Image created by Tutor/Mentor Connection

This graphic is one of many that are created by the Tutor/Mentor Connection to illustrate the need for many people to work together for many years if we want more kids born in high poverty areas to finish high school with momentum for college and 21st century careers. This newsletter and T/MC web sites are intended to share this idea and invite people to on-line forums and events in Chicago, where we can work to make this a reality. 

A new article on the Stanford Social Innovation Review, titled COLLECTIVE IMPACT, shows many of the opportunities and challenges involved in bringing together diverse groups of leaders to address complex social problems.  You can find the link and my own comments at http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2010/12/collective-action-challenges-and.html

When I find articles like this I try to read them and share them with potential supporters and my own network of leaders. However, I also place the link in a library hosted on the T/MC web site so it is available for others to read.  Here are some sections I hope will add to your toolbox of ideas for building collaborations and innovating ways to create a greater collective impact on problems that persist in Chicago and throughout the world.

·         Process improvement section in tm library - http://tinyurl.com/TMC-innovation-links

·         Collaboration - http://tinyurl.com/collaboration-and-capacity-building-articles

·         Knowledge management, creativity - http://tinyurl.com/TMC-creativity

You can add your own links and write articles about them. You can also launch a group and join the planning discussions on the http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com forum.  This is an example of our efforts to invite people to come together for "collective action."
 

*  Map of Homework Help Resources on Tutor/Mentor Connection web site. http://tinyurl.com/TMC-HomeworkHelp-map

*  Link to research section of T/MC library - http://tinyurl.com/TMLibrary-research

*  Capacity building ideas (discussion forum) http://tinyurl.com/TMC-capacity-building-ideas

*  Funding & philanthropy links - http://tinyurl.com/TMC-funding-philanthropylinks

*  Challenges facing non profits - http://tinyurl.com/TMC-ChallengesFacingNPOs

*  T/MC blog links http://tinyurl.com/TMC-blogroll

Browse the web sites of more than 200 Chicago area programs to learn how they support volunteers and students.
http://tinyurl.com/ChiTM-Program-Links

Web sites of tutor/mentor programs in other cities:
http://tinyurl.com/T-MCLibrary-programs-network

Tutor/Mentor Connection and Cabrini Connections are the same organization.  We wish all of you a healthy, happy and safe holiday season. This graphic was created by one of the teens at Cabrini Connections.

At Cabrini Connections, http://www.cabriniconnections.net, we try to apply the ideas shared by the Tutor/Mentor Connection in a "collective action" that involves 80 teens, over 450 alumni, 100 volunteers, 800 former volunteers, and nearly 1500 donors. We have the same challenge as a city-wide intermediary, such as access to capital, and difficulty of brining volunteers and leaders on-line where they do their own learning and apply that in their own efforts to help the organization succeed.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection just takes this to the Chicago-wide level, where we're trying to help volunteers and leaders in more than 200 different tutor/mentor programs learn to access and use this information to support the youth in their own programs.  Furthermore, we're trying to engage leaders in every industry, faith group, college and hospital in the same learning so they become more proactive in how they participate in this collective effort.

We've been helped by many people from many different places. I encourage you to view this video showing how to use the OHATS (organizational history and tracking system) that we host on our web sites. The video was created by a volunteer in the UK, which illustrates how people from many places can work together toward a common goal. http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/video/ohatstmcflv-1?xg_source=activity

We were not anointed by the mayor or some wealthy benefactor to take on this role. Read the history of the Tutor/Mentor Connection at http://www.cabriniconnections.net/mission/history . You'll see that in leading a single tutor/mentor program from 1975 to 1992 we recognized a need to build a system that would support the growth of all tutor/mentor programs, just so we had the consistent resources we needed to do more to help our own Cabrini Green teens through school.

In one old WWII movie I remember one admiral complaining to another about a junior officer being given command of the fleet. He said, "He's never flown an airplane."  The commander said, "he doesn't need to know how to fly if he knows where to go."

Because of my 35 years of leading a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program and my background in retail advertising and study of history, I have probably spent more hours than most people in the country thinking about how to make volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs more effective, and more available.  After you've browsed our web sites for a few hours I hope you'll agree with me and become a benefactor, partner, supporter and/or user of this information.
I wrote an article on Network Building last week.

I hope you'll read it and see how we're creating a chain reaction. http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-networking-for-charity.html