Citi Boi Picnic Moved to Memorial Day Weekend

 

Through it all over the last couple of years, Muskegon has done far better than most communities when it comes to keeping it together through the most unimaginable situations we could be faced with.  A planet has been engulfed with fear, questions, no where near enough answers and a level of mistrust injected into all of us that has shaken some to the core.  It's been exhausting to say the very least, but even though we as a community are tired, we did better than most, and we can start to learn from it.

Everything that went right and everything that went wrong.  One of the things that went incredibly right in and around Muskegon was the reality that we had to take care of each other.  We are pretty polished in the fact that wealth and opulence don't just swoop in to make it better, we have to slug it out and do more with less than many others.  Under that reality however, is where we truly set ourselves a part as a community and when it's time to circle the wagons, most often the differences get put aside and we stand together while things blow over.  

People took to the streets to help at food drives, clinics, testing sites and more.  When other communities took to the streets to protest, instead of burning and riots, we went arm in arm and those who may have had a chaos based idea in mind thought better of it.  The resilience of us was a massive lesson and  the resilience of individuals was ignited to see that they could do more, and that in serving, the greatest reward is found.

Rob and Reyna Mathis are a couple of those individuals who found a little more inside themselves.  Before the schools got it all together to start the mobile delivery of meals to kids who depend on school lunches daily they began finding ways to feed people.  As that grew, so did their seeing the needs for people with clothing, help on some financial thigs and maybe a hand in employment skills.  As a couple of parents of a large family and an ever growing number of grandkids, like so many others they mobilized to help other families who faced the same things they did, and in it they found a new purpose.  

Citi Boi was born and in the hopes of growth and inclusion, they work now to provide ways to fill in the gaps that come along for people.  A collective of people who are friends and partners with Rob and Reyna help with some of the costs of getting going and they work too to help spread the message of the work.  Part of that work is inviting people to be familiar with them and while a big free community picnic was planned for May 21st, the weather wasn't really having it, so it's been moved to Memorial Day Weekend at Hackley Park beginning at 11a. 

Hamburgers, hot dogs, sides music and fin for the kids are to be found.  The City of Muskegon is sponsor of this fun event and the goal is simple.  Carry on with what we've done.  The pressure is down.  We've seen ourselves through the worst....let's open a new era of more "us" and less "us and them" no matter if we are talking neighborhoods, economic status, beliefs, backgrounds or whatever.  We is so much stronger than me.  It's the effort of all of us that makes this a community and people like Rob and Renya who take that first step.  Take a listen.

Now is the time.  Our season of fear is passing and while a "victory" is not exactly the best descriptor, we're smarter.  We're better.  We have learned that hero's lie within all of us and that fragile isn't necessarily vulnerable.  Fragile is a balance and to make it stronger, we need to be better as one, and the Mathis Family is reaching out to make that happen with their efforts that have just been planted.  Being in on the ground floor of the good is what we specialize at.  Stay right here with Positively Muskegon.