Aligning Goals

Hello my name is Alvyn Walker welcome to c my blog Connect2Network. I write this blog in the spirit of advocating collective actions that bring about solutions to common obstacles we face. This first series is:




 

An account of discussions on the Tutor Mentor Institute Website with Dan Bassil and  Alvyn Walker the


Discussions began on Monday October 19,2020 with Dan reviewing goals of the Tutor Mentor Connection/ Institute. We will use this platform to accomplish a four part strategy in alignment with


1.Increase knowledge of tutor/mentor programs where they are needed, what it takes to help them succeed and what individuals, business. faith groups, universities, etc can do to help

2. Increase frequency of stories about tutoring/mentoring in order to build awareness for the tutor/mentor  movement at individual organizations and the need to support such programs

3. Help people understand and use the information on the websites via conferences, blogs online forums, one on one coaching of volunteers, leaders and organizers 

4. Increase the flow of critically needed resources(dollars, volunteers, training, ideas, business partners, technology and media) directly to programs in all under-served communities of Chicago. As we increase the number of volunteers and support their on-going learning, we increase the number of people working to help youth and young adults overcome problems of disinvestment. This is the desired outcome of multi-level mentoring as part of a larger strategy.


During that discussion we also reviewed the Tutor/Mentor Program Locator goals and challenges. The first goal of Tutor/Mentor connection was to survey Chicago to learn which organizations were offering tutoring and or mentoring. Without this data it would not be possible to know whether or not tutor/mentor institutions had grown with the help of external funding.  This effort  has been achieved with little or no funding external funding. Dan also showed the wiki planning page on the program locator and its features. He talked about needing volunteers to manage these features which feed the interactive map and search page. He also talked about two blogs he writes to promote his work http://tutormentor.blogspot.com and http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com. Dan then talked about the tutor/mentor Ning site where he coached interns for ten years. He held discussion sessions where interns were introduced to projects they could work on. Dan emphasized that this opportunity could be used to help youth in South Shore. I asked Dan what could next steps look like. He encouraged a learning group to be formed which met week[y to discuss a blog topic and see how the ideas they contained could be applied in South Shore and neighborhoods like it. Another group could work on the tutor mentor program locator and further Dan’s goals of using GIS maps to make it function properly and rebuild it using current tools. The Church could use youth program members as a start and possibly expand the effort to students in neighboring schools. The Church is a host location for Tech Girlz workshops and these sessions could be used to work on remaking the map and updating the program locator. Tech Girlz is a national program that introduces girls in middle school to careers in technology using a series of workshops. Windsor Park Lutheran Church has a foundation established as a non-profit that can adopt Tutor/Mentor Connection in concept.


We will continue to develop this collaboration and deepen the concept of how tutoring and mentoring connections can be established in future posts. Please join us.


Comments

  1. I've been meeting with Alvyn on ZOOM almost every Monday since October 2020. In this first blog post he is beginning to share what we're talking about with others in his network. I encourage others to read his article (more to come) and follow the links he points to.

    Good job Alvyn.

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