Matthews, NC, September 4, 2018 – The Board of Directors of local nonprofit Bright Blessings is pleased to announce that longtime staff member Tisha Margraves has moved into the position of Executive Director for the organization. This new role for Margraves comes as Co- Founder, Amy Cervantes, steps aside to spend more time with her family after 13 years of volunteering as the nonprofit’s leader.
Bright Blessings’ Board of Directors and Strategic Planning Committee, along with Cervantes, began preparing more than a year ago for the recent organizational shifts and growth of its leadership team. “We are grateful for Amy’s vision, leadership and years of dedication to the organization through the countless volunteer hours she and her family have poured into Bright Blessings,” says Tony Griffin, chair of the Board of Directors. “Thanks to her efforts, a small monthly project at one homeless shelter grew into an organization that now operates four programs across a five-county region and will serve more than 10,000 children this year. The impact she has made on this community is immeasurable and it has been an honor to get to be a part of it. While Amy’s daily presence at Bright Blessings will be missed by all, she will remain active with the organization in an advisory capacity, and we are thrilled to have Tisha move into the Executive Director role to continue leading the Bright Blessings’ success and steering its future growth,” continues Griffin.
Margraves first became involved with Bright Blessings in 2011 as a volunteer, serving as one of the organization’s birthday party coordinators at a local shelter and regularly volunteering at the Bright Blessings facility. Soon after, she joined the staff in a part-time capacity as a program manager; successfully helping expand services and improve the nonprofit’s processes. Through the years, Margraves has continued to serve as an integral part of the Bright Blessings team, ultimately assuming the role of Programs Director in 2015. In this role, she has been responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organization’s four programs, establishing new agency partnerships, refining program efficiency, maximizing services, procuring products and resources, and supervising the efforts of staff members and volunteers. “Tisha’s skills, passion and dedication to the mission of Bright Blessings has been instrumental in our ability to successfully grow the impact that this organization now makes for thousands of children and community volunteers,” says co-founder Amy Cervantes. “I have the utmost confidence in her abilities and I could not be happier or more hopeful for the future of Bright Blessings.”
Cervantes will stay plugged into the organization in an advisory capacity; she and her family will also remain actively involved as volunteers, including co-founder and husband, John Cervantes, who
Bright Blessings 1150 Crews Road, Suite C Matthews, NC 28105
continues to serve on its Board of Directors. The couple’s 16 year old son, Alex, enjoys his role as a volunteer party coordinator at a local shelter, and their younger sons, Eli (13) and Adam (11), are always happy to help at events or in any way needed. “Our family has been deeply involved in the Bright Blessings mission for 13 years, and that certainly won’t stop,” Cervantes says, “But it’s also an incredible blessing that Tisha and her entire family–including her husband, two teenage daughters and both of her parents–have also been steady fixtures within this organization for so many years,” she adds. “It is truly a gift to have Tisha step forward to lead the future of Bright Blessings, from one passionate family to another.”
About Bright Blessings Bright Blessings began in 2005 as a monthly birthday program for children staying at the Salvation Army Center of Hope in Charlotte, North Carolina. The organization’s founders, John and Amy Cervantes, wanted to help brighten the lives of needy children while also instilling a love and commitment for community service in their own young children. For nearly three years, the Cervantes family threw birthday celebrations every month for hundreds of homeless children at the Center, adding educational and enrichment activities to their program and also providing the kids with gifts, new books and basic care essentials.
In March of 2008, the family decided to incorporate their program as a not-for-profit charity with a twofold mission of supporting local children in need while engaging volunteers of all ages to help make an impact. Today, Bright Blessings has the support of thousands of community volunteers who help the nonprofit reach more than 10,000 homeless and impoverished children across a five-county region with its four central programs, Bless-A-Birthday, Bless-A-Baby, Gift of Literacy and Gift of Care.
For more information or media inquiries about Bright Blessings, please contact Heather Williams at 704- 846-2329, heather@brightblessingsusa.org or visit www.brightblessingsusa.org.
