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This is what T/MC seeks when it describes the ABC University Tutor/Mentor Connection, shown in essays on the Tutor/Mentor Institute web site.
In order for this type of relationship and partnership to take place, one or two people at the university need to begin to investigate the T/MC and its goals, and the questions we're trying to ask and answer. Then they need to draw in a growing number of others until a full strategy is in place, owned by different sectors of the university community.
A starting point might be for interns, graduate students and/or faculty to get involved through one of the projects listed below.
This is a list of projects that volunteers, interns and grad students could be doing. We will add to it from time to time, and others are encouraged to add their own project ideas. If you are looking for a service learning project, internship, etc. and want to volunteer to work in one of these areas, email tutormentor2@earthlink.net and introduce yourself, or introduce yourself in this forum.
Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) depend on an army of volunteers and orchestra of donors to help it do its work. Below is a list of the types of volunteer and intern opportunities T/MC offers.
Tutor/Mentor Connection opportunities
Information Management
Web Researcher and Links Manager —Collect and maintain the information and links on the T/MC Web site. Volunteers search the internet for new links, check existing links and organize online discussions to help people find and use this information. Review LINKS section on portal, one by one. If link is broken, report it using the "broken link" feature. If link works, review what the site offers, and write a review. Rate the value of the site from the perspective of a potential visitor who is part of a tutor/mentor program. Find the Contact US area, or the staff listing, and send an email introducing yourself, telling the group that they are linked on the T/MC site, and that we encourage them to be part of the next Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference.
Program Locator Research and Understanding - Volunteers help maintain the program information in the T/MC database, and web site and use surveys and other forms of learning to build a better understanding of the different types of tutoring and/or mentoring programs operating in different parts of the city , as well as of the different need for such programs, or more programs, in different neighborhoods.
Get to know the Tutor/Mentor Programs near your university.
One project that a class could adopt would be to use the T/MC program locator, and your own list of community contacts, to build a growing understanding and involvement with all of the tutor/mentor programs in the area served by the University. For instance, in 2009 Loyola University Chicago listed 42 tutor and/or mentor programs as community partners. Student interns could reach out to these programs and make sure each is listed on the T/MC Program Locator, has updated links, effective web sites, and knows how to use T/MC maps in their own outreach and advocacy. If teams from the different universities in the Chicago region took this role, the data T/MC shares would be more accurate, and the support for programs in each sector would be stronger, because of the university role.
Gold Medal in Public Service - This group is surveying businesses and foundations and faith groups, collecting information of the leadership strategies of different types of groups, and building an understanding of different ways leaders encourage volunteer and donor involvement in one, or more, tutor/mentor programs in the city. The information collected is part of the links library, and is used to facilitate small group meetings and public recognition, that results in a constant "competition" among resource providers to improve what they are doing to help tutor/mentor programs help kids each year. This is a concept of "comparative recognition". By recognizing the good things one company is doing, in a public way, we encourage it and its peers to try to do even better the following year.
Map the resources of your university and act as an intermediary, or a Tutor/Mentor Connection network-builder, to connect these resources to the T/MC and our mission. Here's an example of how the different departments at Northwestern University were mapped by an alum serving a one-year fellowship with T/MC.
Event Organization
Chicagoland Tutor/Mentor Volunteer Recruitment Campaign—Work on a year-round basis to develop and implement strategies that recruit volunteers for tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago region. Raise funds to support the campaign. Time commitment: approx. 4-6 hours per month
Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conference and Volunteer Training—Organize the May and November leadership conferences and eConferences. Provide training, education and support to volunteers, leaders, and business, media and philanthropic partners. Time commitment: approx. 3-6 hours per month
Public Relations
Here are links to some articles about the Tutor/Mentor Connection.
Help us increase the number of people who visit this web site and use this information, and you play a valuable role in helping us connect inner city kids in long-term volunteer-based programs.
Communications—Prepare publications, brochures and other media used to connect youths, volunteers, parents, donors and other stakeholders with each other and the tutor/mentor community. Here are videos created by Chinese and Koren interns, sharing T/MC strategies in their own languages. Spanish speaking interns could do the same. Volunteer roles can be ongoing or project-based. Time commitment varies.
Net-Worker—Actively spread the word about tutoring/mentoring to others through church sermons, Web site links, email, letters, or word-of-mouth. This is the easiest and possibly most important role anyone can take. Just by encouraging someone to visit this Web site you enlarge the army of tutors/mentors and resource builders in Chicago. Time commitment varies.
