"Together We Can..."

Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connections is a volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring organization that depends heavily on caring, committed, and passionate volunteers to achieve our mission of helping at-risk Chicagoland youth enter college and careers by the age of 25. Many of the volunteers in our program take on the traditional role of being a tutor/mentor in a one-on-one relationship with a youth or take on a leadership role in one of our enrichment activities such as Tech, Writing, or Art Clubs. But there are a wide variety of ways in which YOU can get involved and begin contributing to the program, but more importantly to the success of all that are touched by the Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection's organization.

Here are a few of the many roles that if filled would not only be greatly appreciated, but would strengthen our program a great deal.

*Volunteer Recruiter*

-Focus on establishing contacts to recruit volunteers as tutor/mentors, office support, committee members

-Recruitment of volunteers is on-going. However, extra effort will target a build-up of new volunteers for the start of the fall tutoring year.

-Contact volunteer/community affairs coordinator in July/August and request support• Associations - Union League Club, Chicago Bar Association, Young Executives Club, minority professional and business associations• Newslink, media placements• Tutor/Mentor Connection Volunteer Fair - annuallyMinority Recruiting. As part of the organization's policy of recruiting minorities into broad participation and leadership, a targeted effort aims at this group.

*Parent Committee Coordinator*

-Establish parent committee and involve parents on committees

-Invite to orientation in fall

-Establish a once-a-month parent briefing where activity calendars can be reviewed and parents can sign up for multiple events at one time

-Other activities the volunteer(s) might be responsible for include: recruit students, provide escort for those students who need it, support each other and the students and the program and give input to the program.

*Community Relations' Coordinator*

-Facilitate communication among area programs and to prepare a community calendar of events so that groups may support each other and reduce potential scheduling conflicts.

*School Committee Coordinator*

-Establish and maintain a communications link with schools where Cabrini Connection students are enrolled. This will develop two-way support for between the schools and our programs.

*Training Committee Coordinator*

-Responsible for fall Tutor, Student and Parent Orientations. Will also work with the Cabrini Connections staff to present in-service and seminars over the course of the year.

*Motivation/Incentive Committee Coordinator*

-Develop a recognition program for volunteers and students, working with the training and recruiting committees. Some suggested programs

-Develop Mantra/pledge for Cabrini Connections that includes values• Wall plaques to recognize students who recruit/get on honor roll

-Wall plaques to recognize volunteers who raise funds, recruit volunteers

-End of year certificates of achievement/attendance

-Special privileges for extra effort/achievement

-End of Year Dinner/special recognition events

*Student Recruitment Committee Coordinator*

-Responsible for recruiting new students, screening and assessing applicants, following up with parent permission forms.

-Work with the volunteer recruiting committee to try to maintain an enrollment balance between students and tutors.

If you are interested in taking on one of these roles OR if you are interested in learning more about other roles within the program, please feel free to contact Administrative Coordinator, EL Da' Sheon Nix at 312-492-9614 or visit our website (http://www.cabriniconnections.net/)

What does it take?

El Da'Sheon Nix has been writing articles showing how great sports teams get that way because of the combined efforts of the team on the field, and the team in the front office, and the fans in the stands.

The image on this page shows the goal of Cabrini Connections, of helping transform the lives of the youth and volunteers who become part of this organization. Seems like a simple concept, right?

Yet every day there are numerous activities that good organizations need to do, ranging from those that support youth and volunteers, to those that raise money, and those that provide administrative oversight to the facility, the technology, and the paid and volunteer staff.

We have never had more than one or two full time Cabrini Connections staff to do this work. Nor have we had a secure stream of funding which was available every year to fuel our work and provide job security or retirement benefits for people who work here. Finally, while there is plenty of information to show how to create strong organizational structures, there is little information on how to make a volunteer-based tutor/mentor program have a live changing impact on its members.

Thus, as we've tried to figure out how to make what we do work each year, we've also needed to try to find ways to recruit and keep one or two full time staff, as well as a variety of volunteer leaders. While Gena Schoen stayed with Cabrini Connections from 1993 to 2000, and helped build the structure we have today, no other leaders have come to us from the volunteer ranks, as Gena did (she was a tutor from 1989 till joining the CC staff), thus each new person who has had to build their understanding of the infrastructure support, while coaching the 70-80 pairs in the programs, and while trying to find money to pay the bills.

