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The Tutor/Mentor Business, by Sara Coover Caldwell, 1997, a story of one persons effort to create change. Page 1

The Tutor/Mentor BusinessChicagos First Citywide Strategy to Bring Kids Out of Poverty

By Sara Coover Caldwell, written October, 1997

This story was written in 1997, with a goal of attracting an investor to help convert the story into a book,

or into a feature film, or TV series. The author, Sara Coover Caldwell, was a volunteer with the

Montgomery Ward/Cabrini Green Tutoring Program from 1998 through 1990, then served as a member of

the paid staff, in 1991-92, after the leaders converted the 25 year old volunteer program into a non profit

named Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program, inc.

It is now September 2012, 15 years later. A new chapter is starting. In June 2011 the Board of Directors

voted to discontinue support of the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) and focus only on Cabrini

Connections, the site based tutor/mentor program. Dan Bassill, who left Wards in 1990, then left Cabrini

Green Tutoring Program in 1992, has now left Cabrini Connections to continue to pursue a vision of a

strategy that would provide better support for tutor/mentor programs in all poverty neighborhoods of

urban areas like Chicago, and thus provide a better system of adult supports helping all kids in poverty

move through school and into jobs and careers.

In July 2011 Daniel F. Bassill created the Tutor/Mentor Connection to continue providing support to the

Tutor/Mentor Connection in Chicago, and to help similar intermediary structures grow in other cities. The

www.tutormentorexchange.netweb site shares these strategies. However, he is now 65 and seeks writers,

partners, investors and leaders who will add new chapters to The Tutor/Mentor Business, based on what

has taken place since this first version was written, and what might take place as a result of this newstrategy and the collective efforts of many people who are concerned about the growing gap between rich

and poor in America

Email [email protected] youd like to help with this project.

Follow this story on line athttp://www.tutormentorexchange.net and

http://www.tutormentorconnection.org


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The Tutor/Mentor BusinessChicagos First Citywide Strategy to Bring Kids Out of Poverty

By Sara Coover Caldwell, written October, 1997

He didnt care if the other kids thought he was a nerd, he couldnt see without thoseglasses. His mother would shake her head in despair every time some bulliesknocked them off his face, softly whistling his name with slight condemnation --Isaiah! How many more times could she tape up the cracked frames? He lookedat his mother through those nerdy glasses before leaving, and then made his waydown the fourth story hallway, separated from the chilly autumn air by only achainlink fence. He hugged the inner wall, passing three pubescent girls skippingrope, their bobbing braids topped with bright plastic baubles, light feet suddenlytangling in the rope. The girls eyed him accusingly, one sneering, You made usmess up, you dumb nappy head! He met a girl like her once, a neighbor whosename he never knew. He remembered seeing her fall from a much higher place,

remembered hearing her shrill screams before and after the man took her to theroof. But he was out of the Hornets now. The Cabrini projects were supposed to besafer. He wished he could forget that girl.

Id like a second grade girl, I said to the harried young woman manning thedesk, around which clusters of anxious students and volunteers were checking in.Twenty minutes later, the now calmer young woman at the MontgomeryWard/Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program (CGTP) introduced me to a fifth-grade boy.

This is Isaiah. Its his first time here, too.

She told me she would try to pair me with a young girl the following week.

Tonight, I could sub for Isaiah. Its not that I particularly wanted to tutor a littlegirl. Older boys intimidated me. I didnt hang around many kids at the time, despiteaspirations to help one from a neighborhood whose dark reputation terrified me.

We were left alone. I babbled incessantly, filling the awkward silence withmeaningless words, as we looked for an empty table to sit at in the spaciouswarehouse hall. The poor boy mumbled polite, almost incoherent replies to mybarrage of questions: Where do you go to school? Do you have brothers or sisters?What is your favorite subject? Thats all I remember about the first time we met.What I remember about the second time is the way his eyes lit up when I entered theroom. It surprised me, and I realized I was stuck with him.

Nine years later, now nearly 2000 miles apart, Isaiah and I are fast friends,staying in touch primarily through the wonders of the internet. Hes a sophomore atBradley University in Peoria, Illinois, following six years at private and militaryschools, funded by private grants. The once-shy boy is now taking center stage incollege plays. Hes studying theater and reaching for the stars.


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Although Isaiah and I were paired together by chance, the growth of ourrelationship, of my greater understanding of his social condition, and of his personalsuccess were not. Instead, they were part of a well-thought out process that beganevolving over fifteen years before we had ever met. A process which mostvolunteers like me took for granted, not realizing the incredible time, toil, and

dedication taking place behind the scenes. In the 1970s, there were fewerpoverty neighborhoods than today -- 187 where 20-40% of the residents werepoor, compared to almost 250 in the early 1990s. Very impoverishedneighborhoods, with over 60% poor, also jumped from 5 to 63 in that time frame.Some believed that this increase was not due to chance but was a form of economicand racial apartheid resulting from conscious governmental policy.

The early 70s also saw a variety of church- and business-based tutor andmentor programs spring up throughout the city, though no one really knew howmany were operating, where they were, or how many children were being served.While a number of programs had originated, there were no measurable results bywhich to gauge the success of the different models. And the programs had little, ifany, communication between each other. This isolation between tutor/mentorprograms would exist until 1993, when Cabrini Connections would become the firstcitywide program in Chicago to connect programs together for mutual benefit.

Cabrini Connections was the brainchild of Dan Bassill, its president and CEO,who brought with him twenty years of experience, plus a few lessons from theschool of hard knocks.

In 1972, the gangly, mild-mannered Bassill joined the Montgomery Ward retailadvertising group. The following year, a co-worker encouraged him to volunteerwith the CGTP, one of fifteen such programs initiated by the Chicago Housing

Authority (CHA) in the mid 1960s after violent riots rocked Chicago and destroyedmany of its neighborhoods. Some programs were sponsored by churches, others bycorporations such as Sears, Quaker Oats Company and Borg- Warner. CGTP wasloosely sponsored by Montgomery Ward, with a team of employees providing theleadership on a volunteer basis.

Although initially more interested in the attractive female co-worker who hadencouraged him to join the program, Bassill became very committed to the youngman he was assigned to work with, an energetic fourth grader named Leopoleon(Leo) Hall, who at age 10 was nearly 5'7" tall and weighed more than 200 lbs. AsIsaiah and I would do so many years later, Bassill and Leo met once a week for

three years. Over the next twenty-five years, Bassill would attend every one ofLeo's graduations, including his 1992 graduation from Memphis State University.At the end of his second year, Bassill was recruited to become the CGTP leaderafter the incumbent leader announced he was moving to Europe. He anointedBassill since he talks so much.

