Family Matters Club issues service award

BY Dawn Rankins

The Canyon Lake Family Matters Club awarded its first event volunteer $500 scholarship this past weekend to Kala Nohealani Meyer for her effort in assisting the club at its various events.

Kala showed up and volunteered at every event the Family Matters Club put on from June 2021 to June 2022. Even though Kala had already completed her necessary community service hours for high school graduation, she continued giving and serving the community.

“Volunteering was my way of serving the community,” Kala said. “It was a great way to meet new people.”

The Family Matters Club applauds Kala for her efforts in volunteerism, even when it wasn‘t required of her, Club Founder Shawna Bowen said.

“We are hoping others in the community will follow her lead and help volunteer whether it‘s for our organization or for others,” Family Matters Club President Jeannie Hoonnirun said.

Kala Nohealani Meyer receives the $500 Canyon Lake Family Matters Club Volunteer Scholarship with her family and club president celebrating with her. Those in the photo, from left, are Mother Kiley Meyer, Family Matters Club President Jeannie Hoonnirun, Kala, Grandmother Jan Meyer and Father Nicholas Meyer. Photo by Shawna Bowen

The Family Matters Club is looking forward to handing out even more Volunteer Scholarships next June.

“Make sure to ‘like’ our Facebook page to get notified of all the volunteer opportunities,” Shawna said. “And other Canyon Lake clubs need volunteers. These clubs are all nonprofits and are run with volunteers to make all the fabulous and diverse events in this community happen.”

Kala graduated from Temescal Canyon High School with high honors and earned an International Baccalaureate Diploma. She will be attending Indiana Tech in the fall where she will major in software development. The volunteer scholarship is open to all residents of Canyon Lake of any age, not just high school students. The next Canyon Lake Family Matters Club event to volunteer is the Halloween Carnival that will be on Oct. 22. For more information on volunteering, contact the Family Matters Club at info@familymattersclub.org.