While we've attracted really talented people in to the lead coordinator role, they have had other opportunities that attracted them to other jobs after one or two years. Thus, building the organizational knowledge and experience that is needed to support the work of kids and volunteers has not been one of continuous growth over the past 8 years, but one where we're always in a steep learning curve.

What has helped offset this has been the growth of a core of veteran volunteers who have stayed with the program 3 or more years, serving as mentors to other volunteers and staff, and often serving as coordinators of the weekly tutoring sessions.

Because this high turnover of staff, and volunteers, is common in non profits, and youth serving organizations, I have created an on-line library of information that anyone from Cabrini Connections can draw from at any time. It's the knowledge and experience that I've gained from leading a tutor/mentor program since 1975. It's also the knowledge and experience of others who also lead tutor/mentor programs, in Chicago, and in other cities. This library is the Tutor/Mentor Connection

In many organizations, one or two people becomes an expert, and a resource or mentor for everyone else in the organization. I've had that role at Cabrini Connections since we started. However, since I've learned what I know by practical application over a 30 year period, it's not possible for me to sit down in a session, or even a series of sessions, and "train" someone else, or all of our volunteers, to know what I've learned, or to be able to apply that knowledge in the same way, for the same goals.

When the Internet became a tool, I started taking information from my mind, and from my file cabinets, and posting it on the T/MC web site. At the same time, I started posting links to other programs, and to research that I was reading that helped me understand what the challenges were that we and our teens face, and what some of the solutions might be, if we could find the volunteers and dollars and staff to implement those ideas.

While the knowledge of the T/MC was originally intended to support just Cabrini Connections, I've been networking and learning from leaders and peers in other programs since I first became a leader myself. Thus, the Internet has enabled me to share what we all know, with anyone who wants to find ways to help build the infrastructure needed to support kids and volunteers in programs like Cabrini Connections.

As we go through this summer into next fall, I hope a growing number of our volunteers will skim through the T/MC sites and begin to draw from that knowledge so that we have more ways to help our own teens and volunteers when school starts in September.

At the same time, I hope some of you will help me find additional volunteers, partners and donors, so we can organize and teach this information, the same way the school of Engineering or Law at a major university organizes its knowledge and teaches it to students every year.

As El Da'Sheon has written often, this is a team sport, and summer is not a time to vacation, but a time to do personal workouts and training so we can improve from year to year. I hope many members of the Cabrini Connections community, and the larger tutor/mentor community, will join me in this on-going learning, and in efforts to apply what we learn to the way we help kids.

If you'd like to meet with me for a tour of our on-line resources, or to talk about ways you might help, please call 312-492-9614

College Loan and Student Debt Problems?

The Cabrini Connections' program has been up and running for over 10 years and during that time there have been hundreds of former students AND volunteers who have become Cabrini Connections' alumni. One of our main goals in the program is to provide all students with the necessary resources to graduate from high school and to put themselves in a position to be in a job or career by the age of 25. If this model of success holds true, then it would suggest that many Cabrini Connections alums have graduated from high school and college and should be in or on their way to a job or career by that golden age of 25.

Even before the today's economic problems, there have been college students who have had to borrow more just to get into college, and have had to pay even more when leaving college. And with the Cabrini Connections' students and volunteers who have gone on to attend and graduate college, I'm sure that some if not many have or are going through a similar situation. Cabrini Connections is more than a program that assist 7th-12th grade youth while they are enrolled in the program; we hope that both student and volunteer alums will remain connected to the program and each other.

Here is some very helpful information for any Cabrini Connections' student and/or volunteer alumni who may be facing debt problems. But as the Administrative Coordinator of the program I would like to assist current Cabrini Connections' members with the prevention of debt problems and assist alums with getting out debt, but I will need a little assistance. If there were a person or a company that has expertise in this area and would be willing to share some helpful tips, tools, and techniques to our current participants, alumni, and community members that could be a service that would not only be greatly appreciated, but beneficial to all who attends.

We have a great space to host financial workshops, lectures, or meetings throughout the summer and during the school year. And with the state of the current economy and with debt being a situation that many people can relate to, if this type of service was made available it could work wonders the Cabrini Connections' family.

Please don't hesitate to contact Cabrini Connections if you can or know someone who can assist with providing this service.