I started this forum to meet and connect people who want to share their time, talent and resources to help create more and better non school, volunteer-based programs that help inner city kids move through school and to jobs and careers.
This means, we could share links, we could link blogs, you could become a volunteer or a donor in a tutor/mentor program in Chicago or another city, or you could work with my organization to help us increase visibility and increase business involvement in tutor/mentor programs. If you work with youth, or in philanthropy, or have experise in collaboration, knowledge management, etc., you could add your link on my
http://www.tutormentorconnection .org site.
You could also my link on your site so your visitors could benefit from the information on my site. You could participate in conferences I host in Chicago or on the Internet, or I could participate in events you host.
We might even start discussions in the Omidyar.net space that would discuss ways to help kids connect with volunteer tutors/mentors.
For instance, in November 2006 a $2 million donation was made to the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Lend A Hand Program of the Chicago Bar Association. These funds will be distributed as grants to volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in Chicago over the next 3-5 years. I've been working with lawyers and judges and people at the CBA since 1994 with this goal in mind.
If you're a lawyer, or the leader of a youth serving program in another city, we might work together to duplicate t his in your city. If you're a doctor, accountant, IT professional, or in another industry, or a university, we might work together to motivate your industry to set up a program like the LAH, in Chicago, or in another city.
All of these actions help make more and better tutor/mentor programs available to more disadvantaged youth.
I've been doing this work for more than 30 years. If you want to know more, read the rest of the intro below, or visit my blog at
http://tutormentor.blogspot.com
I look forward to meeting others who are concerned with the same issues.