Cindy Eggleton

What I wish other people knew

I wish they knew how foundational the early childhood years are. Ninety percent of our brains are developed by age 5. That really tells us where we need to focus our energies and when intensive learning programs need to start. When children are ready for kindergarten and are reading at grade level by third grade, they have the academic skills they need to build a foundation for the future. But so little in the social services field is coordinated and connected. We need to focus on the whole family — children and caregivers — in order to affect school readiness and success.

Advice to others who want to make a difference

Listen. Just listen. It’s really important to really work alongside others and hear what they think they need in order to be successful. Let the community you are striving to help be the one to orchestrate it. You’re not working for yourself but for the good of others.

It’s also important to keep track of your North Star, or personal mission statement. Sometimes we don’t always see it, even when it’s in front of us. I am relentless in my pursuit of ensuring that kids and families get what they need and want. I’m a first-generation high school graduate who was raised in poverty. I got to where I was through hard work and the power of education and, yes, the support of my neighborhood. It’s these same types of neighborhoods that have made Brilliant Detroit a success.

Why my approach is unique

Brilliant Detroit works with families, instead of doing things “to” them in a top-down fashion. We launch a hub in a community only after we have been invited in by leaders and have conducted multiple listening sessions with community members. Once the hub begins, we form a neighborhood advisory team to guide our programming.

Our focus lies in forming deep ties in neighborhoods and with service providers, so that our families can access critical services right near them.All of our families live within a 20-minute walk of a Brilliant Detroit hub, which allows us to reach more families than programs that require public transportation to access. We work from the belief that organizations provide programs and services, while communities are there for each other and connect through bonds of mutual support. This is one of the reasons why our young kids can begin to show significant educational improvements, in as little as eight to 12 weeks, which are sustained and deepened over time for transformational results.

When I introduce the Brilliant Detroit story, I often say that I live in a fairy tale. This is my legacy — to move the needle on early-childhood education and family well-being in a way that I have not yet seen.