Although Bassill was initially a reluctant leader, he immediately took steps toimprove the program and ensure its long-term growth. Most significantly, he


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persuaded Montgomery Ward to provide a small office for volunteer leaders to meetand centralize files. In reviewing the growing history, maintained in these files,Bassill was able to understand how afterschool programs really could contribute toa childs healthy development. Using this research, Bassill asked representatives ofthe CHA, public schools, and Montgomery Ward for their support and commitment

to sustain the growth of the program.

During this time, Bassill was transformed into a Management By Objectives (MBO)disciple when Montgomery Ward flirted with this latest management fad. ForBassill, it became more than a fad. He saw the guiding principles as an effectiveway to manage a business, be it advertising or tutoring. Bassill adopted many MBOphilosophies and from that day to this, has a poster tacked next to his desk thatreads, Exactly what are we doing? How can we do it better today than we didyesterday? How can we turn out a product with less time, expense, and effort?With limited bucks, Bassill was going for thebang.

His efforts were boosted when local consultants from the National Right-toRead program joined the CGTP in 1978. Together, they introduced the concept oftutoring as a business, with a quality service to deliver. Their ideas were (and stillare) unusual for many non-profits -- that leaders and volunteers should commit tothe program as they did to their jobs, using business strategies such as developingorganizational frameworks, a customer-focused attitude, and year-to-year businessplans projecting short term and long termgoals.

With the help of the Right-to-Read group, Bassill introduced a variety oflearning activities, training programs, and reading rooms. Local schools began

supplying student information for tutors to use, and a part-time secretary was hiredto help track attendance.

As part of a new strategy, Bassill wanted to improve the process of buildingthe volunteer management team and educating new volunteers on the theory andpractice of running a tutoring program. Volunteer leaders were burning out,dwindling to only three or four by the end of the year. Borrowing from his MBOexperiences, Bassill redesigned the program into a broad-based volunteermanagement structure involving ten to twenty volunteers in leadership positions torun the growing program.

Members of this executive committee organized volunteer recruiting,volunteer training, student recruiting, a full schedule of parties and field trips, andvarious writing and arts programs that by now were standard experiences during the30-week school year.

By 1990, 300 volunteers and as many students were attending the CGTP, withimproved retention and participation rates. Nearly 85 percent of the childrenattended every week's session, with nearly 1/3 having perfect attendance by 1990.


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The growth and improvement indicators were paralleled by a growth inBassill's networking base of beyond Cabrini-Green and even Chicago. His outreachled to weekly brown bag networking lunches. Not by any grand design, but by selfinterest and survival did a growing network of Cabrini Green based tutor/mentor

program leaders develop. While the headlines in Chicago and around the countrycontinued a rotation of violence, poor school performance, racism and poverty, fewleaders in Chicago or from Washington launched any sustained effort to reachprogram leaders like these brown baggers to say "how can we help you succeed?"

Unknowingly, the networking lunches and meetings that Bassill initiatedbegan to fill the void. With partnership from the Fourth Presbyterian ChurchTutoring Program, the LaSalle Street CYCLE tutoring program, and a few others,Bassill built a self-help network of tutor/mentor program leaders, and a template forthe current Cabrini Connections outreach efforts.

Over the years, this networking and the increasing quality and visibility of theCGTP resulted in a variety of awards, media stories and a growing nationalawareness. In 1988, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte'sCenter for Early Adolescence cited the CGTP as a best practice model.

By its 25th anniversary, the program had provided more than 100,000 hours ofone-to-one tutoring to over 2,900 children, with an ever-growing assortment ofenrichment activities such as motivational speakers, writing and reading contests, areading library, a computer orientation lab, field trips, and special events. Theprogram also began a mentoring program for older kids, something sorely lacking inthe Cabrini Green area. The CGTPs Junior Assistant Program provided speciallearning and mentoring programs designed specifically for them.

Perhaps the most important measures of success were not in fact measurable,including the many lifelong bonds which were formed. It was a place where twoyoung friends, Toi and Kaealya, would first meet each other, an event they wouldremember years later.

Kaealya: Dont know where I met you, girl... Little tutoring, yeah.

Toi: That program gave us a lot of support, a lot of TLC. I get support at home frommy Mom.

Kaealya: Not me, I live on my own. Ive got problems at home. Not a good stableplace to be. I dont want to be like my mother.

Toi: My Dad always say, you should listen to me. My Mom say it aint for him tosay what I should do, what I shouldnt do. He dont live here. I get more moneythan my daddy do! He make almost a thousand a week, but after child support, heget like twelve dollars! The lady he lives with is slow, she let him live there for free.Me, I want to be successful, to get away from here.


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Kaealya: I dont like the violence here. I was never scared until 8th grade. Thenthere was crossfire when wed get out of school. Dont make sense for people to befighting. If you got rid of gangs and mothers who abuse drugs, who dont take careof their kids, it would be okay. Six, seven year-olds in the play ground out at

midnight -- dont make sense. Makes me mad. But who can I beat up and take it outon?

>From Non-Profit to Non-Governance

The 1980s brought changes to the programs host, Montgomery Ward,including management turnovers aimed at making the company more profitable inan ever- more-competitive retail marketplace. For Bassill, these changes resulted ina new team of ad executives coming to the company every few years, each time"cleaning house" by shrinking his staff and increasing his work-load. Bassillweathered the changes until February of 1990, when he was told, "Find a newposition in the company, or leave it. You have to be out of your office today."

For several years, Bassill had been considering a change that would allow himto devote more time to tutoring, though he had not expected it to be a one-daytransition. Given the choice of staying with the company at no loss of pay (Bassillwas earning $60,000 annually with stock options and a sizable annual bonus), or thechoice of going to an out-placement with six months of severance, Bassill chose thelatter, feeling that it would be nearly impossible to continue his time-consumingleadership of the tutoring program while learning a new job and earning newmanagement trust. At the same time, he saw this as the opportunity hed beenwaiting for. With the support of his newly pregnant wife, he left Montgomery Wardand entered a job search process which many, many other white collar workers in

America were finding to be all too common.

A break came when Chuck Curry of The Quaker Oats Company, which had foryears provided busing for volunteers and milk and cookies for the kids, askedBassill if he would represent Quaker Oats as a 6-month Loaned Executive for theUnited Way/Crusade of Mercy's annual fund-raising campaign. Bassill told Curryof his interest to convert the tutoring program to a non-profit and expand it to up to12th grade students, while building Montgomery Ward-style tutoring programs inother neighborhoods where such programs were needed. Quaker Oats agreed toprovide funds for this from their foundation, understanding that while Bassill wouldreceive a salary from Quaker Oats for as a Loaned Executive, he would also draw a

salary from the tutoring program as its new executive director.

