UKC

Hey. Has anyone here worked for camp America? What are your opinions on it?

In reply to apulmatt: I haven't but knew someone who did, they hated it and ended up having to hitch hike back to civilisation and buy new flights home!! but I'm sure not all camps are the same and it'll suit different people differently.

In reply to apulmatt: I did it way back in (mumble mumble) ...got a camp in Cal a for ni a ..it was one of the best summers of my life, still in touch with loads of friends I met there, and now wherever I travel there is always someone I know not to far away.... I even met my wife their ..though we didnt marry until 10yrs later.

I ended up stay over there for a good few months more than I should have..skipping back and forth to canada to avoid the visa police... loved it, surfed, climbed, camped wild for most of it too... I think in 8 months I paid for 6 nights accomodation.

do it ....they will work you like a dog but give it a chance you will have the time of your life.

In reply to apulmatt:

Im working for CCUSA this summer.....same thing as camp america...but they are cheaper!! Think it costs you £300 to do it(whereas camp america is like over £600)....and then u get paid by the camp you get placed at(just like camp america)!!! TBH...it doesnt matter which company you use...they just place you at a camp and sort out the flights and visas etc!!

Iv been placed in Newhampshire for the summer...then off to travel for a month after!!

Do it....im sure it will be amazing! Loadsa my mates have done it before and loved it!!

In reply to apulmatt:

Did it last summer and I am returning this summer. As said, they expect you to work hard, but they pay a lot more to get you over than they can hire people from the states for so they expect you to work a bit more. It isn't for everyone, but if you enjoy working with kids and don't mind a demanding days work then its a very worthwhile experience.

In reply to apulmatt:

I've did two summers of camp while I was at uni and I'm going back out there again this summer (To New Hampshire as well.) I love camp but it is a lot of work - I was supposed to get 2 hours off a day plus one evening and one full day a week, but this didn't always work out... The best bit is, when you do get time off everyone is really excited to do fun stuff, climbing/hiking/drinking/trips to canada for the day so by the time you're back at work you are even more boxed!

When you apply you can tailor your application for so that you end up at a soccer/drama/religious/outdoorsy camp so you should end up doing something you like.

I would say go for it, you'll have an awesome time. Again, I wouldn't really recommend 'Camp America' as a company as they are expensive. Try BUNAC or CCCUSA.

Couple more things, you'll need to get a visa for the USA so if you're a terrorist then don't apply. Also if you're under 21 you won't be able to drink for the whole time you are working and if you go travelling after camp you'll have to get someone older to supply le booze.

Good luck!

In reply to apulmatt:

I did summer camp in 2007 for 10 weeks, was one of the best experience's of my life. Would recommend anyone to do it! I remember thinking 'Shall I'...'Shall I not'...in the end I just submitted my application form and thought well here goes...turned out to be one of the best summers I have ever experienced.

Heading back to my camp in North Carolina in June to work this summer, like said before the days off are great. The other staff with days off usually go to a bar or have a house party followed by climbing/hiking the following day.

My first summer I went with CCUSA, there were pretty good. Got everything sorted out for me incl. the flights to America followed by the internal flights to camp and visa (they do subtract a healthy part of your wages for this though).

Once you finish camp you are free to do what you want, I ended up travelling around the East Coast of America and went into Canada for a little over a week.

My advice to you is go for it and you I am sure that you wont regret it.

However it's not for everyone...I had a 10 year old walk into my room at 4am telling me that he had wet the bed!! Fun times

In reply to apulmatt: Did it in 1984 - blimey! Arrived in Virginia, got picked up in truck and taken to what looked like the 'set' for M*A*S*H (hippy types on dope in cabins). Turned out, because I said I was vegetarian on my application form, they found the only camp suitable for me - which turned out to be an educational multicultural camp for international children (Chinese, Israeli, Palestinian, Vietnamese, French etc etc) and all the long-term residents were New Age 'Children' with names like Shanti...

I was the Ropes Course instructor (climbing came in handy) and got to take the kids out into the wilds for rafting and climbing (no helmets, old-fashioned manila ropes and me with no formal qualifications!). I also stood in as Storyteller, Swimming Pool Life Guard, helped out in the kitchen etc. Had fantastic time - met lots of fascinating fellow 'counsellors' from all sorts of backgrounds (Afro-American opera singer, Palestinian football coach, Japanese Koto player) and some great (and some exasperating!) kids. Afterwards I took a Greyhound coach across to California via the Grand Canyon and came back via Niagara Falls.

Go for it!

In reply to apulmatt: Did this in 1980 somewhere near the carskills. Had a great time. The kids then were amazing - all really keen and not the spoiled brats you hear about nowadays - only there because their parents have gone off to nassau. I took an extra few weeks to tour the eastern seaboard (as they call it) on a greyhound. Most of the camp I was pretty stoned as I fell in with the 'right' crowd. The only bit I didn't like was a competition to see who could make the most extravegant banana split. rather than eat them, they were launched across the lake which I thought was a bit wasteful at the time.

In reply to graeme jackson: 'caTskills' Doh!

In reply to Rose2: Which camp you going to in New Hamshire then?? Im doing Easter seals...its a special needs camp in Gilmanton!! Very excited already!! Me and Friend whos at a diff camp but from my uni are doing a couple of treks after with Trek America i think!! I really want to get some climbing done whilst out there but not sure if il get the opp!! (bit to much of a wimp to just camp on me tod and meet people!)

In reply to natalie28:

Sounds good - I did Camp Lawrence, on Bear Island, NH in 2002 - like everyone said here - most people who have a "bad" experience is usually attributed to the camp itself, rather than the company you go with.

Personally, mine was BRILLIANT!!! Couldn't ask for better - just wish I could have gone back again...

