John Williams with WGN Radio’s Bob Kessler and traffic manager Julie Stern joined with fellow WGN Radio listeners to volunteer at City Kids Camp in Lewistown, Illinois. There they painted, cleared brush, made repairs and spruced up the camp to ready it for another season of campers. It was an exhausting – but rewarding – weekend for all with new friends made, sore backs and limbs from hard work for a good cause.

A few days prior to the May clean-up weekend, a crew from Avondale Roofing visited the camp to make repairs to several roofs on the property and we’ve shared some before and after photos from their work.

Below are the photos shared by John Williams, Julie Stern and Hector Corona.

WGN Radio’s third annual radiothon to benefit City Kids Camp, hosted by John Williams and Lisa Dent, is May 21.

Gallery 1:

• Exhausted! Bob Kessler and John Williams (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• The Friday night of Volunteer Weekend is a cocktail party thanks to Whiskey Acres in DeKalb! (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• Bob Kessler with City Kids Camp’s Bob Evans and a volunteer. (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• Bob Kessler recruits harmonica players – City Kids Camp’s Bob Evans and a volunteer. (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• Bob Kessler plays harmonica (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• City Kids Camp gives city kids a respite in the country. (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• John Williams with volunteers at breakfast. (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• Mike Stern paints a dock bright blue. (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• A freshly painted dock! (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• Volunteers take a meal break. (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• WGN Radio’s traffic manager Julie Stern at City Kids Camp. (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• Planting. (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Landscaping team. (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Sprucing up the mini golf. (J. WIlliams/WGN Radio)
• At work on the mini golf. (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Mealtime (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• City Kids Camp Volunteer Weekend (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• Bob Kessler at City Kids Camp. (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• John Williams and volunteers at City Kids Camp. (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• L to R: Diane Corona and Hector Corona, the founders of City Kids Camp, Hector’s mom Paz Corona and John Williams. Diane and Paz cooked the meals the volunteers ate. (Julie Stern/WGN Radio)
• WGN Radio’s Julie Stern (far left) with fellow volunteers and John Williams (J. Williams/WGN Raido)
• WGN Radio’s Julie Stern (far left) and her husband Mike (far right) with fellow volunteers. (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Leaning Tower of Pisa on the mini golf. (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Volunteer at the mini golf course. (J. Williams)
• Mealtime (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Julie Stern and Mike Stern on their blue dock. (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• Bob Kessler and John Williams (J. Williams/WGN Radio)

Gallery 2:

• 2025 volunteers at City Kids Camp (Bob Evans/City Kids Camp)
• Clean-up crew at City Kids Camp (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• Volunteers (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Mike Stern at work on one of the docks. (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• Volunteers (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• Pruning trees (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• That’s Bob Kessler in is “Huckleberry” overalls. (J. Williams/WGN Radio)
• WGN Radio’s Bob Kessler at work on sprucing things up., (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• Repairing bicycles (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• Sprucing up the cabins (H. Corona/WGN Radio)
• Working on the cabins. (H. Corona/WGN Radio)
• Cabin clean-up crew (H. Corona/WGN Radio)
• Mini golf workers (H. Corona/WGN Radio)
• Camp spruce up (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• Volunteers (H., Corona/City Kids Camp)
• Picnic tables at City Kids Camp (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• The brush cleared around the camp is ready for a bonfire.. (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• Burning away the cleared brush. (H. Corona/City Kids Camp)
• Bonfire time! (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• Giant rocking chair (J. Stern/WGN Radio)
• City Kids Camp in Lewistown, Ill. (H. Corona/WGN Radio)
• Bob Kessler and John Williams (J. WIlliams/WGN Radio)