With the approval of the CGTPs executive committee, Bassill began theprocess of building a non-profit structure. Working with lawyers from MontgomeryWard to incorporate the new non-profit and develop an organizational structure,Bassill recruited Pat Wilkerson, a long-time volunteer leader, to serve as the firstpresident of the new board of directors. Unknowingly, the board recruitment effort


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was the beginning of the end of Bassills tenure with the tutoring program. Bassilladmits he made a fatal flaw in the board development process.

"We built a board of directors on top of a 25 year-old organization which hadan entrepreneurial pyramid structure with myself, acting as CEO, at the top,

explains Bassill. Because we already had the fewest people at the top doing themost work, I didnt want to tax those volunteers even further. Not understandingthe negatives and conflict in non-profit structures, I assumed that we were creating astructure that would allow me to continue to build and improve what by generalconsensus was a pretty good program. I ended up creating a board without a centralvision of what we were doing or how we would operate. I realized this mistake toolate. While we needed everyone to focus on helping us get to where we were going,we ended up spending board meetings just fighting about how we would interact atthe board level.

Board president Patrick Wilkerson, Manager of Advanced Engineering andSystems at Fel-Pro in Skokie, agrees that a central vision was lacking:

Dan looked at the board as a fundraising group, with the rationale that themore people he got, the more funding the program would get. This backfired onhim. Everyone Dan selected for the board was a leader in the community -- allstrong-willed individuals with their own ideas of what tutoring meant. They broughtthose ideas to the board, which conflicted with the ideas of the initial creator.Without the common vision at the onset, Dan and the board pulled in very differentdirections.

The boards goal was to create the best possible program for 1st to 6th gradersbased on the charter and mission, which Wilkerson now describes as too narrow

and limiting in scope. When Bassill wanted to add new programs, the board felt hewas challenging the charter and turned down his ideas, wanting Dan to stick torunning and improving the program as it existed, not expand it. Bassill believed thatmost members had not carefully read or understood the charter, which clearly talkedabout a vision to expand their support into other neighborhoods.

The charter did in fact state a goal to Expand and improve the quality of theTutoring Program and use it as a resource for other volunteer programs andcommunicate our knowledge to other programs through workshops, leadershipconferences and newsletters.

Had the board just committed to implementing these goals, reflects Bassill,we would have had a happy life. While we fought somewhat over the direction ofthe program, we were most divided by the style of management. Me as CEO versusthe board as CEO.

Couple the problems with the logistics of running the business -- namelystaffing, budgeting, and Dans compensation and incentives -- and you ended upwith a pretty heated battlefield, says Wilkerson.


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According to Bassill, the majority of the board had no understanding of theprograms complex structure which had been developed over the previous 15 years,the interaction of ideas and volunteers intended to motivate a student and an adultto attend on a regular basis or to work toward greater academic performance. They

had no value for the programs history, and little commitment to do the homeworkneeded to catch up. At the same time, Bassill and Wilkerson had no previousexperience with the development, leadership, or politics of non-profit boards.

"In hindsight, I walked into a trap of my own making, reflects Bassill. In ourrush to create a non-profit so the program would continue running smoothly, wecreated a structure where conflict was inevitable.

Initially, a big bone of contention was the boards desire to reduce the numberof activities to just reading, writing, and math, eliminating others that had takenyears to build, or which were needed to raise dollars and additional volunteers forcore activities. The board began to hold private meetings excluding Bassill. A fewof the more vocal members challenged Bassills integrity and honesty, accusing himof being self-serving, racist, insensitive to children, and using his position forpersonal gain.

I was deeply hurt, says Bassill. Whereas I felt my fifteen years of volunteerservice would make my motives beyond challenge, I was betrayed by those inwhom I had placed my confidence and trust.

Bassill's battles with the board were compounded by a busy work schedule, thechallenges of being a new father, and supporting a mother who was battling cancer.

"I had to sacrifice most other interests in my life, he recalls. The two yearsstruggling to succeed with the CGTP were an ultimate test. Especially when mymom died in June, 1992."

Bassills contract renewal became another gripe. The board asked him toaccept a reduced salary of $30,000 with the condition he also give up his summerwork at United Way. Attorney Michael Moshier, lawyer for the board, provided abrief stating that Bassills current salary was already too little compared to othersimilar non-profit executive salaries. By a narrow margin, the board conceded toBassills demands to retain his current $36,000 salary and keep his part-time UnitedWay position.

But soon the meetings became so combative, that Bassill wrote a letter ofresignation. A part-time CGTP employee talked him out of the idea, insteadsuggesting a meeting of volunteers and directors to clear the air. The board agreedto the meeting but refused to set a date.

Finally, in late September of 1992, just one week after the launch of the 199293 tutoring year, and with over 400 students and 500 volunteers just getting to know


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each other, three board members marched into Bassill's office and told him he hadthree hours to pack his belongings and leave the building. They gave no reason fordismissal, other than it was the right of the board to terminate the contract.

Ultimately it came down to the decision of whether we needed Dan if he

wasnt going to play ball, says Wilkerson. With a very close vote, something likeseven to four, the board voted that Dan be fired.

During the following weeks, Bassill held a number of meetings withsupporters to determine if it would be appropriate to try to regain control of theprogram. Volunteers called a general meeting with the board, and many wrote to logtheir complaints. Several long-time volunteers also resigned in protest, includingWilkerson.

Ultimately, Bassill decided it was time to close the door on the CGPT, hopingto open another:

While I was driving home on the Kennedy one afternoon, it came to me that Icould use my 17 years of experience to help other people run or establish qualitytutoring programs. I didnt actually need to be in an existing program to do this, letalone one with 800 participants and inadequate staffing, not to mention a combativeboard of directors. Once I understood that, the weight was lifted. It became a matterof starting over, but this time with some hindsight. My vision was to form a neworganization to serve a need -- tutor/mentoring for 7th through 12th grade studentsin Cabrini Green -- and to build a leadership group that could help other programsserving any grade level throughout the city develop.

Dan did a great job of recovering from the experience, says Wilkerson.

Just to have the guts to start over. Hes chosen helping children as his lifes work,with incredible up-hill battles along the way. Why, I dont know. It seems like totalcraziness to me.

Dantrells Legacy

On October 13, 1992, a mother walked her 7 year old son to school for the lasttime. When a snipers bullet killed Dantrell Davis outside Jenner School in CabriniGreen, a media blitz hit the city, then fanned out through the nation. Althoughtwenty-six other children under thirteen had already been slain that year, Dantrellbecame a symbol of innocence against everything evil his inner-city environment

represented.

