I encourage you to view this animated video, highlighting ideas from Robert Putnam's book titled Bowling Alone.
Once you've viewed the video, visit the Macat.com blog and see how they are creating a wide range of videos and blog articles to share big ideas.
Then look through the blog articles posted here, and think of how students, volunteers and professionals could repackage some of the work done by interns, and other ideas shared on the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC web site, so more people would understand and apply these ideas in their own communities.
Work done by young people in middle school, high school and college, and by volunteers with professional communications skills, could draw more people to information libraries where they create a deeper understanding of complex problems and begin to look at how some people are solving those problems in some places, which are ideas that could be borrowed and applied in other places.
Minsub Lee, a 2011 intern from IIT and Korea, created this video to support volunteer recruitment. The link on the video points to this page on the Tutor/Mentor Connection web site where people from Chicago and other cities can get ideas for mobilizing volunteers.
During the summer we invite teens and volunteers from other programs to submit videos that they create to promote volunteer and donor involvement in tutor/mentor programs. We'll share links to those that do the most to bring these resources to all programs in a geographic area, in addition to the host program.
The graphic in this holiday appeal was created by a volunteer who lived in Indiana when she did this project for us. It illustrates how volunteers and interns from many places are helping us share ideas that support the growth of volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs.
Each year we must find donors to support our efforts so we have a place for students, interns and volunteers to connect. Please send a donation or become a benefactor.
