Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website tour

Organization of information on Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
Learn to use the resources
on the Tutor/Mentor
Institute, LLC website to
help build systems that
support kids as they move
through school and into
adult lives.
Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) www.tutormentorexchange.net eMail tutormentor2@earthlink.net

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Organization of information on Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
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Video showing information
on the Tutor/Mentor
Institute, LLC website:
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=umS4YsTHPhA
Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) www.tutormentorexchange.net eMail tutormentor2@earthlink.net Page 2

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Explore the LEFT SIDE of the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website
This entire website is intended to serve as a “book” or a
“curriculum guide” for people looking for ways to help kids in
high poverty areas move through school and into careers, with
volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs a key part of the
strategy.
Part 1: From top to bottom, this is a progression of learning
starting with “what do we know of the problem”, then moving to
“building a geographic understanding” to roles of leaders, roles
of business, collaboration, how to start a program, how to recruit
volunteers, training, networking, learning opportunities, etc.
Part 2: This is a list of links to other TMI and TMC web sites
where resources can be found to implement the thinking shown
in Part 1.
Part 3: This is a list of links to TMI and TMC blogs. The
information in Part 1 does not change often, since these are
strategies that need to be learned, then applied, for many years,
and in many places. In each section I point to related sections
of the blog.
The blog articles do change, with new ones added weekly to the
main Tutor/Mentor blog, and monthly to the MappingforJustice
blog.

1.
Explore the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website
The next pages (#3 to #13) will describe
information that is found in each of the sections
under the Tutor/Mentor Institute heading at the
top left side of the home page.
This is a progression of information. Open them
sequentially the first time you visit the site. After
that, you'll know what's available and can go to
any section and dig deeper into the articles.
In each section are three to five sub sections.
Below is an example.
In each sub
article is a link
to the most
current blog
article related
to that topic.

Section 1: Explore each section of www.tutormentorexchange.net site
The top left set of links are a
progression of steps. The
first introduces you to the
Tutor/Mentor Connection
(1993-present) and
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC
(2011-present)
The articles in the
Understanding Issues section
describe ways to use information
to solve problems. By collecting
links to existing tutor/mentor
programs in Chicago and other
cities we encourage people to
borrow ideas already working in
some places, and use them in
many places.

Section 1 (con't) www.tutormentorexchange.net site
The Distribution of
Programs section shows
ways to use geographic maps
to understand where people
need more help, where
existing programs are
located, and where resources
are needed.
The Tutor/Mentor Connection
was designed as a resource for
leaders in business,
philanthropy and government
to use to help volunteer-based
youth tutor/mentor programs
available in more places.
Articles in these two sections
provide ideas to support such
leaders.

The Collaboration and Capacity
Building section focuses on network
building, shared effort, and growing
collaborations of people and
organizations, who focus on helping
youth from birth to work, with volunteer-
based tutor/mentor programs an
important part of the strategies.
The Planning Strategies section
focuses on the on-going events
needed to draw media attention, and
build public awareness so more
people get involved, and stay
involved, supporting youth
tutor/mentor programs in every high
poverty area of a city. It includes a
history of events organized by the
T/MC from 1994-2000.

If we know why programs are needed,
where they are needed, and roles
leaders can take, now we need to focus
on what it takes to build and sustain a
comprehensive, long-term, youth tutor
and/or mentor program. Find ideas in
this “How to Start a Program”
section.
These ideas are based on
Dan Bassill's experiences
in leading a program from
1975 to 2011, and from
lessons learned from
others. Dan is founder and
leader of Tutor/Mentor
Connection and Institute,
LLC.

Using its list of Chicago tutor/mentor
programs the T/MC began inviting programs
to gather, network and share ideas in
Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking
Conferences. The first was in May 1994.
They were held every six months until May
2015. This section shows e-Learning goals
and includes an archive of conference
workshops and speakers/.
This map shows 1994-2015
conference participation. Note
how participants came from
throughout the country. A few
came from other countries.
Open the section on
“conferences” and find the link to
this map and list of participating
organizations.

This section includes
campaign history and shows
leaders who supported the
campaign each year. View
the campaign manifesto and
annual reports.
Website viewers are
encouraged to learn from
T/MC efforts and duplicate
this campaign in every city
and support it in Chicago.
Using its list of Chicago programs the
T/MC began organizing a Chicagoland
Tutor/Mentor Back-to-School Volunteer
Recruitment Campaign in August 1995.
These recruitment fairs continued until
2003. After that the list of programs was
in an on-line directory and the Internet
was used to draw volunteers to
programs.
CEO, Chicago schools.
First Lady of Illinois

Find links to current and past e-mail
newsletters in this section. The
newsletters are sent once a month,
following the annual cycle of
tutor/mentor programs. Thus in August
they focus on volunteer recruitment and
in December they focus on fund raising.
In May they focus on year-end
celebrations and planning for the next
year.
From 2006 though 2015 interns from
local universities, as well as from
South Korea, China, India and Hong
Kong, created visual interpretations
of the Tutor/Mentor Connection
strategy. This link points to videos
they created. These are examples
of what youth from around the
country could be doing on an on-
going basis.

