How Brilliant Detroit Is Building “Kid Success” Right in the City’s Neighborhoods

As we continue to highlight nonprofits who are driving change within community, we’re sharing the work of Brilliant Detroit. This organization is dedicated to building “kid success,” providing families with children from birth to 8 years old with what they need to be school-ready, healthy and stable. They do this by providing proven programming and support year-round out of Brilliant Detroit homes in high-need neighborhoods.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Cindy Eggleton, Brilliant Detroit’s CEO and a driving force behind this incredible organization. Join us as we take a peek into the world of Brilliant Detroit, exploring their innovative approach to building kid success, one family and one neighborhood at a time.

How is your organization making an impact?

When we came together eight years ago to create Brilliant Detroit, we began with a question – what can we do to ensure that Detroit children are kindergarten-ready? We knew that the answer began at the beginning. The fact is that 90% of a child’s brain is developed by age 3 and much of their future is impacted by their first eight years of life.

We challenged ourselves to be innovative and explore how we could disrupt the current early childhood ecosystem. Here is what we came up with: Instead of families getting in a car or bus to access help, let’s renovate abandoned homes and offer evidence-based programming right in the middle of neighborhoods. Instead of directing what happens to families, let’s listen and learn and provide programming that families need and want. Instead of creating yet another program, let’s act as a connector and bring together organizations that are addressing different early childhood needs in one warm and safe place. Let’s create “Kid Success Neighborhoods” where families with children ages 0-8 have what they need to be school-ready, healthy and supported.

Tell us about a project or initiative you’re working on right now that’s making a big impact on your community.

This summer, we piloted a citywide literacy initiative called Detroit Reads. The goals of the program were to combat “summer slide” (a loss of academic ability in youth outside of the school year) and build a love of reading in our young children. We served over 300 youth through our daily summer programming, which was hosted at 12 hubs. We had a city-wide men read day, an author day and family health nights, among other things. This is in addition to our specific tutoring and family efforts. Ultimately, we are pleased with the impact of the first summer of Detroit Reads. We look forward to building the program by expanding to more of our hubs and by partnering with other champions of literacy across Detroit.

The Detroit Reads program was a success both on a macro and micro level. Over 30 community partners participated in seven weeks of programming at the 12 hubs. Each location included at least three hours per day (over 3,000 combined hours) of literacy programming, which included small group tutoring, storytelling and read-alouds. Ten young adult interns supported by the Grow Detroit Young Talent Program provided student leadership to youth campers. Students explored improvisation, STEM, nature and gardening through hands-on experiences and reflection activities. Students were able to connect theories and knowledge to real-world situations. Perhaps the greatest testament to a successful pilot was all the smiling faces of the youth we served!

“My favorite moments at Brilliant Detroit are those when I can see the positive change that families are making in their own lives using the resources of our organization. I wake up every day inspired by all the people I get to work with who are moving their lives forward. We see this transformational change all the time. Caregivers join us as participants and then start volunteering their time and skills or join our staff to help spread our mission of ‘Kid Success’ to more of their fellow neighbors. It is truly energizing.” — Cindy Eggleton, CEO, Brilliant Detroit

Do you have an upcoming special event or milestone that your organization is celebrating?

We are looking forward to celebrating a long-coming and major milestone in 2024. Years ago, when researching the potential growth of Brilliant Detroit, it was determined that 24 hubs was the number needed to create population level change in Detroit. In other words, 24 was the magic number where we would start to see the needle move on the statistics that inspired the creation of Brilliant Detroit, namely kindergarten and third grade reading ability, the number of families living in poverty and lack of access to books and childcare options.

What role does volunteerism play in your organization’s overall mission and objectives?

Volunteerism is a huge element of the success of Brilliant Detroit. Many of our programs are fueled by volunteer support, including one of our most impactful programs, high dosage literacy tutoring. Our goal in utilizing volunteers is to further include community in our work and also educate volunteers as to why current conditions exist.

We believe it is important that volunteers understand factors that led to the inequities we see today in Detroit. Volunteers bring a passion and a diverse set of perspectives and experiences to our families. We see working with volunteers as an extension of our value of creating neighbor to neighbor connections.

How are you recognizing and thanking volunteers for their contributions?

We recognize our most dedicated volunteers via social media highlights as well as our “Brilliant People” campaign that spotlights our most dedicated supporters. We also thank our volunteers via swag giveaways and an annual volunteer celebration picnic. We are always happy to verify service hours for our volunteers for awards, including the President’s Volunteer Service Award, and other requirements or recognitions.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who’s looking to get more involved in their community through civic engagement?

So often in social justice movements, people are providing solutions for others and not seeing those people as individuals and embracing their insights. The reality is that people have more to say about what is right for them than we could ever figure out. I always say what is most important is transitioning from listening to talk or to tell, to listening to hear, to learn and then to help do and achieve. You have to first see people for them to grow.