Newspapers honed in zealously, highlighting every detail of Dantrells life anddeath. We were vicarious witnesses at his funeral as he lay in a white suite andpowder-blue bow tie, while his mother threw herself over his coffin in anguish. Weheard dozens of kids in his neighborhood express their loss, fears, and anxieties.And we learned more about others who had preceded Dantrell without note. We


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were also reminded that death is not an abstract concept for many of these children,but a grim and all-too common reality.

The front page headline of the Chicago Sun Times read, "7 Year-Old's Deathat Cabrini Requires Action, with an editorial that concluded with, "This isn't

something you can let the other guy be indignant over. It's past time for you to takeresponsibility for solving the problems of Chicago. Please don't let this be someoneelse's problem. It's yours. It's mine. Let's retake our city and begin working to solvethe horribly destructive problems of poverty, helplessness and racism."

Dantrells death helped bring some measure of peace to Cabrini Green, at least for awhile. Guns were seized, metal detectors installed, and sweeps instigatedthroughout the neighborhood. Spending on security measures increasedsignificantly and area gangs agreed to a truce. Between 1992 and 1993, violentcrime in the area decreased from 405 to 271 incidents. Unfortunately, as of thiswriting, gang shootings were becoming commonplace again; forcing schools toperiodically shut down during gang crossfires.

Indirectly, Dantrells death became a catalyst in the creation of CabriniConnections. Though he had not attended the Montgomery Ward tutoring program,many kids in his building and at his school had. And while the media launched a"do something crusade, with exhortations for everyone to get involved, Bassillknew this type of hype yielded little result. Although the media and public figuressaid more role models, safe places for kids, and programs to compete against gangswere needed, the city knew next to nothing about the majority of programs alreadyoperating. Rather than reaching out to help these existing programs stay in business,improve, and expand, they touted new ideas with no histories or proven trackrecords.

As part of Cabrini Connections, Bassill wanted to implement a research andmarketing plan that would locate every existing tutor/mentor program in Chicagoand pool resources between them. The plan would also include the development ofprograms in areas where few existed. He rationalized that without quality programsin every neighborhood, city leaders had limited ability to effectively distribute hope,motivation, and opportunity to every child in every neighborhood of the city, as theywere proposing.

The Northwestern Alliance

Bassill and a volunteer core of six ardent supporters held their first meetings atthe Northwestern Train Station in late October, 1992. Dubbing themselves theNorthwestern Alliance, they created a vision for Cabrini Connections aimed athelping a growing number of CGTP 2nd through 6th grade alumni move throughhigh school and into work, while providing volunteer training throughout the city.They also hoped to help other programs grow and expand.


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More and more research was pointing to the importance of mentoring as aneffective way to support childrens healthy development. New Yorks CarnegieCouncil on Adolescent Development issued a widely cited report on the challengesfacing 20 million adolescents in America. According to their research, youngpeople who were left on their own or with peers after school were significantly

more likely to become party to a number of social ills -- substance abuse, sexualactivity leading to unwanted pregnancy and disease, crime, and violence -- thanthose who were engaged in constructive ideas. The Chapin Hall Center for Childrenat the University of Chicago affirmed these findings and expanded on the need forinfrastructures to connect isolated youth programs throughout the city. A report byMayor Richard Daleys Youth Development Task Force, Chicago For Youth:Blueprints for Change, concluded that many support systems -- including families,community centers, and schools -- had disappeared or been significantly weakened,despite evidence to support their need from a social and economic standpoint.

All this research only confirmed the need for a program like CabriniConnections. Unlike other organizations, Cabrini Connections planned to integratethree separate endeavors -- tutoring, mentoring, and school to work activities -- intoa single, long-term commitment. Their slogan was pioneered by WGN personalityMerri Dee: "If it is to be, it is up to me."

"These kids were unlucky enough to be born into poverty, in an environmentwhere they often don't have a full range of family and community members tomodel, says Bassill. There arent the expectations, from the day the child is born,to go beyond high school and enter a career where theyll earn a living for the restof their lives. Instead, many of these kids have negative role models who don'twork, who live day to day or are addicted to drugs, or that encourage criminalbehavior. Theres also tremendous peer pressure not to be different. Without a

structure that surrounds these kids with positive expectations and reinforcements,from pre school until work, its extremely difficult for young people to change theirattitudes or expectations for themselves."

Cabrini Connections

The goals and bylaws set in the initial meetings, amid the din and chaos of thecrowded Northwestern Station, are still the core of Cabrini Connections today. Inwriting the bylaws, the new board built a governance structure based on KennethDayton's essay, Governance is Governance. They even went so far as to writeDayton, former CEO of Dayton Hudson Corporation, to determine the 1993

relevance of his 1986 essay. Within two weeks he responded that "more people areusing it now than when it was written".

With a common operating vision, the new board development process wasintended to slowly recruit directors who understood the program and had proventheir ability to commit time to its governance. Two of the original volunteersjoined Bassill in forming the first board, choosing the name Cabrini Connections tosignify their combined history in Cabrini-Green and linkages with other


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tutor/mentor programs throughout the city. Although they had proven theircommitment, the first two members lacked board experience. One of those wasDonna Giampietro, a controller at Illinois Masonic MedicalCenter.

I remember we had our first meeting in a conference room here at IllinoisMasonic, recalls Giampietro. There were just three of use, plus the other boardmembers baby since she couldnt get a sitter. We had no idea how to even conducta board meeting and we were laughing, not knowing what to say. I felt like I wasplaying at being a board member, not being the real thing. But Dan kept making usconduct the meetings professionally, and as new members came on, it started to feelnatural. Now, five years later, I feel like Im really part of a group of leaders that arevery focused on what their tasks are.

To avoid the kind of board bickering that had predominated the CGTPsmeetings during Bassills tenure, the new chairman of the board, Ray Dowdle, anational account manager with the Schwartz Paper Company in Morton Grove, alsoheaded up a Glue committee to keep board members, staff, and volunteers unitedand committed. Glue activities included regular get-togethers, such as fundraisingevents and barbecues in Dowdles back yard.

I try to be aware of the teamwork aspect of the board and make sure thateveryone feels comfortable about their contribution, says Dowdle. Peoplesometimes think theyre sliding on their commitments if they cant devote a lot oftime, but everything they do, large or small, adds up to a lot. So I make sure theyfeel good about whatever they are doing and encourage them to reach greaterheights. And I look at the interaction between board members and staff to makesure they understand each others role. Board members need to appreciate what the

staff are doing since they are the lifeblood of program.