Blogger—Write about tutoring and mentoring in blogs and forums. Here are blogs written by interns from various universities. Time commitment varies.
Fund Raising
Fund raising—Raise funds to support T/MC or other tutor/mentor programs in Chicago. Become a champion of tutoring/mentoring in your company, church or civic organization. Help organize fund raising events, write grant proposals and recruit a network of potential donors. This type of fund raising can be intended to raise funds for all tutor/mentor programs in Chicago or another city, not just Cabrini Connections. Time commitment varies.
Business School Connection - see wiki. see discussion board. The goal is to enlist students at graduate business schools in different cities to be the marketing and resource building arm of a Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy. Help develop this concept into a reality.
Technology
Technology Planning Wiki—Develop and implement the TM/C technology plan on the Technology Wiki. Determine necessary technologies, acquire technologies through a variety of fund raising efforts, and work with Technology Coordinator and volunteers to maximize use of technologies. Help keep the Wiki content current, and formatted. Help other people learn to use the Wiki for collaboration with each other, and our staff and board members. Time commitment: approx. 4-8 hours per month.
Database/documentation/Technology Committee -- The goal of this group is to develop and maintain interactive Internet-based databases that can be used to collect and share information. Currently Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection collect and maintain information on a variety of databases which are not connected. This creates an inefficiency and redundancy. The primary goal of this committee is to develop a web-based database that collects information from various entry points and supports multiple users and purposes. SEE OHATS and PROGRAM LOCATOR Projects. Both need database support. Time commitment varies.
GIS Mapping and Marketing—Build the GIS mapping capacity of T/MC and create map views and Web pages that show where tutor/mentor programs are needed and where they are located. Show how this concept can be applied in other cities, and in other causes. Look for earned income opportunities. Time commitment: approx. 4-6 hours per month.
Evaluation and Documentation Committee -- We're looking for people who can look at data and "create sense and understanding" so we can use the data to constantly improve, while also convincing donors to fund our on-going efforts. This group has a research background and a business “track and chart” mentality. They want to document everything and look at the outcomes of the program from a dozen different angles. Their mission is to build systems that make it easier to collect actions and outcomes from volunteers, students and other stakeholders, as well as to analyze, evaluate and share this information with an extended network of program leaders and supporters throughout the country. Read more about documenting actions in Cabrini Connections, and documenting actions in Tutor/Mentor Connection.
Cabrini Connections opportunities
College and Career Development Committee -- Cabrini Connections knows that jobs and internships are essential to helping kids from poverty move to careers. These serve as a PULL SYSTEM, and show the relationship between work and education. We seek volunteers who will lead our Career Development Committee. This group works with teens to help them develop paths to college. It also works with businesses to develop mentoring/internships at the company site, then supports teens as they enter those internships. The committee also organizes a variety of job shadowing and skill building workshops that help prepare students for the workforce by introducing them to a variety of careers and educating them on the steps they need to take and the skills they need to posses, to succeed in the work world. SEE Arts, Technology, Video, Writing and special learning clubs, College and Career programs should integrate with these clubs, and develop youth apprentice opportunities in local businesses for teens who have mastered basic skills. Time Commitment: Approx. 2-6 hours per month
Alumni Support Research and Program Development - we are connecting with more of our former students via Facebook. We want to survey them to learn what impact CC has had, what contact they still have with us or volunteers, and what needs they have now for support of themselves, or their children. From what we learn we can develop programs that might be offered at the CC center from 9am to 3pm, using the space more effectively, attracting new funding, and providing the continued support to our alumni that we promise when they join us. Much of this alumni support could also be aimed at our volunteers, who may be dealing with some of the same jobs, family, health issues that our former students are dealing with.
Communications Committee -- help tell the story of tutoring/mentoring, and teach Cabrini Connections students to tell the story, via the Arts, Technology, Writing and Video clubs. - In this project, students in journalism, English, writing and/or web building classes, use the Program Locator and the LINKS sections to identify specific tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago area. The students volunteer to become short term journalist who will visit the program, interview students, volunteers, staff, parents, etc., and write "stories" that express the richness and uniqueness of each tutor/mentor program. These stories will be given to programs to use in their own newsletters and/or web sites, or to be used for nominating volunteers and youth for special recognition, such as the Jefferson Award for Public Service. However, service learning students are also encouraged to create blogs or web pages, where they post these stories. A network of such blogs could provide visibility to tutor/mentor programs the way the Non profit Blog exchange provides a range of information on non profit organizations. Volunteers from this group have graphic arts, public relations, writing, journalism, web design and other communications backgrounds. They help prepare all of the many publications, brochures and other material used to connect youth, volunteers, parents, donors and other stakeholders with each other and the Cabrini Connections community. Volunteer roles can be on-going or by project. Time commitment varies.
