUSHING
Youth to Careers
School-Time Programs
3-5 PM Non-School Programs
Pre-K K - 5th 5th - 6th 6th - 8th
High
School
Career
Track
After 5 PM and Weekend Programs
T/MC Goal:
Help K-12 youth in high
poverty areas of big cities
reach Careers.
Each industry has reason to
invest in this strategy:
For instance, the HealthCare
industry faces severe shortages of
healthcare professionals and a high
cost of emergency room services in
inner-city neighborhoods
Pg 14

Creating Learning Communities within each industry
These graphics illustrate a goal of
engaging members of each industry
in a on-going strategies that support
tutor/mentor programs in all poverty
neighborhoods of a city like
Chicago.
Pg 15

Tutoring/Mentoring Model of The Service-Learning Loop
A
D
C
B
A) volunteer
hears about
tutor/mentor
program
B) volunteer
meets with
youth
C) volunteer learns from
youth and program
D) volunteer
shares with co-
workers,
friends
Pg 16

C
G
G) Group of
volunteers
learn
Each week in a tutor/mentor program this model repeats
A
D
B
E) volunteer’s
friends become
involved
H) Group of volunteers
influence business support
of tutor/mentor program
H
E
F
F) volunteer
friends become
donors, volunteers,
etc.
Pg 17

C
G
If organizations support group learning….
A
D
B
H
E
F
Companies, churches
universities, can support
group learning at this
stage
…volunteers going into programs will be better prepared
to contribute to the success of a youth
The learning in a
tutor/mentor program
influences the learning
and actions at the other
end of the service
learning loop.
Pg 18

C
G
Accelerate the learning….increase the resources available
A
D
B
H
E
F
…This is the role of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
As volunteers move
through this loop we
have an opportunity
to support what they
do with kids, and
how they influence
what business does
to support these
programs.
Pg 19

Tutor/Mentors Can Help Youth Grow
Through Each Stage of Life
Pre-Kindergarten
Kindergarten to Elementary
School
Jr. High School
High School
College &/or Career
Pg 21

Youth living in Poverty Face Greater Barriers
to Successfully Reaching Careers
Lack of positive role models;
too many negative models
Poor nutrition,
crowded housing, teen pregnancy
Single parent families,
segregation, racism
Gangs, Drugs
Limited education or early
employment options
Pg 22

See how this concept was interpreted by
college intern working with T/MC
Interns working with
Tutor/Mentor Connection in
Chicago have been
creating new visual
interpretations of these
ideas.
Students in high schools
and colleges throughout
the country could be doing
this same work, as part of
their own learning and
service.
View video of this presentation at: https://youtu.be/5msRqzynH_c
See this and other visualizations created by interns between 2005 and 2015 at
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/definition-of-issues/ideasanimation
Pg 22

Types of Problems and Outcomes
Addressed by Tutor/Mentors
 In-School
• School Readiness
• Physical and Mental Challenges
• Classroom Discipline
• Academic Skills
• Leadership Development
• Communication Skills
 Out-of-School
• School Readiness
• Job/Career Readiness
• Social Skills Development
• Injurious Behavior &
Substance Abuse
• Teen Pregnancy
• Racism
Long Term Results
Productive Citizens In a Healthy Community
Pg 23

To help quality programs reach youth
in every high poverty area...
We need to influence what
resource providers, business
and political leaders do to
support programs while
Also influencing what programs
do to learn from each other and
constantly improve their impact
on lives of youth and volunteers
who become involved.
Read articles on INFUENCE on
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com
Pg 24

All volunteer-based youth-serving programs have
same needs. Great programs are needed in every high
poverty area of Chicago and its suburbs.
These resources are
needed by every program,
every day, in every
neighborhood:
* volunteers
* public visibility
* operating dollars
* technology
* training/learning
* leadership
Chicago
area
The shaded
areas of this
map of
Chicago are
the areas of
most
concentrated
poverty.
Pg 25

Since 1994 the
(T/MC) has been leading
communications effort
intended to help every
program get volunteers,
donors, ideas and other
needed resources.
Pg 26
Since 2011 this effort has
been supported through
Tutor/Mentor Institute,
LLC, which is led by
T/MC founder Daniel F.
Bassill.
Drawing resources to programs in every neighborhood.
Others need to do same as T/MC has been doing.

Tutor/Mentor Institute Goal:
Focus volunteers on Mentoring-to-Career concepts
Create affinity groups where volunteers from the
same industry, but different programs, can meet to
share ideas and experiences.
Link volunteers from the same industry, but different
cities
Link volunteers from different industries with each
other
Pg 27

The Internet offers opportunities to
educate tutor/mentor volunteers
about issues of poverty.
As we help more adults join and stick with
tutor/mentor programs, and help these adults
bond with kids and learn about poverty, we
have the potential to connect volunteers from
hundreds of programs into one tutor/mentor
connection.
As the numbers grow in this movement, and as
we connect volunteers from multiple programs
and multiple cities, in Internet based distance
learning and activism projects, we have the
ability to become a policy force in Chicago and
throughout the country.
This is one site where people from many places can
learn together.
http://debategraph.org/mentoring_kids_to_careers
Pg 28

Connect on-line
While we might talk to a few people every day for a
short time, we can talk to hundreds or thousands every
day if we use the Internet. This has motivated my efforts
since 2001.
Open this map and see places Tutor/Mentor Shares Ideas -
http://tinyurl.com/TMC-DanNetwork
Pg 29

Learn More. Get Connected
• Additional power point essays like this are available at
https://tutormentorexchange.net/library
• Visit the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web library –
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/resource-links
• Find list of Chicago non-school programs at
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/chicago-area-program-links
• Read blog articles at http://tutormentor.blogspot.com and
http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com
Learn ways to provide financial support
https://tutormentorexchange.net/helptmi
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
Email: tutormentor2@earthlink.net

Tutor/Mentor Volunteering is Adult Service Learning

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