Ray really helps keep board members together, says Giampietro. I think youget more accomplished when you feel comfortable in a group. In five years, Ihavent seen a single conflict during board meetings.

From the beginning, the organization was structured with two key componentsor services: The Kids Connection and The Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC).These programs were created based on experience, areas of need, and knowledge-based research.

The Kids Connection

With little encouragement at home, 9-year old Jimmy lacked direction. Hed seensome nasty stuff in the hood, had worries about his own future. And inside, heyearned to be part of something special, to find his place. He was lured to thetutoring program by stories of Christmas parties and Halloween treats. There, hemet Faye -- bright, energetic, and savvy. Faye hit him over the head with theimportance of education. She told him what he needed to do to get ahead, that good


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jobs didnt just happen. The lessons echoed in his throbbing temples, slowlypenetrating through the years. Somehow, ten years later, it all started making sense.Things clicked. At 19, secret yearnings were realized when Jimmy was hired byCabrini Connections to work for the same people who had once tutored him. Hewas part of something important. Hed found his place.

The Kids' Connection was created to serve 7th-12 graders, with the ultimategoal of getting students through college and/or into careers. Program founders drewheavily on their combined 40-plus years of CGTP experience to set this componentup.

In January, 1993 the new organization launched its first student program,meeting twice a month with fifteen teens at Wells high school for lunch mentoringsessions. In February, they began a Saturday morning mentoring/improvisationsession at St. Matthew's Church on Orleans Street, on the east fringe of CabriniGreen, meeting with five students in the day room of the church. One of the firststudents to join was Anita Gunartt, who would later become editor of the CabriniConnections student magazine, Wuz Up?

The plays... when I was younger, I had no problem doing them, says Anita. Im too shy now, but it was fun. Its made me more mature, more responsible.Cabrini Connections explains itself -- it connects you with people that will take youhigher. Not to the highest place... the only one who can do that is the Lord.

With an operating budget of zero dollars, Cabrini Connections incorporatedthat same month, with Bassill picking up the legal fees himself.

"In some ways, I could not have done this if it were not for my mom, he says.

She left me a small inheritance which I could live off of for about a year. It wasmoney I didnt expect and didnt earn, so I felt I could justify using it as incomewhile starting Cabrini Connections.

In April, Bassill reopened conversations with Montgomery Ward executives,saying "They fired me from the CGTP, not you.

He proposed that while the CGTP should continue to support more than 400kids in their 2nd through 6th grade program, Cabrini Connections could take themfrom 7th grade through college and work. It was what the executives who supportedthe first tutoring program had wanted all along. They not only offered funds, but an

entire floor in the Montgomery Ward Tower on Chicago Avenue.

This was a real turning point , says Giampietro. It felt like wed gone froma tutoring program on wheels to a legitimate business.

By August, Cabrini Connections moved into the 20,000 square foot of officespace with an exotic four-sided view of the Chicago loop, including the CabriniGreen neighborhood. Montgomery Ward also set up fifty desks and chairs, library


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shelves, and telephones. Bassill supplied his own personal Macintosh computers,stocked his desk drawers, and opened shop.

"The Kids Connection was an extension of everything we ever learned aboutbuilding a tutor/mentor program for 2nd through 6th grade kids, and what we had

started to build with the 7th through 10th grade Junior Assistant program at CGTP,says Bassill. In fact, many of our founders and first volunteers came from theCabrini-Green Tutoring Program, and some continue to this day to volunteer withboth programs."

Gena Schoen, a long-time volunteer and former Montgomery Ward employee,was brought on staff to help manage The Kids Connection.

Each year, its taken more effort to run the kids programs, says Schoen.And its been full of frustrations and challenges. Weve had to firm up disciplineand now conduct an initial interview with each prospective student to try to get kidscommitted to the program and to make sure they understand what our expectationsof them are. We also want our volunteers to be committed so that theyll keepcoming back. So far, its worked really well. Weve even stopped many of ourrecruiting efforts and get most of our volunteers through word of mouth.

Activities were designed around a Career Success Steps action plan, theCabrini Connections blue print for bringing a child from 7th grade through highschool and into college and/or a career. The steps are a succession ofaccomplishments and activities that start with getting students and volunteers toattend consistently, then add additional experiences, training, and support tomotivate students to use education as the path to a career.

The first two steps focused on building regular adult and student participationin one-on-one partnerships.

"This is an after-school program, explains Schoen. We constantly have toprovide activities, organization, and reinforcements which keep both the adults andstudents attending regularly, even in the winter when it's so cold and harsh outside.Our goal is to promote education through our mentors, who can demonstrate therelationship between learning and opportunity in every weekly session.

As this takes hold students become more and more motivated to learn, whichis the key to real school reform in most inner city neighborhoods, suggests Bassill.

It cant happen with a one-stop visit by some celebrity, like a famous basketballplayer. Its a day to day responsibility which must be reinforced over and over andover. Thats something mentors can do, as long as they stick with it.

The next steps involved on-going experience and enrichment activities to getkids motivated to learn and pursue their dreams, with mentors constantlyreinforcing an "I did it. You can too" attitude. This was accomplished throughcontinuous career counseling, field trips to businesses and universities, motivational


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speakers, and special programs that exposed students to new experiences, andtaught them key skills. Most of the activities involved creative partnerships withbusinesses and other non-profit organizations. Pen Pal Mentoring, for example, wasa letter-writing project between Cabrini Connections students and ChildrensMemorial Hospital staff, which began in 1995. Through the letter-writing mentors,

students became intimately familiar with careers they may have never otherwiseconsidered, while learning important work ethics and professionalism. As thehospital team developed the letter-writing project, they later expanded it to anannual Career Day at the hospital.

I liked hearing what a physical therapist said, says Kaealya Coleman, a 12thgrader who now aspires to be one herself. I heard lawyers and doctors, but thesight of blood makes me nauseous. Being a PT, I wouldnt have to cut people up.Im gonna hang in there, because I have people here to help. Im a B student, a peertutor, academic decathlon, saxophone player... Very active.

As the program developed, a wide range of activities were added. In thesummers of 1996 and 1997, four students had an opportunity to travel to Aspen,Colorado to participate in the Grassroots Aspen Experiences with city kids fromaround the country. Nine others took part in a video workshop, where they learnedto produce their own projects.

The volunteers leading the video workshops were Gloria Hall-Brewster, aproducer with the Jenny Jones show, and Carrie Clifford, now with MTV in SantaMonica. They met with students one evening a week, with dinners donated fromChicago-area restaurants.

