Daniel Bassill's Blog (71)

In every high poverty neighborhood there are one or two anchor institutions, like a hospital, university, bank, etc. that could provide leadership and strategic support to strategies that support the growth of youth mentoring programs.

If those same institutions also focus on community…

I created this graphic last week to illustrate the progression of thinking that I've followed for the past 20 years.

I know from my own experiences and those of others, and from much reading, that connecting youth with caring adults can have a positive impact.

I also know that…

Here's a presentation you all might share to recruit talent to help your own organizations.…

I just read this article on the Stanford Social Innovation review and I'm guilty of leading with problem statements and scaring off people who might want to help.

However, teaching old dogs new tricks is something that's hard to do, as is breaking long-term habits. 

Thus, my solution is to recruit volunteers who might help shape the messages in ways that don't…

I've been reading Curt Bonk's book titled the World is Open and have put in dozens of sticky notes on pages with links to on-line learning resources that he mentions.  I intended to go back and find these, one at a time, and add them to my own library on the Tutor/Mentor Connection site.

However, Curt's already done much of the work of building a list of resources. Visit this page and …

In the groups and blogs on this forum you can see how interns working with me in Chicago are creating visualizations that communicate our ideas in new ways.

In this blog titled Design for…

In other articles I've pointed attention to the year-round strategy of the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC and Tutor/Mentor Connection and shown how the May and November conferences have helped to get stories in Chicago media.  I've now created a page on the web site where you can…

This article quotes Malcolm Gladwell saying "if you want to shine, put in 10,000 hours".

It  goes on to say "The greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians and scientists emerge only after…

These I-Open process maps provided by Betsey Merkel are very good. I'd like to hear from any members of this forum who are finding ways to integrate them in their efforts to build and sustain high quality tutor/mentor programs in one, or more locations.

Here is the process of ...culture building,…

Reposted from  email I receive:

Mentor Michigan Census Reports Available

April 12, 2011: Mentor Michigan, a MENTOR affiliate, has now made the latest Mentor Michigan Census (MMC) available online.

This is Wave VIII of the census, which is a survey of organizations operating mentoring programs in the state of Michigan. It was conducted in the fall of 2010, and 137 organizations responded for a 58 percent response…

This is a graphic that I include in many articles I write, illustrating the role individuals can take in reaching out to people they know to draw them to information we share on our web sites and to tutor/mentor program locations where they can be volunteers,  leaders, donors, etc.  I am speaking to a…

In my Tutor/Mentor Blog I use graphics like the one below to illustrate our goal of helping inner city youth grow up over a period of 10 to 20 years. We all start at birth and it takes 20 years to get through the first formal stages of education and into the college, vocational or job stage of our lives. Yet, if you live in high poverty areas, you face more challenges.

Thus, tutor/mentor programs, if they…

This is a graphic that I  posted on my blog last Friday. It's intended to illustrate how we want leaders and volunteers to develop strategies that not only say "we have a problem" but also say "…

This photo shows Mike Trakan with one of the maps he has created for Tutor/Mentor Connection since he joined us in Jan 2008. View the maps and read the articles he writes on the mappingforjustice blog



The T/MC received a $50,000 donation from an…

I posted a message on Facebook telling how I'd been involved for 37 years and how my life has been enriched as a result. One of our former students posted this response:

No, THANK YOU for caring when no one else would, you started a movement and I have watched it blossom into something I couldnt imagine back at St. Matthews Church, you and your family have sacrificed so much time, and Im proof that just one person can make such a huge impact on someone's life. Love ya…

A few months ago I read this Civic Enterprises report, titled  Untapped Potential: Filling the Promise of Big…

I saw a TV report last night saying "Cabrini Green Gone".  

Someone should tell that to the 35 -40 7th to 12th grade teens at Cabrini Connections who live in the Cabrini Green area, either in the Row Houses or the redeveloped property.  I wrote a…

As we enter 2011 the economy is still a mess and the competition for resources to fund non profits continues to grow. Thus, we need to be more creative, think smarter, and keep learning from the wisdom of others.

This article is one that I encourage you all to read. It talks about how your Twitter, email, or Facebook post can generate more response if it can connect…