Volunteers Make Incredible Impact on Youth and Adults Through Their Service in Tutoring, Mentoring and Literacy Programs

The 2005 Chicagoland Back-to-School Tutor/Mentor Volunteer Recruitment Campaign runs from the first of August through the end of September. The campaign is intended to increase the number of volunteers involved in helping kids succeed in school and in life.

CHICAGO (PRWEB) August 13, 2005 -- The 2005 Chicagoland Back-to-School Tutor/Mentor Volunteer Recruitment Campaign runs from the first of August through the end of September. The campaign links over 300 volunteer-based programs in the Chicago region in a public awareness campaign that is intended to increase the number of volunteers involved in helping kids succeed in school and in life.

Throughout America many children, youth and adults struggle to be part of the American dream because they lack basic education and literacy skills. In the city of Chicago, more than 130,000 children attend poorly performing public schools that are concentrated in inner-city neighborhoods. Without extra help, from volunteers, business and professional organizations, faith communities and political leaders, the gap between the prosperous America and the one with no hope will continue to grow.

The 11th Annual Volunteer Recruitment Campaign is a grassroots effort organized by tutor/mentor programs searching for volunteers. It aims to increase awareness of the need for thousands volunteers to serve in youth and adult tutoring, mentoring and literacy programs throughout the Chicagoland area.

Volunteers can make an incredible impact on youth and adults through their service in tutoring, mentoring and literacy programs. By connecting children with adult tutors and mentors, we broaden their expectations, build their learning skills, and help prepare and motivate them to excel in school and beyond. We also enrich the lives of volunteers who become part of this movement and we narrow the gap that divides the many diverse populations in this great country

Volunteer roles can range from direct service, to tech support, web building, accounting, and to leadership and fund raising roles that help build mentoring bridges between school and careers. Anyone who seeks to learn more about tutoring/mentoring in Chicago can use the PROGRAM LOCATOR Directory at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net, or the http://www.chicagovolunteer.net web service. During August and September, program descriptions will also appear on the Chicago Access CAN CALL42TV.

September 8th Volunteer Recruitment Fair:

While the recruitment campaign launches in August, the Tutor/Mentor Connection will host a Tutor/Mentor Volunteer Recruitment Fair at the James Thompson Center in Chicago on Thursday, September 8th from 10:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. This will provide opportunities for potential volunteers to meet face-to-face with up to 25 different programs. Additional fairs will be held in September and October. A listing of recruitment fairs in the Chicago region can be found at the www.tutormentorexchange.net web site.

History:

The Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) is the result of more than 40 years of volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring offered in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood by employees of Montgomery Ward. Beginning in 1977 tutor/mentor programs from around the city began to meet and network at the Wards headquarters on Chicago Avenue, which led to joint volunteer training events. In 1992 this process was formalized in the creation of Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection. Cabrini Connections (www.cabriniconnections.net) is one of many tutor/mentor programs in Chicago who are constantly searching for volunteers and donors. In 1993 the organization decided to build a master database of programs, and launch a marketing campaign intended to increase the availability, quality and capacity of structured, creative volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in every poverty area, and near every poorly-performing school, in the Chicago region.

This strategy moved to the Internet in 1997 and now the T/MC is collecting and sharing information on a daily basis with tutor/mentor leaders from around the world. The http://www.tutormentorconnection.org web site has had more than 100,000 visitors and was completely rebuilt by volunteers from IUPUI in the spring of 2005. This illustrates how volunteers can be more than one-on-one tutors/mentors, and how volunteers from different cities can work together," reports Daniel F. Bassill, president and founder of Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection. Bassill is also a Commissioner for the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

Now in its eleventh year, the Volunteer Recruitment Campaign seeks to connect more business, professional, faith-group, and community volunteers with more youth in tutor/mentor programs. While there are many such programs, T/MC surveys show that fewer than 10,000 adults are serving as one-on-one mentors in structured non-school programs. This is a number the T/MC seeks to increase each year.

As we repeat the campaign each year, the T/MCs goal is to increase the reach and frequency of its CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS message, in Chicago, the surrounding suburbs, and in down-state communities, so more and more adults become involved with the different programs as one-on-one volunteers, leaders, donors and/or business partners.

Furthermore, the campaign seeks to connect anyone who wants to help at-risk children and youth succeed in school and be better prepared for jobs and careers with knowledge and support systems that can help them do this work. The T/MC web sites (www.tutormentorexchange.net and www.tutormentorconnection.org) provide a wide range of information that can help existing programs improve and new programs fill voids. This information is also intended to help donors, business partners, media and public leaders be more strategic in their own support of a regional network of comprehensive tutor/mentor programs.

Public inquiries should be made to 312-492-9614 and www.tutormentorconnection.org.

For further information call 312-492-9614.

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