For the first video project, we gave students cameras and asked them to

conduct a walking-talking tour of Cabrini Connections and describe theirneighborhood, says Clifford. A freelance editor cut it for us right away, so thekids were able to get immediate gratification, seeing their work and themselves on atelevision screen. They loved it. Their faces expressed their excitement. Fromthere, the students broke into several small teams to put their own projectstogether.

The workshops were topped off with a March 1997 Cabrini Connections FilmFestival where the final projects where showcased, and included an interview withradio personality Jimmy Jam, another with a young gang member, and a tripto a fire station.

Jenny Jones donated a limo for the kids to arrive in,says Clifford, so theycame to the festival in style. Over 100 people showed up, including CLTV andWGN reporters. The students had an aura about them all night, they were so proudabout the pieces they had produced.

Other students participated in writing workshops where they developed andpublished books of poetry and their own magazine, WUZ UP. In addition, dozens


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of men and women from professions such as medicine, sports, engineering andphoto journalism came to weekly tutor/mentor sessions to share the secrets of theircareers and to reinforce the message, "I did it, you can to".

As students graduated from 7th and 8th grade and moved into high school,

they took a new step -- preparing for college and the workplace. The Success Stepsfield trips included visits to Illinois Wesleyan, Illinois State, Notre Dame and avariety of Chicago universities.

At the same time, program leaders recognized that by 10th grade, studentswere looking for jobs, so they worked with volunteers to prepare students withinterviewing, job responsibilities, and team skills. Volunteers, like Cheryl Johnsonof American Express, provided training and made direct links to their companiesfor hands-on work experience.

Im a trainer by trade, says Johnson, now a Cabrini Connections boardmember. Ive spoken to the students on career involvement and what it takes to getahead. I also work closely with American Express summer intern program andmake sure some Cabrini students get to participate for some real life training on thejob.

Career counseling became an on-going process in the Kids' Connection.Weekly interactions with volunteers demonstrated a range of careers andopportunities that students might never have been exposed to otherwise.

Furthermore, every Kids' Connection volunteer could help expand studentsnetwork base of adults who were committed to helping them, not just while theywere going through high school or college, but throughout life.

The final two Success Steps involved mentoring and job support as studentsleft high school and moved into their careers.

"The Kids' Connection is committed to providing unlimited years of support,mentoring, coaching and job-connections until a student is secure in a career, saysBassill. The concluding step then, starts the cycle over for a 7th grade child, withthe hope that our graduates will become life-long mentors and role models for theyounger children.

This cycle has already started.

Tutoring was that place to go and keep me off the street and have fun, says20-year-old Jimmy Biggs, a Cabrini Connections graduate and current part-timeemployee. But tutoring now is the place to give back. (As an employee) I now helpkids from my community as a mentor, while still being mentored by some of thesame people who were there for me when I was younger.


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One of Jimmys earlier mentors had been Schoen, now a co-worker. ForSchoen, the close relationships she established with many of the students also had aprice.

The biggest challenge was not getting too involved with the kids, says

Schoen, but you cant help it with the ones who come around more often. I endedup devoting a lot of time to one student, driving a him to his probation officer andhelping him deal with juvenile crime issues. It was a big emotional and physicaldrain. Another time we had a kid tell her volunteer that she was being abused. Wewere required by law to report it, and it came back substantiated. There are nights Igo home and cry because even though you hear some horrible stories and want toyank those kids out of their homes, you have to step back.

An evaluation process was initiated early on to monitor success. As part ofCabrini Connections quality improvement efforts, data on student and volunteerparticipation was charted weekly, with bar graphs prepared for year- to-yearcomparisons. While participation and student advancement were the first measuresof success, student grades were also collected and used in goal setting withvolunteers. Grades were entered into a bar graph tracking system intended to build ayear-to-year trend line.

"Were looking to develop a computer tracking system, by grade and by gradeaverage, that can tell us when a student's performance moves up, or down, saysBassill. If we can catch a change early and reward the good or determine the causeof the bad, we can spur on good performance, and maybe prevent bad performancefrom becoming a habit. This technology doesnt exist so were still keeping trendlines on paper-based charts until we can develop something ourselves.

In the last four years, the program has learned to combine mentoring, tutoring,school-to-work and a strong personal commitment in a long-term process. It hashad to develop new terms to describe its process because the old terms, "tutoring,mentoring, school-to-work", were too narrow to define the broad range of supportthat Kids' Connection offered. Two years ago, the program coined the phrasetutor/mentor to capture the combined impact of an adult volunteer who motivateson an ongoing basis before a student might become interested in the learning side.

They also created a name modeled after a business term to define the process -Total Quality Mentoring (TQM) -- signaling their commitment to provide acontinuously improving range of supports designed to move a child from school to

work.

Research developed since Cabrini Connections was formed supported theTQM concept. The Public/Private Ventures study of the Big Brothers/Big Sistersprograms proved that well-conducted mentoring programs, widely available and atrelatively modest cost, could significantly delay the onset of drug and alcohol usageamong youngsters, and boost school retention and performance. QuantumOpportunities Project reviews suggested that a program that sticks tenaciously with


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youngsters from welfare families through the high school years could have strong,positive effects on their graduation and college attendance rates.

As of June 1997, nearly 100 teens were enrolled in the Kids Connection, witha growing number attending more than 80% of the year-round sessions. Today, six

graduates are in college and two have jobs, one with American Express and onewith Cabrini Connections.

For Giampietro, theres a simple explanation for the volunteer commitmentthat was necessary for this type of success.

Its a beautiful thing to be involved with. I dont understand why morepeople dont do it.

The Tutor/Mentor Connection

Cabrini Connections second key component was the Tutor MentorConnection, or the T/MC, launched in January of 1994. Borrowing from theresearch of the Carnegie Council and the Chapin Hall Center for Children at theUniversity of Chicago, the T/MC was developed to provide the infrastructure anycity needed to link tutor/mentor programs together, and to help neighborhoods inneed have enough programs to serve every child.

Marc Freedman, author of The Kindness of Strangers (considered thedefinitive book on mentoring) stated that mentoring programs needed soundinfrastructures to be successful.

In most cities, theres really a sort of vacuum in technical assistance and

support for mentoring, wrote Freedman. Especially if theres going to be a bigpush for new mentors after the Presidents Summit, we need more people payingattention to how to run good mentoring programs, based on what we know from theresearch.

