By Ken Sury
Summer at Methodist Children’s Home is much more than a season on the calendar.
“It is an opportunity to create experiences that help children, youth and families heal, grow and thrive,” said Traci Wagner, vice president for programs. “Across each campus, outreach office and program, our teams intentionally provide opportunities for learning, recreation, relationship-building and skill development that reinforce the work happening every day throughout the year.”
The programs support social and emotional well-being, added Marissa Smith, assistant vice president for programs, while allowing the residents to enjoy themselves during the summer break.
“I’m incredibly proud of our staff for the creativity and intentionality they brought to this summer’s programming,” Smith said, “whether it was attending a concert with Spiritual Life, spending a day boating on a lake in East Texas, Boys Ranch youth increasing life skills at a local tire shop, group therapy opportunities at both campuses, and Family Outreach offices offering family activities at local parks and movie nights at the local theater.”
No matter the location, activities and opportunities were plentiful across MCH.
Youth Programs
Dorothy Phillips, senior director for programs on the Waco campus, said the summer was filled with learning opportunities, adventures and memorable experiences for MCH youth.
“Throughout our summer programming, we welcomed guest speakers who led engaging discussions on addiction recovery, healthy coping skills and financial literacy,” Phillips said. “These sessions provided valuable life lessons and encouraged youth to make positive choices for their future.”
Each week of summer camp ended with a Friday fun day. Youth and staff traveled to Six Flags Over Texas, Skiin’ with the Galilean water activities at Lake Athens, Epic Waters, Austin’s Park, and Hawaiian Falls in Mansfield. They also enjoyed a fun-filled Water Day at the football field on the MCH Waco campus, followed by a hot dog dinner that evening.
Afternoon summer clubs offered youth opportunities to explore new interests and develop life skills. Offerings included athletics, cooking and grilling, providing hands-on experiences that promote teamwork, responsibility and independence, Phillips said.
Giving back to others was also an important part of the summer, she said. Youth participated in community service projects, allowing them to make a positive impact while learning the value of service and compassion.
Several youth attended Glen Lake Camp & Retreat Center, where they experienced a Christian retreat focused on faith, fellowship and personal growth.
Another important tradition each summer is U.M. Army, a Christ-centered mission experience where youth focus on serving communities by meeting home repair and maintenance needs for low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners who are physically or financially unable to make needed repairs themselves.
“U.M. Army is a fantastic way for our students to take a week and make a significant difference in a community and to their own spiritual well-being,” said Ron Britton, spiritual life minister. “This year we were able to build 18 wheelchair ramps for families in need who would not have been able to afford one on their own. With the focus on service and spiritual growth, it really is a fantastic week for everyone involved, myself included!”
MCH student Caden attended the six-day mission trip, and described it as an eye-opening experience as he saw firsthand people who were struggling financially and in need of the help the U.M. Army provided.
“It definitely strengthened my faith,” Caden said, adding that they were split into four-person teams with an adult and spent about six hours each day building the ramps. “It was an awesome experience.”
Group Therapy
“One of the highlights of this summer was the introduction of group therapy sessions for all youth,” Phillips said. “Led by our therapists and supported by residential staff and case managers, these sessions gave youth the opportunity to build relationships with their therapists in a comfortable group setting. This approach has helped foster trust and will make individual counseling sessions feel more familiar and supportive.”
Elissa Riach, senior director for treatment services, said the effort brought together therapists from across MCH to develop a curriculum specifically for the summer.
“This was a real team effort reaching across many different parts of MCH residential and outreach teams,” Riach said. “Residential therapists worked together with outreach therapists to brainstorm and develop a five-week group therapy curriculum.”
The team had four main goals in initiating group therapy, she said. Those were:
Provide therapeutic support to residents on campus in a way that fosters connection with their peers and staff.
Bring unity to the Waco campus by including youth in all homes in the same weekly conversation and curriculum.
Increase collaboration and teamwork across clinical therapists, case managers and residential staff.
Include parents and caregivers by sending them a caregiver resource informing them of the group therapy curriculum and equipping them with questions to ask their children on phone calls or during home visits.
The five-week curriculum was completed with all the homes on campus in July.
“We found immediate wins with therapists being able to connect with a higher quantity of youth, increasing positive peer relationships, and effective teamwork and connection between therapists and residential staff,” Riach said.
