Meet Sixto Cancel, Breaking Barriers Speaker

Sixto Cancel is the Founder and CEO of Think of Us. Think of Us (TOU) is a Research + Design Lab driving systematic change in child welfare. Through focused projects and sweeping initiatives, TOU drives structural changes in child welfare policy and practice.  

Sixto was named as Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs and is on the 2021 Forbes Under30 Lister Board. Sixto has been recognized by the White House as a “White House Champion of Change”, a “Millennial Maker” by BET, and named “Top 24 Changemakers in Government under 24” by the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council and Sparkaction. Sixto has served as a Young Fellow at Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative since 2010 where he has played a key role in the initiative’s work of extending foster care permanency for older youth.  

Sixto is a Clinton Global Initiative University Alum, a FastForward Alum, an Ashoka Fellow, a Board Member of Adventr – an interactive SMART video tech company – and most recently on the Advisory Board for Box, Inc. Sixto and the team at Think of Us are working to ensure that every person has the conditions they need to heal, develop and thrive. 

Watch Sixto’s TED Talk here.

Read Sixto’s New York Times op ed here.

Donations

In lieu of attending, please click here to make a gift!

Location

Save the Date!

Venue West
221 N Paulina St, Chicago, IL 60612

You’re invited to the 2nd Annual Brightpoint Benefit on September 12th at Venue West. This year, we’re shining a spotlight on El Hogar Del Niño, one of our early childhood education centers serving Chicago’s Pilsen, Little Village, and South Lawndale communities. At El Hogar Del Niño, our dedicated staff are trained in supporting children experiencing trauma, loss, and houselessness, while providing bilingual community-based programming that enhances the development of young children and promotes healthy family functioning.

Join us for a fun evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, an exciting silent auction, music, and mingling with the Brightpoint community as we raise funds to fuel our mission to support thriving families across Illinois.

Note: there is a free parking lot across the street from the venue.

Registration & Sponsorships

Please visit our event website, here.

Donations

Can’t attend but would still like to give a gift?

Please donate, here.

Questions

For sponsorship and event inquiries, contact Kelsey Sappington at ksappington@brightpoint.org.

On Saturday, August 12th, our Marshfield location celebrated a Back-to-School event and unveiled our beautiful new Brightpoint mural! We were joined by Dr. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, First Deputy Chief of Staff for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, artist Barrett Keithley and Angela McLemore from Senator Mattie Hunter’s office for the unveiling.   
 

In partnership with Brightpoint and Barrett Keithley, One Summer Chicago youth learned about art and design, sketched concepts, and assisted with the mural’s installation for six weeks. The mural’s unveiling was a culmination of all their hard work and an example of how our youth can create something positive.

The pride in their work and community was evident as the One Summer Chicago youth pulled the cloth from the wall to unveil the mural to the party attendees. Brightpoint CEO Mike Shaver introduced the mural to the crowd and invited both Dr. Cristina Pacione-Zayas and Barrett Keithley to speak.

Both shared the sentiment that the One Summer Chicago program provides positive experiences and the opportunity to design a mural shows youth that their contributions to the community can last years.

Volunteers and music welcomed children and their families as they received free backpacks with school supplies and were treated to snow cones, hot dogs, face painting, and games. Brightpoint was joined by community partners including Think Outside the Block, Access Health, Teamwork Englewood, Angela’s Illustrations, True Believers/Stay LIT, The Blessed Child, Alternatives, and Growing Hands Essentials.  During our party, our CEO Mike Shaver spoke with WBEZ to discuss how our new identity promotes our belief that the greatest asset for children and youth is their family.

Event Photos

Donate

You can still make a gift in support of our Back to School campaign.

Donate

Questions

For questions, contact Maureen Kelly at mkelly@brightpoint.org.

Location