Bright Blessings began in 2005 as the Cervantes family’s personal ministry. Along with their three children, John and Amy Cervantes would throw monthly birthday celebrations for homeless children. It was a way to brighten the lives of needy children and to teach the next generation of Cervantes about caring for their community.
Located in Matthews and officially incorporated as a nonprofit in 2008, Bright Blessings now impacts more than 8,000 homeless and impoverished children across a four‑county region. Its services include birthday parties, essential care supplies for newborns, books, lap desks, and self-care packs that include hygiene sets and healthy snacks.
When asked how many children in our area need services, Amy says it’s hard to tell, but it’s likely far more than her organization is able to serve. Bright Blessings relies in part on schools and teachers to identify students and families that need help. But those reports probably only scratch the surface since families living in borderline poverty often try to hide their disadvantages. According to 2013 statistics (the most recently available) from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, approximately half of the system’s 140,000+ students are economically disadvantaged. That means Bright Blessings and organizations like it need all the donations and volunteers they can get.
Amy, now the volunteer executive director of the organization, says that becoming involved with your community is essential to the community’s success as well as your own as a business owner, nonprofit director, or just a citizen. She credits both Matthews and Mint Hill for how well the chambers of commerce, businesses, and civic and social organizations work together to benefit the whole. “Putting yourself in that mix brings back to you tenfold what you put into it,” she concluded.
Nominated by b2bTRIBE
Photo by Sofi Preslar
Melisa Graham is the communications director at SPARK Publications, editor of b2bTRIBE magazine, author of Used Cow for Sale (a collection of poetry, mom, and wife.
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