This is the top level cMap,
showing a commitment needed
by many leaders to help “all kids
born in poverty be in jobs/careers
by age 25”. Under each node
are boxes with links to external
websites and additional concept
maps.
View this map at
http://tinyurl.com/tmc-strategy-
map
Visualizations have been used since
the 1990s to communicate T/MC and
T/MI strategies. In 2005 we began
using cMapTools to create concept
maps to do this.
These are layers of information, with
one map opening to many more. This
library shows the entire collection.

Section 2: Hot Links - from http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website.
HOT LINKS: The middle section of links on the left side of the
home page are links to external websites hosted by T/MC and
T/TMI.
These are organized in the order that we feel visitors will find
important. Thus, the first three sections point to lists of Chicago
area volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs where youth might
become involved and/or where volunteers and donors might
become involved.
T/MC shared its list of Chicago area volunteer-based tutor/mentor
programs in a printed directory from 1994 to 2002 and an web
directory since then.

T/MC began using maps to show where programs were needed,
based on indicators like poverty, violence and poorly performing
schools, in 1994. The list of programs was shared in a printed
directory until 2002 (example on previous page). Then a
searchable program locator (shown below) was created. This is
now only available as an archive.
As of 1/2022 we no longer point to the
Program Locator. View at
https://tinyurl.com/ProgramLocatorSearch

The T/MC list of Chicago programs is its most
valuable asset. It is organized by sections of the city in
a link library available from this link.
The concept map at left also points to the Chicago
programs list, plus to other resources people can use
to find volunteer opportunities anywhere in the USA.
The list is updated as new information becomes
available. Links are checked annually.
This is page that opens and
points to other pages with lists
for different parts of Chicago.
Additional youth serving orgs.

Find list of Chicago Area, volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor programs at
https://tutormentorexchange.net/chicago-area-program-links
Open this link and find
lists of additional youth
serving organizations in
Chicago and nationally.
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/other-youth-programs

The T/MC resource library is its second most valuable
asset. It contains more than 2000 links and is constantly
expanding, under the question of “What are all the things
we need to know to be able to build and sustain youth
tutor/mentor programs in all poverty areas, and to help
these programs constantly improve how they impact the
lives of youth and volunteers who become involved?”.
The library has multiple sections,
each with sub sections. Click into
each section and scroll the links.
Concept Maps in the cMap
library also outline information
available in the library.

Each sub section of
the library follows this
format.
This is the list of sub
sections in this
category.
http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/resource-links/law-justice-links

http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/resource-links/
law-justice-links/poverty-mapping
On the left side you find links to each sub-section which opens to a page like
this. This format repeats for each category in the library.

The T/MC resource library includes links to others in
Chicago and around the nation who focus on the well-
being of youth. In these links we point to our strategy map
(shown previously) and to a map with links to other
intermediaries in Chicago. Ideally each of these
organizations would be pointing to each other, and all
would be working to draw attention and resources to every
youth program in the region.
Click on the node
under each module
on the map to find a
link to the
organization's
website, if one is
available.

Hot Links: http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com
The strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Connection seeks to draw
people together to share ideas, provide support, and work
collectively to solve common problems.
The conferences were one strategy to do that. Yahoo eGroups
were started in early 2000s with that goal in mind. In 2007 the
tutormentorconnection.ning.com site was launched for this
purpose. This was where interns were coached to do their
projects and where a photo slide show is hosted.

Dan Bassill and the
Tutor/Mentor
Connection have
received many
awards over the
past 40 years. Links
to the “Awards and
Recognition” pages
can be found on
both the left, and the
right, sides of the
website.

3.
Explore the T/MC Blogs section of the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website
Part 3: This is a list of links to TMI and TMC blogs. The
information in Part 1 does not change often, since these are
strategies that need to be learned, then applied, for many
years, and in many places. In each section I point to
related sections of the blog.
The blog articles do change, with new ones added weekly
to the main Tutor/Mentor blog, and monthly to the
MappingforJustice blog.
The tutormentor.
blogspot.com blog
has been written since
2005 and is the
primary effort at
“making sense” and
“sharing” ideas from
the main website.

The MappingForJustice.blogspot.com blog was started in 2008 by
Mike Trakin, when T/MC received a $50k anonymous donation to re-
build our mapping capacity. Mike created maps and shared them in
articles until late 2010, when the financial crisis led to a drop in funds for
the T/MC and an inability to keep mike on staff. Since 2011 Dan Bassill
has posted to this blog, using it to show examples of mapping platforms
created by others, as well as showing map stories created using the
T/MC Chicago Program Locator, built in 2008-09.

1) Key Concepts – since
there are so many
articles on the main
blogs, this blog was
created as a collection of
articles that, together,
told the entire T/MC
strategy.
2) TutorMentorExchange on Wordpress. The articles on this focus on the “problem solving”
strategies of the T/MC and T/MI and attempt to show that the strategies can apply beyond just
supporting youth tutor and/or mentor programs.
3) TutorMentorConnection on Tumblr. The
articles on this site are pulled from the
Wordpress site. It extends the reach of our
ideas to other audiences.

