In 2015, Cindy Eggleton asked a young mom what she felt she needed to support her family. The mom went on to explain that to get any sort of social or educational services, she had to race around the city going from program to program— something that was impossible, as she worked full-time and didn’t have access to a car.
She looked at Cindy and said simply, “I can’t do it.”
At that moment, Cindy knew she needed to work with communities to create programs that came to these families—not the other way around. This solidified the beginning of Brilliant Detroit, a 2023 Elevate Prize winner, which is now expanding to become Brilliant Cities.
After learning about Brilliant Detroit’s unique and successful community-first model, civic leaders, families and partner organizations met with Cindy to learn how they could adopt this program for their own cities, and as a result, Brilliant Cities is expanding into Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago by 2027! On top of this, an additional 31 cities and seven countries are on a waiting list to become a future Brilliant City.
“We can’t wait to bring our work across the country to ensure that every child has the love, support, and resources necessary to thrive and be ready for school and for life,”
Cindy told us.
Established in 2016, Brilliant Cities created what they coined “kid success neighborhoods,” where they convert underutilized housing stock to create centers where entire families with children ages 0-8 have access to what they need to be school ready, healthy, and stable.
To date, Brilliant Cities has served more than 22,000 children and caregivers in Detroit, where more than half of children under five years old live in poverty. A recent evaluation found that these programs have helped kids in kindergarten through third grade improve by an average of three reading levels, and families have also reported a significant increase in physical activity, healthy eating, neighborhood support, and social connections.
Brilliant Cities’ work and growth is an affirmation of the power of community to decide for themselves what they want and need. At Elevate, we’re proud to be a part of this journey. Congratulations, Cindy and Brilliant Cities!
Get to know the expanded work of Brilliant Cities at: https://brilliantcities.org
