Organization welcomes name change, Celina Record

New name, same mission for longtime Celina organization Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Jan 21, 2016 0 Celina Newcomers & Friends is no more. That, according to the group’s president Rachel Baty, is a good thing. The popular nonprofit social/community-service organization, which may be best known for orchestrating the Friday Night Farmers Market events in Celina’s downtown square, recently changed its name. The group is now called Celina Ladies & Friends. Baty is convinced that will make all the difference. She said having the word “newcomers” in the name may actually have been scaring away past members and other longtime area residents who wanted to take part in the group’s regularly scheduled activities, but thought they could not. “We were hearing, `Oh, sounds fun, but I’m not new anymore,’ or, `I’ve lived here a while,’” Baty said. She notes, however, that the word “Friends” remained in the name because the group’s mission is still to connect people within the community. “It’s not just (people from) Celina. We don’t want you to feel like if you live in Prosper you can’t come, or if you’re in Gunter you can’t come,” she said. “We welcome anybody that wants to try to find a friendship or make a connection.” Nor is the group going to begin limiting its membership to females. Since it was founded in 2009, Baty said Newcomers had “always reached out to the men.” Nevertheless, the bulk of its activities and events were geared toward and heavily populated by women. The group will continue to host a pair of monthly Pokeno games at members’ homes, as well as “Ladies Night Out” events such as those that have included shopping and dining excursions. Each August, on the first day of the new school year, it hosts its “Boo-hoo/Woo-Hoo Breakfast.” All new Celina residents, as well as parents of kindergarten and other students new to the school district, are invited to attend and learn more about the city as well as meet elected officials and other civic leaders. There are also numerous community service projects in which the organization participates. During the holiday season, group members provided and delivered food donations for clients of the Collin County Meals on Wheels program. As counterintuitive as it may seem, Baty said featuring “Ladies” in the name may actually help more men “plug in” to the group, which plans to host a couple’s night event next month in honor of Valentine’s Day. “We’ve come to the conclusion that when you get ladies connected (in the community), their families get connected,” she explained. What won’t change is the organization’s dedication to community service. When the focus is entirely on socializing, Baty said, “The same people will come to the same (events), and even if you don’t intend to, new people (will) feel funny because they … feel like an outsider, and that’s not what we want. “If you don’t do some community service, where maybe you’re rolling up your sleeves and helping out side by side with somebody else, you don’t have that avenue to welcome new people easily. … It’s more of an icebreaker when you’re doing community service, I think.” (Baty would know: Earlier this month, she received the city of Celina’s 2015 Volunteer of the Year award. “It’s humbling. I’m very proud to have it,” she said.) With the unprecedented population growth projected for the city in coming years, Baty said Celina Ladies & Friends will continue to roll out the welcome mat for newcomers. “We don’t want anyone to feel left out or not invited to something, or feel like you don’t have any friends here because that’s a hard place to be when you’re new – or if you’ve been here a while.”