News

September 2025 eNews

Issue 245

institute newsletter

Support for Volunteeers Creates New Leaders.

School has started and that means volunteer-based youth tutor, mentor and learning programs are in the middle of recruitment, orientation and start-up activities. My newsletters point to an extensive library that can be used by volunteers, students, staff, parents, educators and more. If you provide on-going support to volunteers they become more effective tutors and mentors and some become advocates and leaders. This issue shares some learning resources.

Visit https://tutormentorexchange.net/

While the primary focus of this newsletter and my website and blogs is to help volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs reach more youth in areas of persistent poverty, many of the sections have information that can be applied to any issue that needs support from many people, for many years. These resources can be used by anyone, in Chicago, or around the world.

Please share this so others in your city can find and use these resources!

Teach youth and volunteers to use resource libraries

Use the homework help section of the Tutor/Mentor Library

While September focuses on recruiting, training, orientating, matching and other start-up activities, this is only the beginning of what volunteer-based organizations need to be doing throughout the year to support matches and create new leaders. Open the links below and explore the resources.

Homework Help and Learning Resources - click here

Resources for training volunteers; for parents; and for program leaders - click here

Blogs by educators, youth programs, network builders, and fund raisers - click here

What's Your Strategy for Supporting Volunteers?

When I led a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program in Chicago from 1975 to 1992, I learned that I could not do everything that needed to be done. I also learned, that volunteers who stayed with the program for longer than a year often grew to take on leadership and capacity-building roles. This graphic was created in the late 2000s to show the result of effective, on-going, volunteer support. A few years later an intern from IIT and South Korea created an animated version of this, which you can see in this Tutor/Mentor blog article.

Retaining Volunteers in Tutor/Mentor Programs - click here

Tips for Volunteers in Tutor/Mentor Programs - click here

Do you write a blog? Can you share your own strategies for training and retaining volunteers?

"Enough is Enough". Follow these steps.

I studied history in college, then served three years in US Army Intelligence. Both focused on collecting best-available information and using it to support innovation, actions and decisions. I've applied this since I first became a volunteer tutor/mentor in 1973, to support my own efforts, and I've shared it to motivate others to do their own learning, drawing from a growing library of resources that I was building.

In the late 2007 I used the word "ENOUGH" to create steps for learning that anyone can follow. You can view it in this article.

Build habits of learning among your students and volunteers

In the mid 2000s I created this concept map to visualize goals for using the Internet to support youth and volunteers and keep them connected in the years after they finished the program.

The Internet was still a relatively new resource at that time, but in the tutor/mentor program I led, we'd already had a computer lab with Internet access since the late 1990s. I used it as a "teaching and learning" tool, aimed at the youth, volunteers, staff and donors who were part of our program, and aimed at every other youth-serving program in Chicago and the world.

I understood that I could never teach "everything" that our stakeholders needed to know, but if I could build learning habits, they would know where to go on our website to find usable information when they were looking for new ideas and resources.

I also understood that as our kids and volunteers left the program we had too few resources to track them and know long-term outcomes, but that if we could build habits of "getting and giving" information from our website, many would continue using the resource in future years, enabling us to stay connected, continue helping, and show donors the long-term impact of our work.

I left the program in mid 2011, too early for these goals to take root. Those who took my place did not have the same commitment to on-line learning and networking, thus did not continue this effort. Yet, I'm now connected to several dozen alumni, who share posts showing their own kids finishing high school and college. Some even say "Thank you Dan". One recently posted on Facebook, "The tutoring program was the best. I wish you could do that again for the kids. They really need programs for the younger generation."

Here's one of many articles where I share this "learning goals" concept map.

Creative ideas that can be used by tutors, mentors, educators, youth and parents.

The "Fluffy Ducky" graphic was shared on social media by Sheri Edwards, a retired teacher from Washington State. It's one of an on-going series of posts where Shari shows her own learning as she explores the challenges of "making art everyday".

The ideas she shares could be prompts that volunteers, educators and/or parents use to engage with young people. They can be prompts young people use for creating their own art. Follow Sheri on BlueSky or subscribe to her blog posts.

Another creative activity is the DS106 Daily Create (at this link), which has offered daily creative challenges every day since January 12, 2012. Each assignment should take no more than 15-20 minutes, so they could fit into school or non-school timeframes. You can find them on Mastodon at https://mastodon.social/@This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on other social media platforms. Share your own creations.

