COFI leaders Joan Van, Lettie Hicks, and Gloria Hicks brought the COFI parent ambassador model to East St. Louis to engage and inform parents about early learning opportunities and services. They were recently featured in an NBC News article about their work:

“Gloria Hicks — the tireless grandmother who drives the parent team around in her minivan and sets a blistering pace while canvassing as a parent ambassador — agrees that being part of the community is a key advantage. Once, she visited a home a social worker had tried and failed to reach several times. Seeing someone in an upstairs window, Hicks called out loudly to introduce herself and reassure them that no one was in trouble. ‘I didn’t talk to her like a social worker would,’ she said. ‘The good thing about us doing it is we can relate to people better.’ She succeeded in persuading the woman to come down to the door.”

See the full article here.