Summer Camp Brings New Experiences to Friends First Mentees

October 10, 2025

Trips to summer camp are a quintessential childhood experience that allow young people to get away from the stress of everyday life, disconnect from devices, and experience the healing power of nature. That is why every year, the youth living full-time at Mercy Home are offered the opportunity to attend camp, thanks to our generous donors who support our camp appeals.

This year, this same life-changing opportunity was offered to four of mentees participating in our Friends First mentoring program, which pairs adult volunteer mentors with young people living throughout the Chicago area.

Hector Corona, who owns City Kids Camp in Lewistown, Ill., extended the invitation to host members in our Friends First program. City Kids Camp was developed specifically for young people who live in economically disadvantaged communities and their goal is to enable any child who wishes to attend camp can free of charge. Friends First chose four young men participating in our workplace-based mentoring program to attend the camp.

“Camp ended up serving as a reward for a productive and engaging year in the workplace-based program for the mentees who were selected,” said Carlos Martinez, a coordinator in the Friends First program. “They did a good job. They were engaged and were the model students that we’d like to see.”

Martinez, who attended camp with the young men said that the mentees embraced the many activities offered throughout their week in Lewistown. They participated in many of the traditional camp activities, like hiking, fishing, and making s’mores around the campfire. They also played both indoor and outdoor sports, competed against one another on field day, and went swimming.

Two of the mentees had previously attended camp through Chicago’s Big Shoulders Foundation, but the other two were attending camp for the first time. This gave the more experienced campers the opportunity to help their peers acclimate to the camp environment. 

“They really got along well with one another, and I think it really brought them closer,” Martinez said.

Before the trip, Martinez was concerned how the boys would react to a no cell phones policy. But the reaction pleasantly surprised him.

“They were great about it,” he said. “I did give them an hour of cell phone time each night in the evening after dinner. But [otherwise] they were very engaged and not on their devices. It was a healthy thing, and they were engaged with all the activities that the camp had to offer.”

In addition to giving the young men the chance to try out new activities, the time spent at camp also allowed them to practice social skills. Martinez encouraged them to meet new people and get to know youth attending camp from other organizations. They even met a college-aged student who used to attend the same school, St. Malachy, as the boys. This brought them out of their shells.

“That really helped them open up and develop friendships with new people,” Martinez said. “That was a really positive thing that we got out of it.”

With this year’s trip being such a success, Friends First plans on bringing more mentees to camp next year. For Martinez, the trip really highlighted how time at camp allowed the mentees to just focus on being kids.

“They got a chance to be themselves and, for at least a week, not worry about anything except for having fun,” he said. “It was great to see them enjoying it.”

Martinez said that he hopes that plans for a formal partnership between City Kids Camp and Mercy Home would allow both Friends First and Mercy Home’s  residential youth to enjoy the benefits of time in nature.

“Being outdoors was really good for all of us,” he said. “[And] the youth enjoyed just being disconnected from everything and prioritizing having fun. They came back very cheerful, motivated, and recharged.”