ELearning and/Technology Committee -- Volunteers from this group are developing internet based learning, networking and collaboration strategies aimed at achieving the eLearning goals of the organization. meeting in an on-line planning and networking forums. The committee is responsible for developing and implementing the technology plan for Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection. Activities in this group range from mantaining the content on the web sites, marketing the information to students, volunteers and donors, and organizing webnars, and learning activities, such as COOL CASH, that encourage students and volunteers to use the information on the CC and T/MC web sites. This group should have a Moodle background, and be committed to on-line learning, networking and collaboration. Time Commitment: Approx. 4-8 hours per month.Educational Resource -- Cabrini Connections is not a school, and its volunteers are not professional teachers. However, our goal is to help our teens succeed academically, socially and in the work place. Through this committee we seek to help our volunteers and students maximize the academic opportunities of our technology and the weekly tutoring/mentoring sessions. Time Commitment: Wednesday or Thursday evening from 5:30-7:30; additional 1-4 hours per month
Events Committee -- This group plans group events for students and volunteers, such as the Halloween Party, the Holiday Party, the Black History Celebration, and the End-of-Year Dinner. Time Commitment: Approx. 4-6 hours per month per event.
Fund raising/Incentives -- Raising money to fund Cabrini Connections is a constant challenge. It is a shared responsibility of every volunteer who is part of Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection. This group leads fund raising efforts and helps obtain merchandise donations for the Cabrini Connections program. Volunteers from this group take the lead on different events and fund raising activities, as well as fund raising events such as the Year End Dinner and Annual Sponsor Program (May), Golf Benefit (July) and Art Festival (April) or Martini Madness (October), and annual year end holiday fund appeal. Time Commitment: Approx. 4-6 hours per month
GIS Mapping/Youth Apprentice -- Volunteers with expertise in Geographic Information Systems and Internet are working to build this capacity. See maps we've created and our interactive map gallery. We seek volunteers to help create maps and manage our current system, and others who will teach teens to create map views and web pages that show where tutor/mentor programs are needed and where they are located. This is a career development activity. Time Commitment: Approx 4-6 hours per month.
Grade Groups -- There are seven grade groups at Cabrini Connections. These serve our 7th through 12th grade teens, plus our alumni. The goal of this committee is to design and lead a plan to help Grade Groups achieve goal of building camaraderie and a support system among volunteers and students within each group. Time Commitment: Approx. 4-6 hours per month
Arts, Technology, Video, Writing and special learning clubs -- Volunteers are needed to organize the various communications and learning clubs, where students and volunteer create art, video, web pages, etc and learn team work, communications, and workplace skills. Volunteers provide structure to the programs and acquire necessary resources. The volunteers also organize the annual Arts and Video Festival and helpsraise funds to support the these programs and the overall Cabrini Connections. Time Commitment: Approx. 4-6 hours per month
Leadership College -- Volunteers are needed to create and lead student leadership activities, such as the Summer Leadership College. The goal of Cabrini Connections is to create future leaders for Cabrini Connections and other tutor/mentor programs by teaching students to take ownership of their own future, and share ownership of the mission of Cabrini Connections. Through student leadership college youth learn to do a needs assessment, strategic planning, and outreach, using the arts, video and technology programs that they participate in. Time Commitment: Approx. 4-6 hours per month
Net-Worker. The easiest, and possibly most important role anyone can take is that of a Net-Worker. This is someone who actively spreads the word about tutoring/mentoring to others. Just by encouraging someone to visit this web site, or the www.tutormentorconnection.org web site, you enlarge the army of tutors/mentors and resource builders in Chicago. You can spread the word through church sermons, web site links, email, letters, word-of-mouth. We don't have advertising dollars, so this grass-roots networking is essential to building support for tutor/mentor programs throughout the Chicago area.
Resources Committee -- Identifies and acquires resources to be used by volunteers and students to achieve program's mission. Time Commitment: Approx. 4-6 hours per month
Scroungers – These are people who can find anything, at any time. This group works with the Resources Committee and the Fund Raising/Events Committee. If you need a book, a computer, a speaker, etc., these are people who thrive on finding hard-to-get stuff. If that’s you, give us a call!
Opportunities, such as webnars - list them