Explore the T/MC BLOGS on the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website
Interns have been part of the Tutor/Mentor Connection since
1994. However, it was in 2006 that an intern from Hong Kong
was asked to set up a blog to share his reflections and what he
was learning. That blog, and the rest of the blogs on this list,
highlight work and lessons learned, of every other intern, from
2006 through 2015.

Resources at the TOP of the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website.
Part 4. Across the top of the website are links to a calendar of events, the current newsletter, the
library of PDF essays, a “get started” page, work done by interns and our concept map library.
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (I) (J)
Open the Calendar section and learn about quarterly events developed since 1994, which
were intended to draw programs together, build public awareness, and draw resources
directly to individual programs throughout the Chicago region.

Resources at the TOP of the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website.
Open this link to find a collection of videos that were created by interns, volunteers and Dan Bassill
between 2005 and 2021.
The Library contains a list of 80+ PDF essays created to share T/MC strategies created since mid 90s.
Open this page
first! View the
video and
concept maps.

Learn about the resources at the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website.
These links open concept maps created since 2005.
Imagine a page like this
on your school or
university website
showing work YOUR
students did, focusing
these ideas on your
community!
Open this link and you'll find five pages showing projects done by interns who worked
with T/MC and T/MI between 2006 and 2015. These are intern interpretations of our
strategies. The two below show the “service learning loop” idea.

6.
Resources at RIGHT SIDE of the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net website.
Part 5. This set of links are for visitors who come to the site
looking for information about places to volunteer. It’s also the
place we show how to connect with us via social media and how
to help with a donation.
Part 6. This section is mission, history, and organizational and
planning information, and archives of news media, videos and
print newsletters from 1993 to 2002. In these links you meet
Dan Bassill, founder of Tutor/Mentor Connection and
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and see a list of awards received.
Now, let's look at the right side of the home page.
Why tutormentorexchange website name?
While the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC was created in 2011 the
www.tutormentorexchange.net site was launched in 1998. Initially
it primarily hosted the PDF essays that we started creating in the
mid 1990s to visualize our strategies. Since so many external
sites point to this site we kept the name and use it as the main
T/MI page.
A new owner/investor might build a new website then re-direct
inquiries to www.tutormentorexchange.net to that site.
5.

The Tutor/Mentor Institute mission is accomplished through a four-part strategy
which is visualized in this concept map, and described in a PDF essay found at
https://www.scribd.com/document/86904421/
Problem-Solving-Strategy-Explanation-and-Overview
1. collect information
2. build public awareness
3. facilitate understanding
4. motivate actions

Between 2006 and 2015 interns from various colleges spent time learning
about the Tutor/Mentor Connection then created their own interpretations. In
this page a T/MC Introduction created using Prezi, by Mina Song, a student
from South Korea, is shown.

Using events, websites, news stories, etc. are tactics intended to expand the
network of people using the information collected by the Tutor/Mentor
Connection to help youth in high poverty areas move safely through school and
into adult lives. This section shares links and articles focused on network
growth and analysis.

This is the Business Plan of the Tutor/Mentor
Institute, LLC. Visit the work pages to find detailed
information about each part of the strategy as well as
status of each section. This shows work that has
been done since 1993 that needs to be updated as
well as ideas we've never had the resources to
implement. Click on “Home” or “work pages” to go
into the wiki.

Meet Daniel F. Bassill, founder of Cabrini Connections and Tutor/Mentor
Connection in 1993 and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC in 2011.
Read about the history of the Tutor/Mentor Connection and view an
extensive list of people and organizations who helped the organization grow
in the 1990s and beyond.

Step 2 of the 4-part strategy
focuses on building public
awareness of youth tutor/mentor
programs. This page shows print
media stories that achieved this
goal. Not included are TV & radio
interviews or News stories that
focused on the Cabrini
Connections part of the 1993-
2011 strategy.

Step 2 of the 4-part strategy
focuses on building public
awareness of youth
tutor/mentor programs. This
page videos and print
newsletters and annual
reports that were created
between 1993 and 2003.
After 2003 all newsletters
and reports were in digital
format only.

View this page to learn
about the Chicago
Tutor/Mentor Program
Locator built between 2004
and 2008.
The site is now available
only as an archive. Partners
and/or investors are needed
to rebuild this along with the
rest of the Tutor/Mentor
Connection ability to
implement its 4-part
strategy.

END OF TOUR!
Now it's up to you to
spend time exploring the
various sections of the
website and learning
more of ways you and
people you know can
help kids living in high
poverty areas.
If you're an educator encourage
students to explore the website and its
resources, then write about it to share
what they are learning, just as interns
have done for me in the past.

Help Fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.
Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present) www.tutormentorexchange.net eMail tutormentor2@earthlink.net Page41

LET'S CONNECT
Dan Bassill is on Twitter
@tutormentorteam and
has pages on
Facebook, LinkedIn and
Instagram.
Connect, follow and
share. Help bring users
to the information on
this website.
Email Dan Bassill:
Tutormentor 2 at
earthlink.net
Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present)
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present
Social media links: https://tutormentorexchange.net/social-media

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC website tour

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