OUR STORY

In 2015 Brilliant Detroit was created to provide a radically new approach to kindergarten readiness in neighborhoods. The idea was to create a unique delivery model in our approach to early childhood development by using underutilized housing stock to create early child and family centers in neighborhoods. Input was gathered and a model that is designed with, for, and by neighbors was built. Brilliant Detroit homes provide holistic services for kids 0-8 predicated on evidence-based programs around health, family support, and education. Brilliant Detroit was born to create kid success neighborhoods. Today, in each location, neighbors come together for fellowship, activities and learning to assure school readiness, and provide needed support for families.

THE FACTS

Our role is to fundamentally change lives and assure all kids in each neighborhood have access to the tools to succeed.

What if?

  • Kids read at grade level by third grade.
  • Education, Health and Family Supports were aligned and working in concert for the benefit of our kids and families.
  • Communities led by neighbors had all they needed for kids to be educated, healthy and stable.
  • A central source had contact information for all kids less than eight years of age.

We are:

  • Designed with, for and by neighbors.
  • Centered around families and kids
    In 20 minute walkable areas in a centrally located home.
  • Using existing evidence - based partners to provide supports and assets.
  • Coordinating programs during the critical years of development.

We Will:

  • Increase Kindergarten Readiness.
  • Assure grade level reading by
    third grade.
  • Increase social connectedness.
  • Mobilize neighbors.
  • Stabilize neighborhoods.

STORIES FROM NEIGHBORHOODS

  • Dana Thomas

    Zumba changed my life. I heard about a Zumba class from a flyer distributed in my community by Brilliant Detroit. I went there to just exercise. When I got there the doors were open to so much more; parenting workshops, financial , couponing, anger management, cooking classes and the list goes on. I am learning skills and habits that will last me a lifetime. The best part is meeting people who have inspired me to reach for my dreams. They are life changing! Thank you Brilliant Detroit!

  • Leslie Foster

    I like parenting class so I can learn about being a better mother.

  • Ella Moton-Ivy

    We have attended classes here at Brilliant Detroit and we enjoyed it. We appreciate that food is served and that there is a place for the children to play while the adults are attending something of interest. There are quite a few programs and classes that are very informative and useful for the people that live in the community. Brilliant Detroit is amazing and a tremendous help to rebuilding our neighborhood.

  • Esmeralda Torres

    Brilliant Detroit is my home away from home. From being a participant to a staff member, I have been truly blessed to be part of such a force of nature. Brilliant Detroit came to my neighborhood and has left such a beautiful impression on my life and others who live here. It is that wonderful rainbow at the end of a storm. I have been impacted and am so happy to be able to continue to spread the wonders and amazement that will make us happier and healthier adults, children and communities. The enthusiasm Brilliant Detroit has put forth is contagious... Let's keep spreading this.

  • Guillermina García

    I am very grateful and happy for Brilliant Detroit. Their programs help me with my daily life and I learn new skills every time we have class. Thank you for all you do.

  • Martha Jiménez

    I like Brilliant Detroit because it offers us diverse workshops and activities that have helped strengthen me as a mother.

  • Evelyn Alvizar

    For me Brilliant Detroit is a great support and help in the education and care of my twins. It helps me to be a better mother, teaching me with new classes and learning from the experience of other mothers. Also because they offer childcare it gives me time for myself as a person. I learn, I get entertained and get to know great people. The Caregivers are excellent people whom I value so much, I appreciate how well they do their job and I realize this because my twins love to come and share with them. Thank you.

  • Claudia Ramos

    I feel very grateful for Brilliant Detroit and for all the programs offered at this site. I feel comfortable and happy with my teachers, classmates & the staff involved. Thank you!

  • Pateres Rushin

    I truly enjoy Brilliant Detroit. In the beginning I came for the certificate but in the end I have made many friends and gained a support team. I fell in love with the heart of the program because they have showed me not only how to parent but how to be a family. Brilliant Detroit is a program, a friend, a parent support partner.

  • Kenyetta M. Campbell

    Brilliant Detroit is helping our neighbors become connected with each other, and helping them to get what they need for our kids success.

