Harris County Family Connection

10/07/2026

CLUBHOUSE AT THE LAKES: IT TAKES A VILLAGE. ❤️

Every Thursday from 4:00–6:00 PM, something special happens at Melody Lakes Community Center.

Our children come together to learn, play, eat, celebrate, and be surrounded by people who believe in them.

And Clubhouse at the Lakes doesn't happen because of one person or one organization. It happens because of a village.

Thank you, Harris County School District Mobile Learning Lab, for providing a trained teacher and so much more- who helps our kids succeed in school and gives them another person cheering them on.

Thank you, Melody Lakes Community Outreach, for teaching our children about community gardening, helping them appreciate nature, and helping provide a birthday meal for our children each month.

Thank you, Pastor Kevin and the Refuge Church family, for providing plenty of snacks and reminding our kids that they are cared for.

Thank you, Town of Waverly Hall, for graciously allowing us to use the Community Center and giving our children a safe place to gather.

Thank you to our amazing volunteers who keep showing up, time after time, to serve, encourage, teach, and play. And kudos to Ms. Salgado for staying the course!

And to our donors near and far, thank you for providing sports and play equipment that lets our kids move, explore, and just be kids.

When you look at Clubhouse at the Lakes, you see more than a Thursday afternoon program.

You see a village showing up.

A teacher helping with homework.
A garden growing.
A birthday being celebrated.
A snack being shared.
A game being played.
A volunteer serving.
A donor giving.

Most importantly, you see children surrounded by people who love and care about them.

“You are seen. You are valued. You belong. And you are not doing this alone.”

📍 Clubhouse at the Lakes
📅 Every Thursday | ⏰ 4:00–6:00 PM
🏠 Melody Lakes Community Center

❤️ It takes a village—and ours keeps showing up.

10/07/2026

REMINDER: FEEDING THE VALLEY IS COMING! 🍎🥕

Tomorrow—Thursday, October 8, 2026—the Feeding the Valley Mobile Farmers Market Truck will be in our community!

🗓️ Thursday, October 8
📍 Harris County Family Connection Office
⏰ Check the flyer for all the details

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED, so make your plans and come early!

We are so grateful to Feeding the Valley for living out its mission to empower neighbors to overcome hunger by ensuring food access.

Their work reminds us of something important:

Every person is valued. ❤️

Good stewardship. Inclusiveness. Dignity. Collaboration. Nutrition. Hope.

These aren't just words—they are values we can see in action when our community comes together to make sure our neighbors have access to nutritious food.

And here's an idea…

🥕 Come for the food. 💪 Stay for the exercise class in the gym next door!

Why not make Thursday a day to take care of both your body and your well-being?

📣 CHECK OUT THE FLYER FOR DETAILS!

And please SHARE WIDELY! Tell a senior! Tell a neighbor! Tell a friend!

Because we are our neighbor's keepers. ❤️

Let's make sure no one misses an opportunity to put good food on the table, connect with others, and take another step toward a healthier community.

See you Thursday! 🥕💪❤️

10/07/2026

💗 PINK WITH PURPOSE — BECAUSE YOUR HEALTH MATTERS! 💗

Sometimes we get so busy taking care of everyone else that we forget to take care of ourselves.

And here’s a reminder: health is way more important than wealth.

The West Central Health District and your local health departments are putting Pink with Purpose into action by offering FREE breast exams every Thursday throughout the district.

This is an opportunity to stop, make a plan, and take care of YOU. 💗

📣 CHECK OUT THE FLYER for the details and find out how you can visit your local health department.

And don't go alone! Bring a friend. Make a day of it. Get your exam, grab some lunch afterward, and spend a little time encouraging one another.

Because we are each other's keepers.

Sometimes a friend is the person who says, “Have you made your appointment?”

Sometimes it's the person who goes with you.

And sometimes it's simply knowing that someone cares enough to remind you to take care of yourself.

So let's make a commitment to our health—and encourage the people we love to do the same.

💗 Make the appointment.
💗 Bring a friend.
💗 Take care of YOU.

Please share this widely! Someone in your circle may need this reminder today.

Pink with Purpose. Because our health is worth making time for. 💗

10/07/2026

WOW! A WHOLE FOUR DAYS OF EXERCISE!
FREE to all!!️

Check out all the amazing things happening in Waverly Hall!

I am so very proud of our seniors and our seniors in waiting who are working hard to maintain good health and make themselves a priority.

And let's give a BIG shout-out to the Town of Waverly Hall for helping make these opportunities possible!

Because exercise isn't just about getting stronger. Exercise is good for your mind, body AND soul.

And guess what? It can be FUN!

There is another important piece that sometimes gets overlooked: connection.

When we exercise together, we aren't just moving. We are laughing, talking, encouraging one another, making friends, and creating a reason to get out of the house and be part of the community.

That connection matters. Staying socially connected can help reduce stress and feelings of loneliness while giving us something to look forward to.

So let's make a commitment:

Change your health numbers. Move your body. Take care of your mind.
Have some fun. Connect with others. JOIN US!!!

Bring a friend. Bring a neighbor. Bring someone who needs a reason to get moving and connected.

📣 CHECK OUT THE FLYER for the full schedule!

And PLEASE SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! You never know who might see this and decide, “Maybe I'll give it a try.”

Let's keep moving.!! Let's keep connecting!! Let's keep encouraging each other!!

Harris County is getting healthier together! ❤️

10/02/2026

10/01/2026

CHRISTMAS WINTER WONDERLAND NEEDS YOUR HELP! ✨🎄

There is something special about bringing a community together during the Christmas season—and this year, we are celebrating Christmas Peace. 🕊️❤️

Our Christmas Winter Wonderland is happening December 12th, at Christ the King Catholic Church in Pine Mountain Ga and we are currently signing up acts and entertainers to help make this festive community celebration memorable.

