Our Vision: Because of the work we do, more youths born in poverty will start jobs and careers by age 25, and more volunteers will make a lasting commitment to tutor/mentoring.
This Web site is a meeting place and knowledge center for people who want to make this vision a reality—in Chicago and in other major cities throughout the world. This "village" graphic illustrates the aim of the web site. See animated version of village concept.
The issue we address, poverty in inner city
neighborhoods, is complex, and extensive. Thus the information hosted
on this web site provides a wide range of information in many different
sections. It may be difficult for first-time visitors to know where to
start, or what to look for.Thus, we hope you'll
browse the site like you would the first time you go to a new shopping
center with hundreds of stores. Open the various sections and links to
see what they offer, then go on to the next section. Bookmark those
that you feel will be most useful to you, so when you visit again, you
can spend more time there.
The web site links to many
different web sites, which is also confusing. But again, a shopping
center has many different stores. As you learn to move back and forth
from one site to another, just like you go from store to store, we hope
you'll begin to get comfortable with this arrangement of information.
Why do we do this?
We
believe volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs are the bridges that
connect volunteers, donors and business leaders with the children,
families and schools on the other side of the socioeconomic divide.
However, we don't have all of the answers. When we formed the
Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 we said "Let's try to learn every thing
that is known about this problem, and about solutions that work in some
places that could be working in other places if the money and
volunteers were available."
Thus, while you can go to five or
six different web sites hosted by the T/MC, you can go to more than
1500 other sites hosted by other organizations, universities,
businesses and government. In addition, most of these sites were
selected by the T/MC to be on our sites because they have libraries of
links that point you to even more extensive networks of information.
If you spent enough time in this network of web sites you could earn a
Ph.D in this subject!!
This Web site is for:
- leaders of volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs
- youth in tutor/mentor programs
- volunteers
- board members
- business leaders
- parents
- donors
- media
By
exploring this Web site, and making a permanent resource for your own
learning, innovation and decision making, we hope you and all visitors
begin to understand where tutor/mentor programs are needed most, why
they are needed, ways to get involved and approaches to improving
existing programs.
We hope to connect you and a
growing number of these stakeholders through an ongoing, dynamic
exchange of ideas, and ultimately to improve the availability and
quality of tutor/mentor programs throughout the world.
Read more about who this web site is intended to serve.
View animated strategy map to understand goals of T/MC and resources on our web sites.
We invite you to register, log in and become an active participant in this community.