General Info
If you consider yourself to be energetic, adventurous and dedicated, are at least 18 years of age and have experience of working with kids in a leadership position, then Summer Camp USA may be just what you are looking for.
Spend the summer working with kids aged 6 to 16 on an American summer camp. BUNAC, the specialist in overseas work and travel programmes, is looking to recruit enthusiastic, experienced people to teach a variety of activities for nine weeks as a specialist/general counsellor.
The core camp activities of horse riding, tennis, gymnastics, swimming/other water sports, outdoor pursuits, theatre and arts/crafts are in particular demand. The first stage is to attend a regional interview so that we can assess your skills, experience and suitability for camp. Once you have been accepted onto the programme, you will receive a carefully selected, specific job placement before leaving the UK.
BUNAC's personal placement process ensures that if you have good experience working with kids then you'll have an excellent chance of being placed in a position that best suits your preferences.
Types of camp
"Going to camp" for up to eight weeks each summer is a well-established North American tradition in a country where school holidays last for three months and the summer is generally hot and sunny. Since this type of camp is relatively unknown in Europe, some further explanation may be helpful.
Private Residential Camps
These are privately-owned and run on a profit-making basis by individuals (generally husband and wife) and cater for the children of high/middle income families. The camps are mostly long established, permanent structures set in wooded, rocky, picture-book parts of the USA and although some of them are lavishly equipped (even with electricity in the cabins), others are more primitive, emphasising the back-to-nature element of camping. Some even prefer platform tents to cabins.
Day Camps
At these camps, the children attend only on weekdays and return home at the end of each day. Day camps can be privately run, or they may be operated by the local town or an agency such as the YMCA. They provide the same type of activities as residential camps, often catering for several hundred campers each day.
Organisational Camps
This covers camps run by such bodies as the YMCA, Girl Scout organisations, as well as those attached to a church or charitable institution. Some are every bit as well equipped as private camps, others are quite rustic with basic facilities. Campers attending these camps tend to be a fair population mix – the children of doctors, lawyers and business people as well as kids from working class backgrounds. Campers usually attend this type of camp for between one and four weeks.
Camps for Disadvantaged Children
Operated by various social, philanthropic or religious agencies like the Salvation Army, the Fresh Air Fund of New York, or other local caring organisations, these camps aim to give inner city kids a break from the streets with a week or two in the country. The family pays very little for the child to go to camp or even nothing at all. Facilities tend to be very limited and on the worn and rustic side.
Special Needs Camps
On this type of camp, the campers require more specialised care and attention. Run privately or by non profit agencies, special needs camps include those for the physically or mentally disabled (adults as well as children), camps for diabetics, camps for overweight children and camps for kids with special learning or behavioural problems.
Benefits:
Summer Camp USA offers a great value-for-money package including return flight to the USA, comprehensive insurance and free food/accommodation whilst on camp; in addition to a competitive and guaranteed minimum in-hand salary. You will also have and all the help, advice and support that you need both in the UK and the USA.
Requirements:
BUNAC individually places applicants on summer camps according to their preferences, skills and experience. For the role of general counsellor, applicants should be energetic and highly enthusiastic with experience of working with children in a leadership position. Applicants must also be aged 18 or above.
