Fridays mean field trips for the 50 children going to F.O.C.U.S.’s day camp. When they recently went to see “Elio” at the Gurnee Mills Cinema, some called it a highlight of their summer.
Kiamani Rollins, a seventh grader at Waukegan’s Robert Abbott Middle School, said he does not get a chance to go to a movie theater very often. Walking into the Gurnee Mills Cinema was a treat.
“It was a cool thing to do,” Kiamani said. “I liked going to the movie theater.”
“I like the Friday field trips,” added Nazaria Davidson, a sixth grader at Zion Central Middle School. “It gives me a chance to explore. We got to go to a movie.”
Dante Terrel, another sixth-grade student from Zion Central, echoed the thoughts of his campmates. The movie topped his list as well.
“The movie,” Dante said when asked about his favorite camp activity. “I liked going to the movie theater.”
Dante, Nazaria and Kiamani were among 50 F.O.C.U.S. campers treated to lunch at McDonald’s in downtown Waukegan on Wednesday as part of a special outing arranged by a community member who drives some of the youngsters to camp each day.
Along with field trips on Fridays and plenty of time in the parks enjoying summertime activities, Andreyanna Hicks, a 2023 Waukegan High School graduate and a Talladega University junior, said she adds an academic component to the experience.
“We work on reading comprehension,” Hicks said, “I‘ll give them something to read and ask about it. I’ll say, ‘Tell me what you read.’ It’s important they work on their education in the summer.”
LaToya Howell started the day camp in 2015 after her son, Justus, was shot and killed by a Zion police officer during a foot chase. She said she wanted to do something positive in her son’s memory.
F.O.C.U.S. is an acronym for “For Our Children’s Undistracted Success.”
Along with the summer camp, which features two five-week sessions, Waukegan-based F.O.C.U.S. runs after-school programs the rest of the year. It operates four days a week out of its Waukegan facility, and one day at John Lewis Middle School.
For sixth, seventh and eighth graders, Alice Howell, LaToya’s mother and Justus’ grandmother, said there is a violence-prevention program. Time is also spent with the youngsters playing basketball and volleyball.
With school starting next month in Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion, Alice Howell said there will be a shoe giveaway at Shoe Carnival in Waukegan. Children will receive gift cards to get the shoes they need.
Lunch at McDonald’s came courtesy of Waukegan Township Trustee and Waukegan Community Unit School District Board of Education member Jeff McBride. During the summer, he transports campers to and from their destination in a F.O.C.U.S. van.
In between trips to and from camp, McBride said he oversees a group of teens cutting lawns for Mike Gonzalez’s Inspire Youth and Family Services. McBride said some of the teens he mentors are the same age Justus Howell was when he was killed. They are paid $15 an hour.
“If we had programs like this, Justus Howell might be here today,” McBride said.
Along with the campers and their counselors, McBride invited Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham, Waukegan Township Supervisor Marc Jones and District 60 Superintendent Theresa Plascencia.
“I wanted the kids to have a positive experience with those leaders,” McBride said. “I usually see them eating cold cuts in sandwiches for lunch at camp and school. I wanted to treat them to McDonald’s.”
Lunch was a hit with the campers. After their meal, they had ice cream cones for dessert. They sat at their tables eating their food and interacting with Cunningham, Jones and Plascencia as the trio of adults moved through the room.
“This is what is needed for our youth to succeed,” Cunningham said. “When they are in programs like this, it increases the likelihood they will be successful in their lives.”
Jones said programs like F.O.C.U.S. give young people positive role models to help them learn. Not-for-profit organizations like F.O.C.U.S. provide an important element for youths as they mature. Plascencia said it is positive community involvement.
“This is the community helping them to become the best version of themselves every day,” she said.
