On Sunday January 31, 2010 the NFL's biggest and best athletes will take the field in Miami to showcase their skills, talents, and natural ability in the 2010 Pro Bowl. You will see the likes of future Hall of Fame QB's Peyton Manning and Brett Farve, running back sensations Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson, shut down corners Darrell Revis and Charles Woodson, and many many more of the best that the NFL has to offer! Many will watch the game and see these stars on the field but maybe not dig deeper into how these players earned the right to be in this year's Pro Bowl, and many more will not dig even deeper and take the time out to think about all of the work that is put into the overall Pro Bowl event!
~Most only see the tip of an iceberg and not all that create a solid foundation~
Almost all of the players who earned a right to be selected to the Pro Bowl spent the off-season, the summer, and the entire season perfecting their skills and talents and as a result of that hard work, they earned a right to be considered one of the best the game has to offer. For the Pro Bowl itself there are numerous teams of people, resources, and countless hours put in to present this event to the world! The event is filled with people who market, promote, work in concessions, tv stations, and field crews who all work directly and indirectly as a team to present the 2010 Pro Bowl in Miami, Florida.
The Cabrini Connections' program, and many tutoring/mentoring programs similar to ours, have been preparing for this month as well; because the month of January is National Mentoring Month. This is the month where the nation not only brings attention to the need of mentors all throughout the world, but this a month where many mentors will be recognized and honored for all of their hard work throughout the year; similar to the players on the Pro Bowl rosters. In our program we will definitely find ways to recognize and show our appreciation for all of the mentors who share their time, talents, and knowledge with the program and maybe more importantly, the students they they mentor.
Similar to the Pro Bowl, the is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes of Cabrini Connections that provides us with an opportunity to not only recognize our dedicated and committed tutor/mentors, but even more work and resources are needed to even have a Cabrini Connections' so that we can have a place for the tutor/mentors and the students. The Pro Bowl is filled with field crews, camera crews, marketing, advertisement, concession works, and many more people involved in the event all working together to have a successful Pro Bowl event. Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection has 6 staff members (no Fundraising/Marking Coordinator) , a Board of Directors, 80 active students, and nearly 95 active volunteers...and just like those involved with the Pro Bowl, we have goals as well and one of those goals is to have a successful Cabrini Connections' program!
For both the Pro Bowl and the Cabrini Connections' program to be successful quite simply, funds are needed! So if you are a fan of seeing some of the most dedicated, committed, and qualified Pro Bowl type of tutor/mentors work with youth that could greatly benefit now and in the future from these bonds please make an effort to support Cabrini Connections during this National Mentoring Month.
~Most only see the tip of an iceberg and not all that create a solid foundation~
1 comment:
When we talk about what it takes to create a great team, and a tutor/mentor program that has a great impact, we need to have a strategy, or game plan. I encourage volunteers, students and donors to look at this strategy map, which we use to diagram how tutor/mentor programs can be operating in all poverty neighborhoods of Chicago, not just Cabrini Connections.
http://tinyurl.com/tmc-strategy-map
It's important that we understand this. The same steps we show here are needed to build a great Cabrini Connections, and sustain it for the six years it takes for 7th graders to finish high school, or the next six to 10 years it takes for them to reach their mid-twenties with the skills and network needed to find jobs and help with careers.
Read my blog articles where I talk about these ideas. http://tutormentor.blogspot.com
If more people understand and use this strategy, we'll have more of the support, talent and resources needed to make it real.
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