TEAM MEMBERS

Aaron AppelDirector of Strategic Growth

Charlottle BlackwellCommunity Engagement Manager Littlefield

Zak BrattoSocial Media & Brand Ambassador

Oneida Garcia ChapaChildcare Specialist

Larry CharlestonCEC Cody-Rouge

Rich ColonSpecial Initiatives Coordinator

Andrew CoxSr. Accounting Manager

Lizdinaris DelgadoCommunity Engagement Coordinator - Springwells

Cindy EggletonCo-Founder and CEO

Samara EtheridgeCommunity Engagement Manager - Martin Park

Marlin FranklinCommunity Engagement Manager - Brightmoor

Molly FoxGrants Specialist

Maggie HannaLearning, Research and Evaluation Director

Danielle HarlingCommunity Engagement Manager (Cody Rouge)

Victoria HolseyAARP Experience Corp/Health Link Project Lead

Karlita JohnsonOutreach Manager, Martin Park

Nikeila JordanCommunity Engagement Coordinator

Anthony LanziloteCommunity Engagement Manager

Emma LautDirector of Operations

Cheyla MiloOrganization Director

Rakisha OdomOutreach Manager

Dakota OrtizStaff Accounting Clerk

Chelsea OwensFellowship Manager

Janet OyebodeCommunity Engagement Director

Roberto ParedesCommunity Engagement Coordinator Morningside

Aryeh PerlmanVolunteer Engagement Manager

Migdalia PriceFacilities Manager and Engagement Coordinator

Regina ReidProgram Director

Angie RodriguezSenior Community Engagement Manager

Lulu DeLourdes RodriguezChildcare and Evaluation Specialist

La'Shonta SmithCommunity Engagement Manager Fitzgerald

Esmeralda TorresSr. Community Engagement Manager

Vanessa VelaCommunity Engagement Manager Springwells

DusJohn WilliamsCommunity Engagement Manager Mcdougall Hunt

Jerry WilliamsCommunity Engagement Coordinator Brightmoor

Regina WilliamsCommunity Engagement Manager Morningside

LaRetha WynnIntake, Resource, and Evaluation Manager

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Carolyn BellinsonTreasurer and Co-Founder

Jim BellinsonChair and Co-Founder

Cindy Eggleton

Roz Blanck

Michael Brillati

Michelle De La Isla

Herman Gray

Denise White Perkins

Kristin Groos Richmond

Richard Smart

Joyce Suber

Erika Swilley

Michael Tyson

Cassie Williams

ADVISORY BOARD

Executive Board

Geoff Hanson

Elizabeth Price

Minito Reasor

Cassie WilliamsCo-Chair

Jeremy ViditoCo-Chair

Shanel Adams

Sarah Allyn

David Bowser

Andrew Bronstein

Flora Conley

Asandi Conner

Christa Funk

Brandon Gleaton

Inglish Reed-Jones

Abby Rubin

Michallene Thacker-Mann

Suvon Treece

Chris Tull

2021 FUNDERS ($500+)

360 Fire & Flood

Mary and Jon Aaron

Adele and Michael Acheson

Adient Foundation

Adkison, Need, Allen & Rentrop, PLLC

Barbara and Greg Allushuski

Alrig USA

Barbra and Peter Alter

Anonymous

Carol and Joel Appel

Elaine and Robert Appel

Beth and Jeff Applebaum

Kris and Andy Appleby and the USPBL

Joanne and Danny Aronovitz

Lisa and Bob Aronson

Ascension Group International

Julie and Larry August

Ballmer Group

Nora and Guy Barron

Baskin Law Firm

Michael Bassirpour and Sandy Rosen

Jacqueline and Jeff Bean

Lauren and Eric Bean

Carolyn and Jim Bellinson

Sarah Bellinson

Berger-Miller Family

Leslie and Jonathan Berlin

Jared Berman

Jeff Berry

Roz and Stanford Blanck

Michele and Mitchell Bleznak

Bloomberg Philanthropies - What Works Cities

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Blumenstein Family Foundation