Follow me on https://mastodon.cloud/@tutormentor1 or @tutormentor.bsky.social and view the daily posts from educators I've been following for more than a decade. Encourage your volunteers to do the same.

Below are resources to use.

(I repeate many of these each month. That does not mean the information is old. These websites keep adding new resources to their own sites!)

* ForGood - a technology-enabled donor-advised fund - click here
* Grantmakers for Education - click here
* Loving Cities Index 2025 - Schott Foundation Report - click here
* Campaign for Grade-Level Reading - Focus on Tutoring - click here

* City of Chicago Violence Reduction Dashboard - click here for overview

* UCLA Center resources - Guide to Learning Supports pdf - click here; and, here

* Every Hour Counts - network of intermediaries building after school systems - click here

* MyChiMyFuture - Chicago youth programs map and directory. click here; visit the website - click here

* Chicago Mentoring Collaborative - click here

* Chicago Learning Exchange supports Out-of-School-Time community in Chicago - click here

* ACT Now - Championing Quality Afterschool Programs in Illinois - click here

* Chicago Community Area Hardship Index (2019-2023) - click here

* To & Through Project website - click here

* Center for Effective Philanthropy - click here

* Forefront -Illinois' statewide association of nonprofits, foundations and advisors. click here

* AfterSchool Alliance resources - click here; New report - click here

* Chicago Public Schools locator map - click here

* National Mentoring Resource Center - click here

* YouthToday online magazine - news for people working in youth development sector - click here

* Knowledge Alliance - research and evidence to support education policy - click here

* South Side STEM Asset maps - read about using maps - click here

* Incarceration Reform Resource Center - click here

* Prison Policy Initiative - click here

Most Recent Tutor/Mentor blog articles

(Do you have a blog? Share it on social media.)

Mapping Event Participation - click here

Knowledge-Based Problem Solving in Era of Government Chaos - click here

Athletes Doing Good. What's the Game Plan? - click here

What's Your Problem-Solving Process Look Like? - click here

Retaining Volunteers in Volunteer-based Tutor/Mentor Programs - click here

Building Youth Networks - click here

Reaching Youth in High Poverty Areas. Distance Matters. - click here

Bookmark these Tutor/Mentor Resources

* Lists of Chicago area, volunteer-based tutor, mentor programs - click here

* Homework help and volunteer training resources - click here

* Resource Library - click here

* Strategy essays by Tutor/Mentor - click here

* Work done by interns in past - click here

* Maps and Map-Stories from past 30 years - click here

* Political Action resources - click here, and click here

* Featured collections on Wakelet - click here

* Tutor/Mentor Institute Videos - click here

* About T/MI articles on blog - click here

* History of T/MC - T/MI articles - click here

* Create a New Tutor/Mentor Connection - click here

* Reaching out to Universities to adopt the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy - click here

* Chicago Youth Serving Organizations in Intermediary Roles - click here to view a concept map showing many organizations working to help improve the lives of Chicago area youth. Follow the links.

Thank you for reading this month's newsletter.

Please share this with people you know who work in non-school youth serving programs, or in sectors that should be strategically supporting such programs, such as business, philanthropy, education and public policy. If they are not receiving these newsletters then we have no way of engaging them. Also encourage friends, family, co-workers to sign up to receive this newsletter.

I encourage others to duplicate what I'm doing. Write a blog and share your own vision, strategy and challenges. Share your link and I'll add it to this list in the Tutor/Mentor library.

View current and past newsletters at this link.

To subscribe, just Click here.
(If you subscribe, don't forget to respond to the confirmation email).

Please help fund the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC

Visit this page and add your support so I can keep this information available to you and the world.

Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present)
Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present)

Serving Chicago and the world since 1993. Connect with Dan Bassill, founder and leader on one of the social media platforms.

eMail Dan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to schedule a ZOOM call and learn more about the strategies and resources he is sharing.

Social Media Connections

Do a web search for "tutor mentor" and you'll find us on many platforms.

Connect with Dan at

BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/tutormentor.bsky.social

Dan Bassill on LinkedIn

Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLCon Facebook group

Dan Bassill on Facebook Page

Dan Bassill on Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@tutormentor1,
https://mastodon.garden/@tutormentor1 and @This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dan Bassill on Instagram and on Twitter (X)

Dan Bassill on Medium - https://medium.com/@danielfbassill

Concept Map Library - pg 3

All of the concept maps shown below can be found on page 1, of the concept map collection, as listings under some of the featured maps. I've created two additional pages (so far) to draw attention to these, since many people probably won't open the links on the first page. Click on the links below each concept map to view the actual map. Click on nodes at the bottom of each component to dig deeper into the library of ideas that are shared on these maps.