🎶 We are especially looking for liturgical praise dancers!
If your church, dance ministry, school group, or organization would like to share your gifts with the community, we would love to hear from you!

Christmas Winter Wonderland is a FREE community event designed to bring families, neighbors, churches, schools, organizations, and community partners together for a day of Christmas joy and fellowship.

✨ This year's event will feature:
🎅 Breakfast with Santa
📸 Visits with Santa
🎨 Kid-focused arts & crafts
🎁 Prizes & giveaways
📚 Resource vendors
🎶 School & church choirs
💃 Liturgical praise dancers
🎵 Music and entertainment
❤️ And plenty of Christmas spirit!

This year's theme is Christmas Peace—because peace is something we can all help create, share, and carry into our community. -"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" Matthew 5:9.

If you or your group would like to perform or be part of the entertainment lineup, please contact:

📞 Harris County Family Connection
762-248-1212
📧 [email protected]

🎄 Let's come together, share our gifts, and make Christmas Peace part of our community! 🕊️

09/30/2026

Fall in Love with our Harris County Library all over again!

Check out October's library calendar!
And let me brag on one of our amazing community partners—Harris County Public Library! 📚❤️

Our partnership with the library goes WAY beyond books!

Together, we support:
📚 5 and Under Club
📖 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
☀️ Summer Reading Program
🎨 Children’s Literacy Arts Festival
📖Dolly Parton Imagination Library
💚 Quarterly wellness sessions with the Pastoral Institute
…and so much more!

These programs help us build lifelong learners, support families, encourage wellness, and create opportunities for children and adults to learn, explore and connect.

That’s the beauty of a community village—we don’t have to do everything ourselves. We find partners who share the vision, and together we create something bigger than any one organization could create alone.

So I'm issuing a little challenge:

Fall in love with your local library again! ❤️📚

Check out the October calendar. Get a library card. Take your kids. Discover something new. Attend a program. Pick up a book you’ve been meaning to read.

You may be surprised by everything happening right in our own community.

And I’ve got to brag on the library staff, too. They work hard to make our library a place where people can read, learn, discover, create and belong.

If we were voting on community partners, they’d have my vote! 😉📚❤️

09/29/2026

🍂 There is something beautiful about a community that chooses to come together.

Thank you, Mountain Hill Missionary Baptist Church, for opening your doors, bringing people together, and continuing to pour love into our community.
Events like this are about more than food, games, music, and fellowship—they create moments where neighbors become friends, families feel welcomed, and our community grows stronger together.

And that is where peace begins. ❤️
Peace is created when we make room for one another, serve one another, listen, laugh, share, and choose connection over division.

Thank you for being a partner who continues to create community, spread joy, and help us grow a little more peace right here in Harris County. 🍁❤️

09/25/2026

🎶 9 to 5… What a way to make a livin’! 🎶

But today, let’s give a little nod to Dolly—and make 9 to 5 about something more.

💕 GIVE LIKE DOLLY!

Dolly Parton has given us so much through her music, her generosity, and her commitment to helping children. Her heart for children and their futures is something worth celebrating.

So today, I’m challenging Harris County to Give Like Dolly!

📚 Give to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library

Through Friends of the Library, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library puts a new free, age-appropriate book every month to children from birth until their fifth birthday.

Think about that.

Every child age 0-5.
A book.
Every month.
The opportunity to build a lifelong love of reading.

But let’s go one step further…

🥪 Give to the Harris County BackSnacks Program

The BackSnacks Program, an initiative of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, helps fight childhood food insecurity by providing bags of food to students who need them during weekends and school holidays.

Because children need more than books to thrive.

They need food. They need opportunity. They need people who care.

Both of these programs rely heavily on donations to continue serving the children of Harris County.

So today, as we celebrate 9 to 5, let’s do more than sing along with Dolly.

Let's give like Dolly. 💕

Give a book. Feed a child. Invest in a future.

And as we continue our 2026 theme of PEACE, remember that being a peacemaker isn't always about doing something big.

Sometimes peace looks like making sure a child has a book to read.

Sometimes peace looks like knowing there will be food in the backpack for the weekend.

Sometimes peace looks like a community coming together and saying:

“Our children matter. And we will do our part.”

Let's build literacy.
Let's fight childhood hunger.
Let's support our children.
Let's create peace through generosity.

🎶 9 to 5… and beyond!

Give Like Dolly. Give for Harris County's children. Make this go viral and share widely.

09/15/2026

Today, September 15, we celebrate something new—and something deeply important to rural Georgia.

Today marks the inaugural Rural Leader Day, an observance created by Rural Leader Magazine to recognize the people who make rural communities stronger through their leadership, service, and commitment.

The first Rural Leader Day observance will take place at 10:00 a.m. at the Albany Technical College–Randolph County Learning Center in Cuthbert.

Beginning this year, Rural Leader Day will be observed annually on the third Tuesday of September.

Why does this matter?

Because rural communities are filled with people who quietly show up, solve problems, connect neighbors, create opportunities, and serve others—often without receiving the recognition they deserve.

Today is a chance to celebrate those rural leaders. 🌱

Whether they lead a nonprofit, serve in government, own a small business, work in education, volunteer through a church or civic organization, or simply see a need and step forward—rural leaders are creating lasting impact every day.

I hope you will join me in recognizing and celebrating the rural leaders in your community today. Tag a rural leader who has made a difference, share their story, and let them know that their service matters.

Let’s help grow Rural Leader Day into an annual statewide tradition celebrating the people who are strengthening rural Georgia—one community at a time.

Happy Rural Leader Day! 🌾💚