Erika and Andy Bocknek

Luke Boggs

Bookstock Fund

Julie and Michael Brillati

Natalie and Brian Brodsky

Stacy and Jeffrey Brodsky

Lily and David Broner

Marion and Harvey Bronstein

Joel Brown

Maud and Aaron Brown

Bubba's Promotions, LLC

Marcy and Ian Burnstein

Butzel Long

Emily Camiener and Marc Schwartz

Beth and Greg Campbell

Michelle and David Carroll

Joanne and John Carter

The Children's Foundation

Dr. Betty Chu M.D. and Navot Shoresh

Cielo Donor Advised Fund

Citizen Yoga

Susie and Bob Citrin

Clarkston Capital Partners

Marlene and Jeff Cohen

Colburn Group

Comcast

Community Connections

Beth and David Contorer

Covington Partners

Sue and Tom Cox

Bobby Curtis and Grey Pearmine

Jan and Gary Dabkowski

Marvin and Betty Danto Family Foundation

Dunia and Shukri David

Beth and Jeff Davidson

Gretchen and Ethan Davidson

Deloitte

Brett deMarrais

Lindsay Dembs

Detroit Institute for Children

Detroit Labs

Detroit Pistons

Denise Dinan and Thomas Panico

John D. and Jean E. Dinan Foundation

Stacy and Andy Doctoroff

Dominion Realty Services, LLC

Kareen Donegan and Phil Appel

Thomas Doud

DRK Foundation

DTE Energy

DTE Foundation

Kerry Duggan and JJ Velez

Eagles for Children

Cindy Eggleton

Nicole and Stephen Eisenberg

Wendy and Jeff Eisenshtadt

Shelley and Mickey Eizelman

David W. Elliott Memorial Foundation

Eleanor Ellis

Empowerment Foundation

Renee and Craig Erlich

Amy and Eric Ersher

Terri Farber and Yossie Fleischmann

JoAnn and Patrick Fehring

Lisa and Milton Feldberg

Fifth Third Bank

Niki and Todd Fink

Lauren and Phillip Fisher

Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation

David Fishman

Carol Fleming

Michael Flesch

Vianne and Vincent Floyd

Amy and Jack Folbe

Elyse and David Foltyn

Catherine and Nathan Forbes

Emily and Henry Ford III

Ford Motor Company

Samuel and Jean Frankel Health and Research Foundation

Kim and Steven Friedman

Richard Friedman

Terri and David Friedman

Fund for Shared Insight - Listen4Good

Charlotte and Gary Gilbert

Nancy Glen and Ralph McDowell

GMC

Goldman Sachs

Marcy and John Gottesman

Glenn Granger

The Honorable Jennifer Granholm and Daniel Mulhern

Lori and Sam Gray

Nancy and Michael Greff

Thomas J. and Ruth E. Grimaldi Foundation

Tracey and Les Grosinger

Kristen and Carl Gross

Fran Gross

Terri and Albert Haddad

Leatha Hallmark

Joseph Handleman I Believe in You Trust Foundation

Rose and David Handleman

Geoff Hanson

Pamela and David Haron

HealthRise

Heather and Scott Hensler

Jennifer and Brian Hermelin

Laura Hirschhorn and Ron Yolles

Nancy Hodari

Lea and Paul E. Hodges III

Honigman LLP

Hope Starts Here

Barbara and Michael Horowitz

Julius and Cynthia Huebner Foundation

Amy Hunter

Hunter Pasteur Homes

Jill and Lee Hurwitz

Impact100

Integrated Fiduciary Advisory Services

Katherine and Robert Jacobs

Andrea and David Jacobson

Nancy and Joseph Jacobson

Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.

Jessica's Natural Foods

Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit

The Jewish Fund

Marjorie and Maxwell Jospey Foundation

Kaftan Communities

Marla and Jeffrey Kaftan

The Kahn Apartments

Madeleine Karcz

Heather and David Katzman

Joe and Pamela Kay Foundation

Kellogg Foundation

Patti Kelter and Marc Cohen

Fern and Brian Kepes

Sherri and Jim Ketai

Hilary and Edan King

Michelle and Robert Kleiman

Kleiman Family

Diane Klein and Jeffrey Maisels

Stacy and Ron Klein

Linda Korobkin

Anessa and David Kramer

Kresge Foundation

Jule Krueger and Carter Scott

Neil Krugman

Joanna and David Iafrate

Lake Trust Credit Union

Lash Rubin Orthodontics

Erica and Jeff Lawson

Melissa and Larry Lax

Mike and Kass Lazerow

Shannon Leikert

Nicole and Matt Lester

Janet Levine

Rachel and Jeff Levine

Rena and Mark Lewis

Rochelle and Arthur Lieberman

Jody Lipton and Geoff Kretchmer

Lisa and Hannan Lis

Liss, Seder, and Andrews

Spencer Lucker

Nancy and Howard Luckoff

Cindy and Neal MacLean

Donna and Michael Maddin

ManeContent

Marathon Petroleum Company

Evan Martin

Martina Family

McKinsey & Company

Lisa and Brian Meer

Catherine and Michael Merszei

Michigan Fitness Foundation

Michigan Nonprofit Association

Elizabeth Mkpong

Maria Montoya and James Hill

Barbara Moran

Julie and Jeff Morganroth

Joe Morsello

Leslie and Rabbi Michael Moskowitz

Maria Muzik and Kate Rosenblum

Joy and Allan Nachman

Anita and Bob Naftaly

Najor Companies

Susan Newell

Pam and Richard Nodel

Jane and Daniel Och

Rachel and Josh Opperer

Diane and Randy Orley

Marcie and Rob Orley

Kate Ostrove and David Klein

Richard Pagac Jr.