Types of Information the T/MC and T/MI Collect and Shares - this has list of all concept maps

http://tinyurl.com/InfoWeCollect-Share

Many T/MC and T/MI blog articles have extensive additional links

https://tinyurl.com/TMI-blog-as-library

Examples of relationship mapping/network analysis

click here

Understanding the Digital Divide in the U.S.A.

http://tinyurl.com/TMI-DigitalDivide-Issues

Building a Program Locator - Layers Needed

http://tinyurl.com/TMI-Platform
View map showing Program Locator built in 2008 - click here

Engaging the Public Health Sector

https://tinyurl.com/TMI-PublicHealth-Hope

Return to page 1 , or page 2, of concept map library.

August 2025 eNews

Issue 244

institute newsletter

Build Learning Networks. Support Youth.

School starts again in the next few weeks and that means volunteer-based youth tutor, mentor and learning programs are now seeking volunteers to participate in 2025-26 school-year programs. As I've done every year since 1994 I'll share my lists of Chicago area tutor/mentor and learning programs in this newsletter and point to other resources that can be used by volunteers anywhere in the USA. I'll also point to network-building articles and show how important it is that these ideas be applied in every city and state. Visit https://tutormentorexchange.net/

These resources can be used by anyone, in Chicago, or around the world.

Please share this so others in your city can find and use these resources!

www.tutormentorexchange.net

Find youth-serving programs and give them your support.

Open this concept map and use it to help you find youth serving programs in Chicago and beyond. At the left are nodes that point to sections of the Tutor/Mentor library with lists of Chicago area volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs. In the middle are nodes that point to lists of Chicago area programs on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. At the middle-right are links that point to other platforms that anyone can use to find places to volunteer and/or donate.

Note. each of my concept maps has a "can you help" node, with a link to my "Fund T/MI" page. If you value this resource please consider making a small contribution.

Network-building articles on the Tutor/Mentor blog

This graphic shows a goal of reaching K-12 kids in every high poverty area of cities like Chicago with on-going, age-specific, support that helps them move safely through school and into adult lives, with jobs that enable them to raise their own kids free of poverty.

Building such systems requires the involvement of many people, representing every sector of society. I've posted many articles since 2005 about "knowing your network" and "nudging your network" and shared mapping tools that can be used to understand "who's participating" and "who's missing". I point to many of those articles from this blog article.

Do any leaders in your community use graphics like this to show the long-term support needed by youth in many zip codes? Share the links if you have them..

Look at how leadership strategies are shared on the Tutor/Mentor website

While much of the information on the Tutor/Mentor website focuses on what volunteers and leaders in youth-serving programs can do to help kids, many of the resources focus on what leaders in business, media, entertainment, philanthropy, universities and hospitals can do to help make comprehensive, long-term, tutor, mentor and learning programs available in many locations.

This graphic shows how the "leadership strategies" link on the left side of the home page opens to show two articles. Each has links to many other resources that leaders can use to learn more ways to support youth serving programs. Each also has a link to the most recent Tutor/Mentor blog article about leadership. These ideas can be used by leaders in any part of the USA or the world.

This shows a collection of concept maps

This is an example of how concept maps can be used to share information. In this case I'm pointing to many visualizations showing how networks can be mapped to build greater understanding of who's participating. View the concept map in this article.

Youth and volunteers in organized programs could be creating their own visualizations, using the tools I point to in my blog articles and Tutor/Mentor library. Such collections should be aggregated and hosted on a local website, providing on-going ideas for solving problems and creating a better future.

Do you have a library like this? Share your links.

The Partnership for Student Success at Johns Hopkins University

This is a recent addition to the library.

The Partnership for Student Success at Johns Hopkins University supports a nationwide effort in local and state communities across the country to bring evidence-based and people-powered support to all students. This is one of many resources added in the past month to the Tutor/Mentor library. Visit the "new links added in 2025" page and scroll through the list. Each has a link to the organization's website along with a link to the page in the library where that link, and many others like it, are hosted.

The purpose of the library is to provide information that supports the decisions and innovations of people across the world who are working to help children born today be healthy adults starting jobs and careers by their mid to late 20s. Spend time browsing the various sections of the library so you know what's available.