I would say liken Camp America / BUNAC / CCUSA to a travel agent, with the hotel / resort being the camps. Although the companies have a say in which camps they offer (and may vary in price!) the camps themselves are relatively independent of the companies.

If anyone wants some (limited) advice, feel free to PM me.

In reply to natalie28:

I'll be working at Boston University's Sargent Centre for Outdoor Ed - closest towns are Hancock or Petesborough but I'll be leading climbing trips all over NH and down the coast of Maine SWEET!

The main climbing areas in NH are Rumney for sport climbing (which is near Porstmouth NH) and Cathedral/White Horse ledges for trad (i've not climbed there yet but hoping to get there this year.) There is also a bunch of easy climbing and loads of bouldering in Pawtukaway (sp??) National park but it get's busy with groups there.

The chances of us having the same days off are probably about zero but if you are stuck for a climbing partner while you're out there, PM me.

Enjoy, NH is beautiful!

In reply to apulmatt:

I went to the US with Camp America in 2002, although I didn't end up working at a traditional US Summer Camp. Spent the following 3 years working there from April until November (Lifeguarding and outdoor education stuff mostly) but arranged seperately.

I know from a camp perspective Camp America are the most expensive to hire from, but we always ended up using them as the choice of people from BUNAC or CCUSA wasn't as good. Whether this was because they were better at marketing their counsellors or just had more I don't know. I do know that if you'd applied by a certain date they guaranteed you a placement, not sure if the others do this.

I loved it, was great working with so many international people, I'd still be there if I could.

I got this message from an old Camp Director last week

"Let me know if you're interested in a great job this summer. Staff facilitate five to six trips over the summer. Start out with an on site program, a trip to Yosemite, trip white water rafting, kayaking and surfing, another trip to Yosemite, and a surfing trip. It's really an amazing job."

I'd be so tempted if I wasn't settled into real life

In reply to ebygomm:

If you're in the real world, but doing Open University P/T, are you still eligible to do this sort of thing?

Seems an intersting idea for my gap-year...

In reply to graeme jackson:

Wasn't a performing arts camp was it?

In reply to 2pints:

Yeah you should be fine, you used to have to be a student or recent graduate but pretty much anyone can do it now. I've been in 'the real world' for two years now and I'm jacking it all in to do outdoor ed full time, going back to camp seems like a sensible option.

Here is a link to Bunac's criteria for eligibility: http://www.bunac.org.uk/uk/summercampusa/eligibility.aspx

I think for visa purposes, you need to prove that you are going to come back to the UK, either to start Uni or work but a job contract written by a mate will usually take care of that one.....

In reply to freerangecat:


Hah! Nope - just kids climbing and hiking, canoeing and generally doing the things kids did before computers took over.

In reply to graeme jackson:

Ah, I worked on a performing arts camp in the Catskills at the end of my 1st year of Uni so was just curious.

In reply to apulmatt:

Two of my sons went to New York with Camp America in the 80s (at different times). They worked with children with disabilities and were based in the YMCA on 92nd street, then they picked the children up from home in a yellow bus and took them to do activities in various places. They loved it and all the fun with the other staff.
Remember to tell them of any particular skills or experience you have, that's how they ended up there. They loved the fact that New York is awake 24 hours a day.

In reply to apulmatt:

I had a great summer on Camp America, and highly recommend it. However, the fact that Richard Nixon was almost being impeached while I was there may make you realise that my information is not up to date!
I ended up on a day camp, meaning I had every evening and weekend free, so it was just perfect!

New Hampshire is great; used to live in Keene, down the road from Peterborough. There's excellent local climbing, if you can find locals to tell you about it. Great hiking, lots of lakes and ponds. And just a couple hours drive from Rumney/Cathedral/Whites area. Very good climbing in Western Mass too, where I'm based. Drop me a line if you'd like more info.


In reply to Rose2:

In reply to freerangecat:

Wasn't Stagedoor Manor in Loch Sheldrake was it?????

I did two summers "back in the day" and loved it. A long balmy summer in New Hampshire hiking, playing football, boating...just brilliant.

I went with Bunac, I have heard of people hating it, in fact one guy at my camp loathed it, so its definately not for everyone. but if you have an easygoing attitude it's all good.

Nee

In reply to apulmatt:

My mate did it. Something happened. She was handcuffed, escorted to the plane and deported.

Never did hear the full story....shame as I'm sure it would have been interesting.

In reply to apulmatt:

I'm going with CCUSA and this is my first summer too. Everyone I spoke to (even my hairdresser) told me to stay away from Camp America for various reasons, but I had done my application for CCUSA by then anyways.

I go to Camp Echo Lake which is based in Adirondacks mountains, New York. Going to be doing climbing, orienteering etc, so gonna be fun!

In reply to Steffi:

Ahhh the Adirondacks are so beautiful! You will have an amazing summer!

In reply to apulmatt: Well the vast amount of responses must mean that it is well worth doing. One question though about the wages. It says i will earn a minimum of $700. Is this an overall wage? or is it a monthly wage. Do you earn any more than this?

In reply to apulmatt: I though only christians and people with no mates did this?

In reply to apulmatt:

There's a fixed amount of time you have to work to get the $700, something like 9 weeks. If you work beyond the 9 weeks then you get an extra amount per week.

Even if the camp you get placed at doesn't require staff beyond the 9 weeks you can apply to be transferred somewhere that does if you want to earn some extra money.

In reply to apulmatt:

You can also stay on in America for several weeks, at your own expense, to have a holiday and Camp America will still pay your flights back.

In reply to Knitting Norah:


Normally they only pay for your flights from New York back, not so bad if you're in New Hampshire, not quite as good if you're placed in California. Something to be aware of.