Freedman listed a number of ways mentoring programs were falling short oftheir potential:

Missing infrastructure, poor program models, missing follow-up Emphasis on marketing and recruitment instead of program support Poor or no coordination

Conducted in isolation Few dollars for operational expenses; few programs with resources to servementors as well as mentees Missing knowledge regarding effective practices Little appreciation of how hard it is to put mentoring into action

The T/MC hoped to provide this infrastructure by using knowledge smartly togain an advantage. That meant researching where other city programs were and


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what they were already doing. This would allow T/MC to help others build qualityprograms, while providing best practices models to compare themselves and otherswith. They also looked toward business models as best practices, borrowing qualityimprovement principles and conducting their own research and development. T/MCleaders also had a keen understanding of the power of advertising, public relations,

and technology. They knew that good ideas were only useful if they could be madeeasily available to leaders of tutor/mentor programs on an on- going basis.

In 1993, the T/MC developed research and communications componentsdesigned to help others build total quality programs in neighborhoods throughoutthe city. For this effort, Bassill recruited several volunteers, the public relationsfirm Public Communications, Inc. (PCI), an associate professor of economics atIllinois Wesleyan University, and the Metro Chicago Information Center (MCIC.)

"We had to design the T/MC in a vacuum, says Bassill. "We couldnt findanother non-profit to model that did what we were trying to do in the entire country,let alone Chicago.

The group met throughout 1993 and launched a survey in January of 1994.The survey was mailed to five-hundred non-profit organizations around Chicago,asking for help in identifying tutor/mentor programs and inquiring about interest inconnecting through conferences or workshops. Nearly 120 surveys came back. Ofthose, 55% said they had little or no contact with peers; 75% said they would like tohave more contact; And 90% said they would come to a conference if little or nomoney were required.

Using address information gathered about other programs, the T/MC groupused MCIC's Geographic Information System technology to create maps that

showed the location of the programs, with special overlays to illustrateneighborhood poverty, schools on probation, and even potential sources ofvolunteers and revenue.

"This was one of the most important developments of the T/MC, says Bassill.While a directory like the United Way Blue Book lists lots of serviceorganizations, it doesn't really show the distribution of these programs or how wellan area is covered with service providers. It doesn't help draw partners to programs.A map is a visual directory. It immediately communicates a pattern of distribution,showing which areas have higher needs. It lets us focus on the needs of the entirecity, not just the most visible neighborhoods."

While the first maps were produced by MCIC, the T/MC was able to bring themap building capacity to its own offices and now provides neighborhood mapreports to fellow tutor/mentor programs to help them connect with each other andlocate potential business partners.

Based on the initial survey results, the T/MC team worked with PCI to create aT/MC Directory of programs, plan the first T/MC conference, and generate media


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interest through local newspapers and networks, business and trade publications,church media, and Access TV.

Bob Aaron, Director of Public Relations Director at Wesleyan University,welcomed the opportunity to promote tutor/mentor activities since many alumni,

including Dan Bassill, were involved. Yvonne Jones, Chicago Area AlumniDirector, was a member of the Cabrini Connections Board of Directors and CarlDixon, current President of the Chicago Area IWU Alumni, was a volunteer whohad provided legal services for the organizing of Cabrini Connections,. In addition,Alan Leahigh, Vice President at PCI, had opened the link to his PR firm whileJames Sikora, a professor of sociology, had enlisted students to volunteer as part ofhis urban studies program. Furthermore, Pam Lowry, assistant professor ofeconomics, had been involved with the geographic mapping research and MikeSeeborg, professor of economics, had included field trips to Cabrini Connections aspart of his course on the economics of race, poverty, and gender, resulting in anumber of new pen pal relationships between IWU and Cabrini students.

As far as the publicity and all the public service awards, Dan frankly couldntcare less, says Aaron, except for the way in which it helps promote the overallconcept of tutoring and mentoring. The first time I saw Dan in action I was totallyimpressed, not just with his humanity but his management skills. Over the yearsIve seen people with good intentions who couldnt manage their way out a paperbag, and that certainly wasnt Dan. So Ive tracked stories about him and the T/MCover the years. And as a result, weve promoted volunteerism in our Presidentsannual report. We also modeled what the T/MC had done with their directory to doour own national study of volunteer programs at colleges and universitiesthroughout the country. This was in large part spurred by Dans work.

The first T/MC conference was held the Catholic Charities facility in Chicago. TheT/MC had significant help from Science Linkages in the Community (SLIC) inorganizing the event. Seventy people attended to hear presentations by leaders ofvarious tutor/mentor programs, such as the Fourth Presbyterian Church, Afterschool Action Programs, SLIC and Cabrini Connections. The guest speaker andfunding for the conference came from the American Association for theAdvancement of Sciences(AAAS), SLICs originator.

Schoen was heavily involved in organizing the workshops for the conference:

The workshops were designed to reach beginners and advanced tutors andmentors. It provided a real nuts and bolts for beginners, and for more experiencedpeople, it addressed topical issues such as school segregation.

Jane Angelis, director and founder of the Inter-Generational Initiative, attendeda number of the workshops.


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No matter how much you think you know, theres so much more you canlearn, says Angelis. What I like about the T/MC workshops is that there is such adiversity of people leading them, not just your stereotypical academics, but peopleon the front lines. I cant emphasize enough the value because Dan and the T/MChave captured the imagination of so many people and made them feel that anything

is possible.

Angelis is also an advocate and frequent user of the T/MC Directory.

The directory is especially valuable because it basically gives you a map andis at least a starting point toward building coalitions. Its also very valuable for mycolleagues at Inter-Generational, because it helps them realize there are many otherpeople doing tutoring and mentoring.

While the survey and conferences brought tutor/mentor program leaderstogether, the T/MC plan hoped to bring start-up and on-going support to otherChicago programs. They realized the long-term commitment would require supportfrom businesses, universities, churches, and social and civic groups, whichsomehow had to be communicated to them. Using the conferences and other eventsthe T/MC had developed, PCI was been able to generate substantial media interest,with dozens of stories appearing in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times,Cranes, and most neighborhood papers. Many other reports appeared on local TVand radio stations, including WGN TV. In May of 1994 the Chicago Tribunefeatured a one-half page T/MC editorial by John McCarron which described theT/MC as "...a master plan for saving our children."

Board chairman Dowdle concurs with McCarrons perspective of the program:

The Tutor/Mentor Connection has some real power. Dan has created amarketing plan that is helping thousands of kids in Chicago and his plan has thecapacity to help thousands upon thousands more as it grows.

