Year-Round Schools Equals Year-Round Support

The Cabrini Connections' program looks to have between 75 and 80 students actively enrolled in the tutoring/mentoring program every year. And most would assume that our students and our program are only meeting from September through May...during the typical academic year, but that is far from the truth. Our program is just as much mentoring as it is tutoring and mentoring can and should take place throughout the year. Our official tutoring/mentoring sessions end in late May or early June be we then begin to kick-off our Summer programming. The summer programming includes a continuation of our Clubs and Open House tutoring/mentoring sessions that take place every Wednesday evening throughout the summer.

But for several of our students tutoring and mentoring is taking place throughout the year, and that is because we have students who are enrolled in schools that go year-round. While many of our mentors and mentees stepping up their efforts just to keep in contact with each other and an occasional off-site outing throughout the summer, we have several students who have already begun school. And with those students who have already begun school, their mentors have stepped up as well and both have already begun official tutoring/mentoring sessions.

Freshman, Savon Clark, who attends Lindblom Math & Science Academy which is a year-round school and new student Lamont Morris who attends Alain Locke have already not only begun school, but have been coming into the program throughout the summer for tutoring/mentoring sessions. Although the feel in the center is a little different because the entire student and volunteer population is not here on the night they attend, these pairs along with several other pairs use their time, the space, and other resources as if it was a tutoring/mentoring session in January. We have nearly 70 students enrolled and ready to kick-off our 2009-2010 tutoring/mentoring year, and those 70 students come from nearly 30 different schools!!!

And since we have so many students who are joining our program from a variety of schools, some in which are year-round, we are definitely in need of continuing to build relationships with those schools but we are also in need of potential funders to provide resources for these students throughout the year. Whether its in Cabrini Connections, a similar program, or just in everyday life...tutoring/mentoring for youth can and should be occurring year-round. And for tutoring/mentoring to take place year-round in Cabrini Connections and programs like ours, we need people to support us financially.

Be a Volunteer, Be a Supporter, Be a Donor...Year-Round