Tutor/Mentor Leadership & Networking Conference 2008 Aims to End Youth Violence in Chicago Streets by Redefining the Role of “Community Leader”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
Cassina Z.
Marketing, Fundraising and Public Relations Coordinator
Tutor/Mentor Connection
312-492-9614
312-492-9795 (fax)
cassinaz.cabrini@gmail.com
http://www.tutormentorconnection.org

Tutor/Mentor Leadership & Networking Conference 2008 Aims to End Youth Violence in Chicago Streets by Redefining the Role of “Community Leader”

Chicago, IL, 5/6/2008 — Tutor/Mentor Connection will host its first bi-annual Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference of the fiscal year May 29-30, 2008 at Northwestern University School of Law located at 375 E. Chicago Avenue in Downtown Chicago.

While the school year is ending soon, the violence that has continued to affect Chicago school children demands that we do more to help. The lessons learned can lead to an influx of better programs for the beginning of the school year in September. The Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference — held once in the spring of each year and once in the fall — works as a catalyst and in conjunction with Tutor/Mentor Connection to strengthen the following year’s programs and raise public awareness of the need for renewed support.

The two-day conference will elaborate on drawing together Chicago leaders from several different types of businesses and venues across the city. Looking to cast its net to various industry leaders from local community centers to Fortune 500 companies, it aims to connect leaders and supporters of volunteer-based tutoring, mentoring and education-to-career programs with each other; and build visibility so that more volunteers and donors will choose to support tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago-land area.

“The commitment tutor/mentor programs make to the youths they reach doesn’t stop at the end of each school year,” said Cabrini Connections and Tutor/Mentor Connection CEO Daniel Bassill. “Neither should the support they receive.”

There’ll be a variety of hosted workshops that will examine the key components of successful tutor/mentor programs including: planning, evaluation, recruitment and training, marketing and development, as well as many networking opportunities for leaders, volunteers and supporters. Some confirmed panelists include:


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Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference 2008…

• Measuring the Success of your Tutor/Mentor Program, presented by Debra Natenshon, CEO, The Center for What Works

• Stretching Your Creativity, presented by Sporty King, President, R. King & Associates

• Mentoring Pregnant and Parenting Teens, presented by Mark Gesner, Youth Development and Evaluation Director at the Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside

• Model-Coach-Fade; How to Teach Anything, presented by Joshua Fulcher, Education Programs Coordinator for Erie Neighborhood House's Youth Options Unlimited Program

• Engaging Athletes and Celebrities as Advocates for Volunteer Based Tutor/Mentor Programs, a panel discussion with former Illini and Chicago Bears quarterback Kurt Kittner

• Building a Better Friendship: Using a Structured Journal to Improve Mentoring Relationships, presented by Sarah Kremer, Program Director, Friends for Youth's Mentoring Institute

• Beyond the Background Check: Incorporating SAFE Practices into Your Program, presented by Sarah Kremer, Program Director, Friends for Youth's Mentoring Institute

• Volunteer Involvement in a Tutoring and/or Mentoring Program, presented by Jenne Meyers, Executive Director of Working in the Schools (WITS)

• The School as a Mentoring Agent: Changing the Culture, presented by Michael McGrone, Sr., Dean of Students at Ace Tech Charter High School and the President of MTL Educational Consulting, Inc.

Each day will have two keynote speakers in the morning and afternoon sessions. Keynote speakers include Margot Pritzker, chair of the Zohar Education Project Inc. and President and Founder of WomenOnCall.org; two-time standout Olympian Pentathlete and founder of Beyond Sports, Marilyn King; and Glen "Max" McGee, Ph.D., President of Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

To see the full list of workshops, REGISTER ONLINE, be a sponsor, or advertise with us, visit http://www.tutormentorconference.org. Scholarships and group rates available. Registration includes a continental breakfast and box lunch each day.

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Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference 2008…

The Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) is a program of Cabrini Connections dedicated to improving the availability and quality of comprehensive, long-term, volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in high-poverty areas of the Chicago region and other large U.S. cities through an ongoing, dynamic exchange of ideas. The Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) first held the conference in 1994 after a survey of Chicago area programs revealed that more than half had little or no contact with other programs. Based on positive response from the first conference, T/MC decided to host a second conference in the same year, which attracted nearly 200 attendees. For more information about Tutor/Mentor Connection, visit http://tutormentorconnection.org.

Cabrini Connections is a one-on-one tutoring and mentoring program serving 7th through 12th grade students living in Chicago's Cabrini-Green public housing project. Each student is matched with a volunteer tutor/mentor that they meet with weekly at our site. In addition, students are invited to participate in special activities and after-school clubs. To find out more about Cabrini Connections or Tutor/Mentor Connection, visit http://www.cabriniconnections.net

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