As other newspapers reported negative stories of kids killing kids or schoolson probation, the T/MC developed maps showing tutor/mentor programs within amile of the site of the shooting or the school profiled in the paper, and sent these tothe papers for follow up stories that would show what programs were out theretrying to prevent the violence, and list names and phone numbers so volunteers,donors, and potential partners could offer help. While mainstream papers have yetto print one of these maps, the T/MC has developed plans to use the internet to go

directly to the public, with the addition of a directory and map technology on itsweb site. They are also utilizing public access TV, creating a direct link forpotential volunteers.

Lend A Hand

One of the biggest challenges for any non-profit is raising the necessary cash tostay in business, despite evidence that high-risk youths who are kept out of trouble


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through intervention programs could save society as much as $2 million a youth perlifetime. Dollars for general operations are especially hard for non-profits to sustain.This funding is especially critical in youth programs where the glue that keepsvolunteers and children attending regularly comes from the programs staff. Sincefew foundations had funding programs that provided long-term support for general

operations, Bassill looked for a way to change that.

An opportunity came when the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF), which wasalready distributing grants to local programs, agreed to partner with the T/MC toshare resources and expertise.

What attracted me to the T/MC was that it was like us in attempting toprovide support that wouldnt reinvent the wheel, says CBF's Executive Director,Betsy Densmore. We had resisted supporting new programs because we felt therewere lots out there and wanted to support existing ones instead. Dan seemed veryoriented to providing management and technical support for organizations throughhis conferences and newsletter, and we were best equipped to recruit volunteers andraise money. So it was symbiotic for both of us.

Together, they established a Lend A Hand Fund, with an Advisory Council toraise and distribute funds. They also co-sponsored the November Tutor/MentorWeek to raise visibility and funds for local programs. By May of 1997, $150,000had been raised and distributed in the form of small grants. In addition, the CBFused Chicago Bar Association media to promote tutoring and mentoring to its22,000 members, using the T/MC Directory to refer potential volunteers to thevarious programs. They also formed the Law Bridges program, drawing advicefrom the T/MC to build the program in partnership with the Constitutional RightsFoundation. In 1996, Law Bridges had twelve teams of lawyers and judges making

monthly visits to twelve different tutor/mentor programs in Chicago to mentor kidsin law-related subjects. In 1996 the CBF launched a new program, Tickets forKids, which solicited tickets to sports and cultural events from lawyers and judges,and distributed them to programs in the T/MC Directory.

I think that the model weve created is pretty good and one in which weencourage a lot of networking and sharing, says Densmore. Im proud to be partof what I think is a good balance. I also think theres a lot of energy in low-budgetgrass-roots programs. It would be ideal if we had a much bigger pot of money forthem because unfortunately we have not yet managed to find a steady incomestream.

Through its own continuing media campaign, including a quarterly T/MCReport, the T/MC extolled the virtues of the Lend A Hand program and thedifferenttutor/mentor programs they learned about, encouraging programs to borrow fromeach other to constantly improve, and to encourage the thousands of corporations ontheir mailing list to become strategically involved with programs in theirneighborhoods.


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Volunteer Fairs

While dollars were critical, so were the volunteers that made tutor/mentorprograms succeed. The PCI media campaign highlighted the need for volunteers. In

early 1995, the T/MC began to use the Chicago Access TV channel 42 to recruitvolunteers for its own Kids' Connection and provide information about T/MCconferences. Reaching an audience of 300,000 households, it was a very affordablemedium for a small non profit.

Bassill saw a potential of creating a special listing of tutor/mentor programswhich could be published with each new school year, when programs were typicallylooking for volunteers. When he posed this idea at a June, 1995 networkingmeeting of inter-generational programs, Ken Bernat of the Department of Agingsuggested that volunteer fairs could be held at different city sites in Chicago. Withspace provided, Bassill recruited tutor/mentor program leaders near those sites toserve as hosts and launched the Tutor/Mentor Connection's first Citywide VolunteerRecruitment Campaign. While the turnout for the fairs was low, the media coveragewas great, with PCI generating nearly 3.4 million impressions through a variety ofprint and television interviews. Furthermore, the Access TV listing of over 30programs generated over 1000 inquiries from prospective volunteers. Using whathe learned from this pilot program, Bassill set out to improve the campaign in thefollowing years.

In 1996 the number of volunteer fairs increased to seven, the quality of thesites improved, and Merri Dee, of WGN TV signed on as spokesperson, using radioand televised interviews on WGN and other stations to talk about tutoring andmentoring and to call volunteers out to the fairs.

Supporting their efforts, the Chicago Sun Times ran an articled called "Give akid the greatest gift: ability to read. The article stated that ...in the speechaccepting his re-nomination, President Clinton called for a nationwide program tomobilize reading tutors. Chicago's Tutor/Mentor Connection already has mappedout a comprehensive plan to do just that, but it can't succeed without your support."

This fall, the third year of the campaign, the number of sites has grown totwelve, with one in Evanston, one in Oak Park and one in Oak Brook. It alsoincludes leaders of more than 56 organizations, including the Chicago PublicSchools, Girl Scouts, Big Brothers, Literacy Volunteers of Illinois, and many

tutor/mentor programs helping to organize the event. Even businesses joined in,with Coopers & Lybrand organizing and hosting the volunteer fair at the JamesThompson Center, and Borders Books and Music hosting recruitment tables at fourlocations.

By April 1997, the T/MC had become so successful that Bassill was invited toserve on Chicago's delegation to the Presidents' Summit for America's Future,where a T/MC display served as a "teaching example" that could be duplicated in


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other cities. In June Bassill was a guest presenter at the Illinois Summit at theGovernor's Mansion in Springfield and has met with mayors of several downstatecities to offer the T/MC as a model they might duplicate.

What's Next

The T/MC hopes to have its Directory on the internet by the end of 1998, withthe potential for a user to point to a part of the city and get a map enlargementshowing that neighborhood, its roads, and dots for tutor/mentor programs or schoolsin the area. By touching a tutor/mentor program dot, the user could pull contactand service information, or see a video interview with a student and program leader.

The internet and other new technologies have allowed a small group to reachout to millions of people, hoping that education, welfare reform, school-to- workand racial healing are important and interesting enough to draw nationwideresponses.

The Presidents' Summit added a louder voice to the T/MC, which has plannedfollow up stories throughout the coming year to showcase different citiesresponses.

When Bassill opened shop in 1993, it wasnt to run a nine to five store front.Cabrini Connections products and services are in use 24 hours a day, 364 days ayear, fueled mostly by the adrenalin of a few staff and volunteers.

All we need now, says Bassill, is a few people with deep pockets whounderstand and support what were doing. With that and our deep commitment tohelp every child have equal hope and opportunity, we can reach the middle of the

21st century with a better America for every one.

Documents

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