JP Paulus presenting at 40th Tutor Mentor Conference in November.

Dan Bassill of  Tutor Mentor Connections attended the Illinois College Access Network Conference workshop, "Reaching Out to Religious Groups",and liked it so much that he invited JP Paulus (of Do-Gooder Consulting) and Jeremy Barahona to present again at the Tutor Mentor 40th conference.

The Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference  takes place on November 4, 2013 and will be held at the Metcalfe Federal Building at 77 W. Jackson Blvd in Chicago, Il. 

There are several notable workshop presenters.

Fees for Conference: $80 for the full day but a Group of 3 or more only costs $50 per person

You may also request a Scholarship to pay only a - $20 fee

Contact Tutor/Mentor Institute at tutormentor2@earthlink.net to discuss different group rates, or 50% discount half day fee.

 

 

 

For more information and to sign up, go to http://www.tutormentorconference.org/

We will update this entry with exact time and room location of our workshop.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Upcoming events - November 2013

 

Here are some upcoming meetings in the next few months. We hope to see you at one of these events:

Tutor Mentor Conference

The purpose of the conference is to connect leaders and supporters of volunteer-based tutoring, mentoring and education-to-career programs with each other. The conference, sponsored by Tutor/Mentor Institute starts 8am on  November 4 (Monday), 2013 at the Metcalfe Federal Building at 77 W. Jackson Blvd in Chicago.

JP Paulus (of Do-Gooder Consulting) will co-present with Jeremy Barahona of PURSUE Scholars. They will present on "Reaching Out to Religious Groups", which was also presented at the 2013 Illinois College Access Network conference. To sign up for this event, or more information, go to tutormentorconference.org

Urban Youth Network

November 7 (Thursday) , 2013 @9am
Meeting location To Be Announced (though most likely, The Lighthouse, 4338 S. Prairie, Chicago IL).  Free breakfast (includes doughnuts and coffee)

For more info, contact Nick Rivera at nick@gripyouth.com or see the Urban Youth Network Facebook page.

Illinois College Access Network

The November Illinois College Access Network Meeting will be on Thursday, November 14th , starting at 8am, in the same location as the May  meeting -- 2nd floor atrium of National Louis University, 122 S Michigan in Chicago. The topic will focus on Early College Program at City Colleges of Chicago. Please RSVP by sending an e-mail to  illinoiscollegeaccessnetwork@gmail.com



For more entries, see our events web page for details.

We look forward to seeing you at these events.

November 14 = Illinois College Access Meeting

From an e-mail from Illinois College Access Network:

 

The November Illinois College Access Network Meeting will be on Thursday, November 14th in the same location as the May  meeting -- 2nd floor atrium of National Louis University, 122 S Michigan in Chicago.

*Agenda*
 

**
8:00-8:40       Light Breakfast and Conversation
8:45-10:00     Early College Program at City Colleges of Chicago

                      Attendees will learn about several opportunities to earn

                      college credit while still in high school - at little or no cost.

                      Focus will be on Dual Enrollment, but speakers will also

                      cover an expanded Dual Credit initiative and Articulated

                      Credit for Prior Learning.  Outcomes of all 3 can be less 

                      time and lower costs to achieve 2 and/or 4 year degrees. 

                      Student success rates for those participate and later

                      matriculate in college will be presented.
10-10:30        Announcements and Networking

 

 RSVP:  illinoiscollegeaccessnetwork@gmail.com

NOTE: a new application for membership and accompanying fee
            structure will be available prior to or at the November meeting.

 

Illinoi CAN has some great FREE breakfast. They are also restructuring, and implementing a new membership system, though at this time, non-members are welcome to attend select events for free. This is an opportunity that only happens every few months. Please consider being apart of it.

 

See you on Thursday, November 14!

2015 Aldermanic candidates should run NOW (for another office)

Many people are looking forward to running for Alderman (and even Mayor) in the city of Chicago in early 2015.

But in order to be successful, we suggest that you run for office starting now -- and do so for different office.

You can't legally collect signatures for the office until September of 2014. But you can collect signatures for office such as Illinois state representative and state senator.

So why run? There are several reasons why this is a good idea.

The first is that it gives you practice for running for office.  You can see what are the different things you need to do (such as filing, setting up debates, meeting constituents), and how much time it takes.

Also, you can analyze results, especially in the city, and see where you have support, where you don't, and where you might have a chance to win over voters.

As you campaign, you can see who you can count on to help you run, and see what types of weaknesses you have (such as a communication team, someone living in the north side of your district).

