Building a Community, One Family at a Time

Happy February 2024 readers,

We here at the Canyon Lake Family Matters Club want to say hi and wish everyone a happy 2024. We’ve been busy behind the scenes planning some fun events for this year and we look forward to bringing you updates as we get closer to those events.

Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Dawna-Rae Rankins, and I am the current vice president of Family Matters. I’ve been a part of the club since 2021 and I’m honored to serve on the board of this amazing club.

I was drawn to Family Matters for many reasons, and one of those reasons is because of the amazing events this club brings to the community of Canyon Lake. The Club was formed with a vision in mind and that vision is also the club’s mission statement. “Building a community, one family at a time.”

What does it mean to build a community and what does it mean to build a community, one family at a time? Well, this concept began with the vision of one lady, the founder of Canyon Lake Family Matters. Our founder wanted to bring events to her community, and she wanted to bring events to the community that not only included kids, but centered around the kids and she wanted to make these events available to the community at a cost that was affordable, especially for those that had multiple children. Our founder also wanted to have events where kids could meet other kids, which would allow them to hopefully form life-long friendships.

Our mission statement begins with” building a community”, which is all about bringing people together, and in turn, this would hopefully create a sense of belonging. A wonderful way to get people together within a community is to have events. Those events require people to join in and participate, either by just attending and having fun, or by volunteering their time to help make the events successful, perhaps by attending and volunteering. No matter what a person or family chooses to do, it is the steppingstone to building a community. Showing up to events allows a community to come together for a common purpose.

A community is simply a group of people who share something in common and when we plan the Family Matters events, it is our hope that the events will bring families together. The common denominator for community and Family Matters, along with events is, we are all sharing something we have in common. We not only live in Canyon Lake, which is the biggest thing we have in common, but most of us, if not all, love to see a child smile. We love to hear their laughter and when we are at the many events within the lake, we as parents form a bond over our children, and this bond helps make our community stronger. We, as families of Canyon Lake, not only share the city in which we live, but we share interests, and we share values.

When a community is built, beginning with a family, that’s where the uniqueness of a strong community begins. You see, family is having someone to love you unconditionally, despite weaknesses and shortcomings. Families support each other, especially during difficult times and it’s not always easy to be supportive, however, a family generally does what it can to help those in their families. Families also inspire one another. Hopefully, our family is our biggest cheerleader. In a family, when you look around at each other, you aren’t looking at the color of skin, you don’t look at your family and see a religious or political belief, you are seeing the best versions of one another. You see a person and you embrace them, even if they aren’t exactly like you.

In our little bubble here in Canyon Lake, we all come from different backgrounds and walks of life. We all have our own story to tell. Some of us have a dark past, but at the end of the day, we are a community, and we want our community to thrive. We have different personalities and differences of opinion, but one thing each one of us has in common is we live in a unique little town. When we attend or participate in the many club events within the lake, including the events of Family Matters, we are doing exactly what our mission statement says and we are fulfilling its meaning. We are building a community, one family at a time.

The Family Matters Club looks forward to seeing you all out at our upcoming events. Please check back regularly for updates and new blogs and please feel free to reach out to us anytime. We will do our very best to get back to each of you in a timely manner.

Until next time, have a wonderful day.