We know that participating in a tutor/mentor program can benefit a youth and the volunteer. The challenge is finding ways to make effective programs available in more of the locations where they are needed... Dan Bassill, Tutor/Mentor Connection

    /24-7PressRelease.com/ - March 30, 2005 - We know that participating in a tutor/mentor program can benefit a youth and the volunteer. The challenge is finding ways to make effective programs available in more of the locations where they are needed... Dan Bassill, Tutor/Mentor Connection

This challenge is the key question addressed in May and November Leadership and Networking Conferences that have been held in Chicago every year since 1994. The Spring 2005 Conference will be held at the Northwestern University Law School on May 12 and 13 and invites others who have the same passion for tutoring/mentoring to participate. The event will be co-sponsored by the Children and Family Justice Center at the Northwestern University.

The conference's organizer, Dan Bassill of Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection, has been leading tutor/mentor programs since 1974. I've had volunteers and youth contact me who were first part of the program more than 20 years ago. They all tell me how much this experience influenced their lives. "The goal of the T/MC and the conference is to help good programs grow in more places," says Bassill.

The conference features two full days of workshops on a wide range of topics related to tutoring and mentoring. Leaders, volunteers, and stakeholders from more than 150 tutoring/mentoring programs, schools, social service agencies, mentoring networks and supporters from Chicago, the Midwest and other states will participate. The full slate of workshops and speakers can be found at http://www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com

Internet based workshops connect Chicago program with the world
The Tutor/Mentor Connection may be a small Chicago non-profit, it has a big vision. Through the Internet it is building a large international network of people who are willing to share time, talent and ideas to help kids move from poverty to careers. This May there will be a series of eConferences, where people from many locations can listen to live and recorded workshops presented via the Internet, from locations in different parts of the world. Participants will be able to talk directly to other participants and to speakers.

"With the Internet we dramatically expand the range of workshops people can attend as well as the number and variety of people that each person can network with, without increasing the costs of participation for people in non -profits who already have too few dollars." says Bassill.

From May 6-10 workshops will be hosted by the Digital Workforce Education Society of City Colleges of Chicago http://www.alado.net/econference. During the week of May 23, workshops will be hosted by IUPUI in Indianapolis - http://econference.uc.iupui.edu/

HISTORY - The Tutor/Mentor Connection is part of Cabrini Connections, a Chicago non profit created in 1992 to connect workplace volunteers with youth living in inner-city neighborhoods. T/MC serves maintains a comprehensive database of Chicago area tutor/mentor programs, a web based resource library, and organizes events such as the conferences to connect tutor/mentor programs with each other, and with volunteers, donors, business partners and media. Its work has been recognized with a variety of awards and the organization is regarded as one of the best resources for tutoring/mentoring information in the Chicago region. Its President, Dan Bassill, is also a Commissioner for the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

Learn more at http://www.tutormentorconnection.org and http://www.tutormentorexchange.net or call 312-492-9614. Email [email protected]

The Tutor/Mentor Connection seeks to connect people throughout the world with each other and with information they can use to help children and youth move more successfully through school and into careers.

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