Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving (Today is Thanksgiving Eve?) and I just want to wish everybody a happy, pleasant, and safe Thanksgiving!

Of course Thanksgiving is a time where we count our blessings and remind ourselves what we are thankful for. In addition to being thankful for my health, a loving family, wonderful friends, and a loving and supportive (and fundraiser-extraordinaire!) boyfriend, I'm also thankful to have such an amazing job where I can make a difference, albeit a very small one.

Thanksgiving is also a time where we remember those left fortunate and is the start of the biggest giving season of the year. Please read my co-workers blogs, Dan Bassill's, Bradley Troast's, El Da'Sheon Nix's, and Mike Trakan's who all talk about different ways you can help out at-risk youth.

However, to give my 2 cents, please consider being a sponsor for the Tutor/Mentor Conference, or even for the admission of one person who qualifies for a scholarship. In total, about 155 people attended the November Conference last week at Norris University Center at Northwestern University in Evanston. Of that number 51 people were granted full scholarships, 51 speakers were granted free admission, and 12 people received reduced admission rates. We believe that attending the Tutor/Mentor Conference is important no mater what your financial situation is and that everyone who wants to, should attend. The conference does cost money to put on - we need to pay for room rental, catering, and photocopies, among other things. And to put things in to perspective - when you sponsor the Tutor/Mentor Conference or sponsor someone's admission to the conference, you are helping out tutoring and mentoring programs, and thus, children all over the country.

A final note, the graphic in the upper right-hand corner was created by Kierre Halbert, a 7th grader in Cabrini Connections in our Tuesday night tech club. Hopefully it will put a smile on your face and remind you to give something so to tutoring and mentoring programs this Holiday Season, so that kids like Kierre can continue to create wonderful and creative things like the graphic and explore their talents in places like Cabirni Connections.