“I wouldn’t be doing all things I’m doing without COFI”

Meet Gloria! Gloria is a proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She’s currently the POWER-PAC IL Co-President and lives in East St. Louis.

Becoming POWER-PAC IL Co-President

In 2016, Gloria was a parent volunteer at her granddaughter’s school, and someone told her about COFI training.

“It opened my eyes,” she said. “They asked us parents what our vision was, and I don’t think anyone encouraged me to think about my goals or vision.”

That was powerful because Gloria said she didn’t really like talking when she came to COFI. She laughs and explains, “Yolanda liked to talk, but I didn’t.”

In the last few years, Gloria’s voice has grown – and other POWER-PAC IL leaders have noticed. She visited the Illinois State Capitol at least 9 times last year, and in September 2025, POWER-PAC IL members nominated and voted her in as a Co-President.

“It shows you that people see things in you that you don’t always see,” she said. “They trust me, and that inspires me.”

Turning a Dream into Action

Being part of COFI and POWER-PAC IL has also motivated Gloria to take action toward her other goals and dreams.

“In COFI and POWER-PAC IL, I like how we work together. Aurora, Elgin, all the branches,” she said. “If I bring something up, they bring it to their other branches. We take care of each other. We don’t stop until we figure it out.”

She has used that same relationship-building in her work with other groups, as well as in her efforts to launch her own chapter of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.

“I wouldn’t be doing all things I’m doing without COFI,” she said, listing off work she’s done with BrightPoint, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and others. “It’s helped me a lot in the community.”

Looking ahead…

Gloria is currently training other parents in the Metro East in The COFI Way and helping bring them into POWER-PAC IL.

“It’s a good feeling,” she said about training them. “This group doesn’t have a problem speaking up!”

She said she dreams of training more groups, especially in Southern Illinois, and hopes to see a POWER-PAC IL branch in Springfield, Illinois, one day.