{"id":33803,"date":"2026-05-29T14:49:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devcofi.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=33803"},"modified":"2026-06-04T06:54:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:54:58","slug":"sherita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cofionline.org\/es\/sherita\/","title":{"rendered":"Sherita: Un vistazo al poder de los padres en el lado oeste de Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

\n

“There\u2019s a leader in all of us. Sometimes it takes unity to remind us how powerful we truly are.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

Meet Sherita! She\u2019s a mother and caregiver of six children, though two are grown and out of the house already. During COVID-19, someone knocked on her door, and it left a lasting impression on her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know now it was Rosalia who came to my door, but she was doing outreach to bring more people into a COFI training. She was talking so fast, and her energy was a 10, so I was like whatever makes you this excited, I want to sign up,\u201d Sherita said.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, Sherita was a full-time parent and figuring out her own business goals. The idea of a parent leadership training focused on yourself as a parent, your family, and your goals was energizing. And it turned out to be a great fit!<\/span><\/p>\n

Through COFI\u2019s <\/span>Phase 1: Self, Family and Team<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span> training, Sherita learned the role others around her play in her goals – who really shows up for her and who perhaps isn\u2019t as supportive as one might think. The training moved her, and as someone who once hated speaking in public, she now volunteers to take the microphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe training taught me so much about myself and what\u2019s next for me,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, it also brought her into a strong and inspiring community, The West Side branch of COFI\u2019s parent-led membership organization, POWER-PAC IL. As the first branch established by parents, the West Side continues to be home to longtime leaders like Lynn, Co-Chair Emeritus of POWER-PAC IL. Sherita watches how Lynn and the other leaders walk into a room, how they lead, and she learns from them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even before she became a delegate for the branch, Sherita cared deeply for the parents in her branch. She helped create a care team and would help reach out to West Side parents on their birthdays, holidays, or to check in. Because to her, it\u2019s more than a branch. It\u2019s a family.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, as one of the delegates who helps to lead the branch, she has channeled her energy into building the branch, bringing in new parent leaders to learn <\/span>The COFI Way<\/span><\/i>, and focusing on a resource guide that the branch wants to build for the community to help navigate free healthcare and mental health options – not just for their members but for the entire community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see my branch go to the next level,\u201d she said. \u201cI make it my business to build a relationship with them and encourage them to keep coming back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her dream is simple: more COFI-trained parents and more POWER-PAC IL branches in more states. She wants more people to understand that they were already leaders before anyone told them.<\/span><\/p>\n

“There\u2019s a leader in all of us. Sometimes it takes unity to remind us how powerful we truly are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” link_option_url=”https:\/\/cofionline.org\/about-cofi\/30-years\/30-stories-for-30-years\/” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

<< Back to 30 Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” link_option_url=”\/letty\/” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Letty and Parent Power on the Northwest Side >><\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a1Les presentamos a Sherita! Es madre y cuidadora de seis hijos, aunque dos ya son adultos y viven fuera de casa. Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, alguien llam\u00f3 a su puerta y aquello la marc\u00f3 profundamente.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":33804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

Meet Leah, a longtime partner and supporter of COFI!<\/p>

She partnered with COFI on a parent-led project that COFI Organizer Talibah<\/span><\/a> and other parents worked on to address the lack of developmental screenings.<\/p>

As the director of a statewide community collaboration project, Leah collaborated with seven communities, including Englewood, to boost early learning enrollment. Englewood parents, armed with training from COFI, discovered that fear of stigma and mistrust of systems led some families to avoid developmental screenings for early intervention and special education.<\/p>

Parents pitched an idea to Leah: with funding, parents could support other parents to navigate the early intervention system and the special education system to get children in their community the support they needed.<\/p>

Leah funded the project and parents did it!<\/p>

Fast forward to 2024: during a training with The COFI Center for Action and Learning<\/a><\/span>, Leah visited Parker Academy in Englewood (pictured below) and met parents who were initially part of the project and were still benefiting from it!<\/p>

\u201cI got really emotional about a dad whose son benefited from the program and thrived,\u201d she said. \u201cThe parent-led project in Englewood shows that with a little bit of seed money, families can lead and make their innovations last. It is a systems change success story. This is how things work when parent voices are at the table.\u201d<\/p>

This anniversary and Leah\u2019s dream serve as a reminder of the connections forged through parent-led efforts. Change begins with a parent\u2019s dream, and when they unite with others and partners like Leah, remarkable transformations can ripple out.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testimonials"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSherita: A Spotlight on Parent Power on the Westside of Chicago | COFI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meet Sherita! 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