Because this isn't your "real" office, you can decide how much time and money you wish to invest in this election. You should put in effort, so you get a taste of reality. But you may then step back and family, job, church and other commitments come up.

It is vital, however, after you have run, to follow up with people and ask them why they didn't vote for you, and what it would take to earn their vote.

Many of the materials you use (such as campaign signs, which should be generic such as "Vote for Do-Gooder Consulting") and your website (which states your general values and issues) can remain in place even after this first election.  You can build awareness over time, especially in-between election periods.

It sounds like a lot of effort, and off your goal. But trust us -- running for one office can help build your credentials and set you up for victory in your desired office.

For more information on how Do-Gooder Consulting can help you, call/text us at 872-222-8008 or e-mail us at politics@do-gooder.us

Hold a FAFSA event after church this year -with help from Do-Gooder Consulting

(See the end of this article for a FREE offer from Do-Gooder Consulting. Click here to go to Do-Gooder Consulting's website.)

This year, New Year’s day falls on a Sunday.  That may seem like a slow day at church, but we here at Do-Gooder Consulting want to challenge you to make it an outreach opportunity that can really benefit urban youth (and many others).

January 1^st is the first day to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (more popularly known as the FAFSA). The FAFSA is the primary application for college student aid from not only the federal government, but also state governments and other financial aid sources.

While everyone would like to go home on New Year’s Day (it’s a legal holiday!), it would actually be a perfect time to fill out the FAFSA.

You have to remember that financial aid is like pizza at a party – those who are there when the boxes open up get their choice of slices, and can return any extra food they don’t need. Those who wait while doing “important” things or think that their serving will be there for them when they need it will soon find out that they’ll be lucky if they get anchovies and crust.

And the pizza is getting taken earlier and earlier each year. For example, the state of Illinois has the MAP grant, which gives students up to $4,720 a year in grants.  Traditionally, the deadline has been in mid August, when many colleges begin classes.  But that has changed over the years, such that in 2013, the MAP grant ran out March 3, more than a month before taxes were due.

Things are much different then when we might have filled out the FAFSA, back in the day.  It was all paper back then, and they recommended that you filled out your taxes first. But as we see with the MAP grant example, that’s not practical anymore.

But it’s also something not to worry about, as things have changed for the better through technology. The FAFSA on the web, available at www.FAFSA.gov (note: this is NOT a .com; be wary of any site that wants you to pay to fill out the FREE Application for Federal Student Aid) helps students get at the head of the line for financial aid (as long as they have already applied –and have been accepted) to colleges where they are seeking aid.

Families who fill out the estimated FAFSA on January 1^st will still have to update that information once they have completed 2013 taxes. But if the taxes were filed electronically (as they are in more and more homes through online programs, as well as services such as H&R Block), there is a new IRS Retrieval tool which will make updating the FAFSA much easier than in years past.

While the optimum candidate for filling out a FAFSA is of course a high school senior, there are two important groups of people to consider as well: returning college students, and adults who may only be considering going back to college.

With returning students, this should be a no-brainer. By filling out the FAFSA this early, they may find themselves eligible for grants and work study they missed out on last year because they waited to fill out the FAFSA or get accepted to college. And since they are home for Christmas break, you have no excuse to not wake them up by lunchtime and have them fill out the FAFSA.

With adults – they may not have considered going back to college. But by filling out the FAFSA, they open up an opportunity.  Even if they haven’t been accepted yet, this will be an opportunity to get information on colleges, and open up possibilities that may have been written off in the past.

At worst, the family will waste between ½ hour to 1 ½ hours of time. At best, the family qualifies for thousands of dollars in aid.

While you might want to enjoy a day off (whether that Sunday and/or the next Monday, when many businesses are closed and parents have time available), you can do an incredible amount of good and gain thousands of dollars in aid by making a small time sacrifice.

To help struggling Chicago area ministries and nonprofits, Do-Gooder Consulting will provide free facilitation for the FAFSA after church on January 1^st, as well as on Monday, January 2^nd. Contact us for details (such as what is needed to host the session, opportunities for other ministries to share with you).

Do-Gooder Consulting also provides an affordable year-long consulting service that includes 3 seminars (The Financial Aid Process – for families; The College Going Process – for youth workers; FAFSA workshop – for families).

Contact us at college@do-gooder.us or call us at 872-222-8008 for details on the free and paid services. We look forward to hearing from you. Find out more about us at www.do-gooder.us

And you can look forward to future blog posts in the near future on subjects such as “What is the FAFSA?”, “What’s the difference between grants and scholarships?” and other relevant college-going subjects. See you next time!