This quarter, our group will be researching the West-Side of Chicago. The neighborhoods we will be focusing on are Austin, North Lawndale and East Garfield Park. The purpose of our blog is to educate both ourselves and the general public about these specific areas and the tutor/mentoring programs that may or may not be available in this part of the city. So far our class has visited two tutor/mentoring sites in Chicago, Cabrini Connections and Elliott Donnelley Youth Center in Bronzeville. At Cabrini Connections we learned about the organization’s background, purpose, and needs. It appears that the organization is now financially struggling due to the economic downturn. Despite these hard times, we found Cabrini Connections to be essential to kids in need of help. On our second trip to the Elliott Donnelley Youth Center in Bronzeville, we learned more about what this program has to offer to their kids, rather than their financial situation. The Elliott Donnelley Youth Center is an extraordinary program for kids that offers more than tutor/mentoring programs. Although the Elliott Donnelley Youth Center has taken a hit from the economic downturn, their situation is not as severe as with Cabrini Connections because the Elliott Donnelley Youth Center receives government funding. It would be in the government’s best interest to fund more programs such as Cabrini Connections to help kids that come from low-income families or do not have the tools to be succesful.