The Canyon Lake City Council on Wednesday honored twin brothers and Eagle Scouts Luke and Matt Thomas as Citizens of the Month. The brothers were honored for their community work and for recently earning the rank of Eagle Scout.
Luke Thomas built two Little Free Libraries and installed them at Happy Camp and on Vacation Drive. Luke held a garage sale and sought donations to help pay for his library projects. Little Free Library is a 501 nonprofit organization that promotes neighborhood book exchanges, usually in the form of a public bookcase. More than 90,000 public book exchanges are registered with the organization and branded as Little Free Libraries.
Matt Thomas built a brick memorial for veterans and painted the Purple Heart and accessible parking spaces at VFW Post 1508 in Wildomar. The project took approximately 60 hours to complete. To raise money for his project, Matt collected recyclables, hosted a pancake breakfast fundraiser, and sought donations. He raised more than $1,500, not including the brick and supply donations.
In May, the brothers were part of a team of more than 40 volunteers who helped the city to place an American flag in the front yard of every home in Canyon Lake in honor of Memorial Day.
Now that Luke and Matt earned the rank of Eagle Scout, they plan to attend the National Youth Leadership Training in Idyllwild this summer.
The Canyon Lake Citizen of the Month initiative was created in January of 2021 to honor Canyon Lake residents for their service to the community. Each awardee is recognized by the mayor with a certificate. Community members are encouraged to nominate Citizens of the Month by submitting their name and a short paragraph detailing their good work to [email protected]. Residents of all ages are eligible to be nominated for this award.