“With this being our first run of group therapy, we had a few bumps along the way and learned how we will adjust and strengthen next summer. We are taking feedback from our residents and incorporating this into how we continue to plan, which says a lot about MCH and our teams providing excellent trauma-informed care.”
Spiritual Life
Spiritual Life had a busy summer as well, continuing its traditional summer opportunities with a mission trip with U.M. Army and camp weeks at Glen Lake Camp & Retreat Center.
“Those continue to be meaningful experiences for many of our youth,” said Kimberly Clark, director of Spiritual Life.
“In addition, we intentionally created space for community, discipleship and rest throughout the summer. Rather than filling every week with programming, we wanted to offer consistent opportunities for connection while recognizing that summer has a different rhythm.”
Spiritual Life offered monthly Independent Living Program (ILP) outings focused on fellowship and building community for young adults in the program; monthly community opportunities for homes to participate in worship with local faith communities; and one community event each month that encouraged spiritual growth and shared experiences.
In June, Spiritual Life hosted an evening devotional at the prayer labyrinth on the Waco campus. During July, students were taken to the Selah concert at Baylor University, and in August a back-to-school picnic was held on campus following worship.
“Our hope is the summer feels both restful and intentional,” Clark said. “We want to provide opportunities for students to deepen relationships with one another, encounter God in different settings, and experience joy and adventure together.”
Boys Ranch
Tony Stewart, senior director for programs at the MCH Boys Ranch, said this summer was structured with activities incorporated into each day of its programming.
“In addition to staff-led activities, we involved the youth in selecting many of the activities based on their interests, which helped increase engagement, ownership and participation,” he said.
“Each activity was designed to include a life skills component while reinforcing values such as teamwork, respect, effective communication, dedication, and the principles of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI).”
The boys had numerous recreational opportunities at the ranch, but staff members wanted to create other meaningful experiences, such as field trips to local businesses like Discount Tire, or to the Bellmead Fire Department, where they viewed a fire truck and some of the everyday tools used by firefighters.
“These experiences allowed them to observe how the world operates, interact appropriately within the community, and better understand how they fit into the world around them,” Stewart said. “By connecting recreation with practical life experiences, we aimed to help the youth build confidence, strengthen social skills, and prepare for greater independence.”
Family Outreach
Summer can bring a different set of opportunities and challenges for the families served through MCH Family Outreach.
“While school may be out, our commitment to children and families remains constant,” said Marisol Gomez, director of MCH Family Outreach Corpus Christi. “Our team understands that summer often means more children at home, increased demands on parents and caregivers, changes in routines, and heightened concerns around food insecurity. Because of this, we intentionally adjust how we show up for families during the summer months.”
Gomez said one of the highlights of this summer were “No Screen Time” summer baskets that were shared with families.
“These baskets were filled with thoughtful items designed to help families create connections and fun experiences together without relying on electronics,” she said. “Families received sidewalk chalk, bubbles, beach balls, board games, snacks, crayons and coloring books, reading books, and other activities that encourage creativity, family engagement and healthy development.
“These simple resources can make a significant difference for parents looking for affordable ways to keep children active and engaged throughout the summer.”
Gomez added her team keeps a pulse on free and low-cost community activities happening across the Coastal Bend and shares those opportunities with families. “Whether it’s community events, library programs, family festivals or recreational activities, we work to connect families with resources that strengthen their support systems and create positive experiences for children,” she said.
Killeen Family Outreach Director Franki Cones said her office focused on increasing community engagement through collaborative events and outreach opportunities that connected families with resources and support systems.
“Compared to previous summers, we placed a greater emphasis on building and being in community with the families we are privileged to serve by creating opportunities for families to connect outside of traditional services or spaces,” she said.
“One new initiative was a summer event for our Caregiver Empowerment Group (CEG) families at Urban Air Trampoline Park, which provided a fun and engaging opportunity for families to have fun in a relaxed setting,” Cones said. “The event was well received and highlighted the importance of creating positive experiences for the families we serve.”
Traci Wagner, MCH vice president for programs, said she is continually inspired by the creativity, dedication and collaboration of MCH staff across Texas and New Mexico.
“Their willingness to invest time, energy and heart into creating meaningful summer experiences demonstrates that healing often happens in everyday moments,” she said. “Together, these stories reflect who we are as an organization and our unwavering commitment to helping children and families build brighter futures.”
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