High School teens are invited to attend our summer Mission Trip!
This coming summer, the Our Lady of Mercy youth ministry will be traveling to Britt, IA on July 13-19, 2025 to do service work for those in need. We will be attending Catholic Heart work camp www.heartworkcamp.com.
ABOUT THE SITE WE ARE ATTENDING
We will be working in several communities around Britt, Iowa, where we’ll take on a variety of impactful projects. These efforts will include minor home repairs, both inside and out, such as painting, general cleanup, and yard maintenance. We’ll also collaborate with local social agencies on diverse tasks like building wheelchair ramps, home improvements, and organizing spaces. Additionally, we’ll be supporting elderly and low-income residents with essential cleanup services and other much-needed assistance. Join us for a Mission Trip in Britt, Iowa!
WHO CAN ATTEND
All high school age teens are eligible to attend the mission trip. Must be at least 14 years old OR entering the 9th grade in the fall of the same year as your trip. Graduated Seniors (Spring 2025) may also attend. College students (ages 18-24) may also attend as leaders for our group—only a limited amount of college students will be accepted.
COST AND FUNDRAISING POLICY (Please read)
The cost for the trip is $650 per teen ($350 for college students) but fundraising can reduce that amount greatly. This amount includes not only the participant fee for the workcamp, but all of the other common costs like transportation, rooming, meals at the camp, the free day activity and other associated community costs. The various fundraisers we hold throughout the year, such as Pancake Breakfast, Mission Trip Weekend, Lenten Fish Dinners, Aurora Day of Service, Bake Sale and the Rummage Sale are for the purpose of lowering that cost for the teens.
The full cost ($650.00) of the trip will be expected from each student. For each fundraiser worked, a TBD amount of money (Based on the profitability of the fundraiser) will be added to the individual’s trip account. The overall goal is to provide enough opportunities for everyone to significantly reduce their out of pocket costs.
One of the most significant secondary benefits to participating in these fundraisers is the community building within the group that will be attending the mission trip together. Thus, we would love to have everyone participate in all of the fundraising activities. Unfortunately, we know that for various reasons, we have not been able to achieve that full participation. With the past system, a lack of participation meant that a smaller group of people were working very hard for the benefit of the entire group. As we all know, many hands make light work. This approach to fundraising is intended to encourage a greater degree of participation in the overall fundraising effort. Participation in individual fundraisers is NOT a requirement, but a choice to “add funds to the student’s account”. Those that cannot or choose not to participate in fundraising will still be responsible for paying their portion of the overall mission trip costs, so the burden is shared equally by all participants.
With this policy, we ask that ALL participants pay an initial non-refundable deposit of $50.00 which will be credited to the students account. This amount will hold our spots with the work camp organization. You may check the balance on your account at anytime by contacting Dave in the youth ministry office. The final payment will be DUE after our last fundraising event.
A NOTE ABOUT FUNDRAISING
If a student raises over the $650.00 cost for the trip, that positive balance up to $300.00 will be credited to a future trip or placed in the Mission Trip Scholarship/Grant fund. Funds can be transferred to siblings only. Please contact us if there are any questions or if there is a financial need—we want any and all teens to experience this great event!
Fundraisers
- Mission Trip Weekend (Winter)
- Fish Dinners (Lent)
- Aurora Day of Service (Spring)
- Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast
- Bake Sale (Spring)
- Rummage Sale (June)
We will send out an email before each fundraiser asking for volunteers and giving specific details. Teens/Parents will need to sign-up ASAP to get an open spot on the fundraiser.
SIGN-UP NOW FOR THE TRIP!
We will take teens as long as we have a spot–but hurry, because it fills fast! Remember, a $50 deposit is required to hold the spot.
HOW MANY CAN ATTEND?
There are 54 teens and 11 adult spots available for the trip. Spots are filled on a first come, first serve basis. However, if we have open spots after the deadline date, we will continue to take teen sign-ups. Once all spots are filled, we will start a wait list for any teens interested in attending.
CANCELLATION POLICY
The absolute DEADLINE to cancel a spot for the trip is Wednesday, May 1, 2025. Any cancellation after that date will require the teen (parent) pay the full amount due of the trip unless a replacement teen can be attained to fill that spot.
DEPOSIT
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS YEAR A DEPOSIT MUST BE RETURNED OR WE CANNOT HOLD THE SPOT FOR YOU! The non-refundable $50.00 deposit must be returned to the Youth Ministry Office located in the Parish Life Center (701 S. Eola Road, Aurora IL 60504) by December 15th! Please see details on making the payment for the deposit below.
WORKCAMP AND FORMS
All participants will be asked to complete the required forms for the trip. More information on this will be sent out to families. In addition, the Diocese of Joliet requires a permission form for each teen attending and additional requirements for adults (18 or older). This will be sent to you in the spring along with packing/tool list and other important details.
PARENT HELP NEEDED!
Parents are invited to consider going on a trip as an adult leader! We will need 11 adults to make this trip happen. An adult leader needs to be at least 25 years of age and willing to drive to and from the work camp (rental mini-van), chaperone our teens at the camp and work as a team to make this the best experience possible for our teens.
PAYMENT OF DEPOSIT:
You can pay the deposit by doing the following:
- Send in a CHECK made payable to OUR LADY OF MERCY to the Faith Formation Office at 701 S. Eola Road, Aurora IL 60502. Please put in envelope marked “Mission Trip Deposit” and have the teen’s name listed on the envelope or on the check.
- Pay in CASH by bringing it into the Faith Formation Office. Please put in envelope marked “Mission Trip Deposit” and have the teen’s name listed on the envelope.
- Pay ONLINE by going to the giving site here: https://www.osvhub.com/olmercy/giving/funds/youth-ministry-mission-trip. Click “Give Now”, pay $50.00 (One time gift) and write “Deposit” in the “Notes” section along with your TEEN’S NAME.
**Teens who have a credit of $50 or greater from a past trip do NOT have to pay this deposit. Contact Dave for information on this. Deposits are DUE by December 15th. After this date your spot may be given to someone on the wait list. Please contact Dave with any questions at davem@olmercy.com or 331-707-5371.
Click HERE to Sign-Up for Mission Trip 2025!
Contact Us:
Dave Miserendino | Director
DaveM@olmercy.com
(331)707-5371
Karen Schwartz | Administrative Assistant
KarenS@olmercy.com
(331)707-5369