Susie and Norm Pappas

Allison and Harry Parr

Samantha and Ross Partrich

Pathways Foundation

Beatrice & Reymont Paul Foundation

Francine Pegues

Melissa Peregord

Kim and Larry Perlman

Lisa Pernick and Bruce Israel

Margo Pernick

Emily and Jeffrey Pitt

Ina and Murray Pitt

Lori and Maurice Pogoda

Sonia and Keith Pomeroy

Jan and Tom Purther

Karen and Nicholas Pyett

Raising a Reader

Alex Rampell

Ruth Rattner

Jason Raznick

John Regan

David Rehrauer

Meg and Mike Revord

Eunice and Milton H Ring Foundation

Sarah Riutta

Rocket Community Fund

Wendell and Doris Rogers Foundation

The Sigmund and Sophie Rohlik Foundation

Jan Roncelli

Cathy and Jim Rosenthal

Deborah and Steven Rosenthal

Rotary Club of Grosse Pointe

Julie and Adam Rothstein

David Rubin

Leslie and Alan Ruby

Louise and Todd Sable

Karen and Todd Sachse

Jeff Sakwa

Heather and Lowell Salesin

Salus Group

Tami and Danny Samson

Tina and Mike Sappington

Bluma Schechter

Schechter Investment Advisors

Karen and Jeff Schoenberg

Nikki and Greg Schwartz

Sandy and Alan Schwartz

Thomas Sebold & Associates - Dana and Glenn Kunnath

Michelle and Scott Segal

Reva and Sheldon Segal

Seid Enterprises

Barb and Rex Sessions

Lisa and Josh Sherbin

Ellen and David Sherman

Jane and Larry Sherman

Claudia Sills

Sills Foundation Inc

Lori and Michael Silver

Karen and Keith Simmons

Susan and John Simon

Simtob Management & Investment

Skillman Foundation

Emily and Zack Slabotsky

Julie and Julio Sosa

Spire Integrated Systems

spirit3foundation

Starbucks Foundation

Start 2 Finish Realty

Lisa and Scott Stern

Elaine Stern Foundation

Loren and Bob Stone - Telemus Capital

Suburban Propane

Nancy Szabo and Steve Ratner

Temple Israel

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Susan Thomas

Torgow Family

Total Health Care Foundation

Deborah Tyner and Richard Herman

UHY Cares

United Way for Southeast Michigan

University of Michigan Big House 5K

Adam Valkin

VELA Fund

Kelly and David Victor

Marilyn Victor

Nicole Vioujas

Erin and Jeremy Walker

Susan Waltz and John Smith

Stefan Wanczyk - Utica Enterprises, Inc.

Lisa and Marc Weinbaum

Gwen and S. Evan Weiner

Matthew Weingarden

Ann Weisman

Barbara Weller and Robert Mirvis

Amy Wells and Dale Belman

Melanie West

Robyn Whitelaw

Shelley and Marc Willner Hineni Fund

Heidi and Hank Wineman

Wireless Vision

MARY JEN WOJCIK

ANDREA AND MARC WOLF

TINA AND JOE WOLF

ANDI AND LARRY WOLFE

KATIE WOOLSEY

PEGGY AND DAVID WRIGHT

HELAINE AND ANDREW ZACK

BARBARA AND IRA ZALTZ

PARTNERS

BLOGS TO READ

The Power of Intergenerational Connection – Meet Carol Fleming, one of our Experience Corps Tutors!

Carol Fleming’s journey with Brilliant Detroit began all the way in Switzerland back in March of 2020. Even though Carol was on the other side of the world, she kept tabs on her home of Detroit by watching the local news. It was during this time that she first became familiar with Brilliant Detroit. “I […]

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Book Donation Map of America

We’re so excited to have been included in a Book Donation Map of America by In The Book! We’re listed alongside more than 1100 nonprofits, libraries, and locally-owned bookstores across over 100 cities.

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New America Study: Detroit Parents Face Challenges in Virtual Learning Environment

For Detroit parents, the past year has been one of significant challenges — and of perseverance. For caregivers working tirelessly to provide their children with educational support during this time, the digital learning environment has presented a number of barriers. In April 2021, Brilliant Detroit parents participated in a study with New America, a think […]

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Brilliant Detroit is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to building kid success families and neighborhoods where families with children 0-8 have what they need to be school-ready, healthy, and stable.

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Contact Info

Headquarters Address:
5675 Larkins Street, Detroit, MI 48210

Contact:
313-483-8992

Email:
info@brilliantdetroit.org