Camp America

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Are there any parents whose kids have done camp America?

My daughter is currently taking a gap year before going off to uni next.
She is really interested in doing camp America next summer.
We have had a good chat with a student who has just been for his second summer in a row. We have had loads of useful tips and advice from him. He did say you don’t do camp America for the money because you actually end up being out of pocket and you do it for the experience.
That suits my daughter fine as she is definitely wants to do it for the great experience.

Just wanted to know if anyone’s child has been and if you can tell me about their experience.

Thanks in advance.

@Thetrainer I second contacting Camp America or her sponsor if that the case. You could contact them with her approval if she's worried it might make things worse for her.

My DD is almost a week in and still homesick, but really enjoying all the new wildlife. Fireflies and groundhogs are delighting her. Shes at a Girl Scout run camp, and as a ex Guide and Brownie is finding the rules and structure very familiar. Although she was bewildered that the hike they were going on only turned out to be a 40min stroll!

@turkeyboots It’s far better for the young person to contact their agency direct. They all have US numbers to contact in instances like this and it’s much more straightforward than when a parent is involved.

Thetrainer......can you name the camp?
It does sound weird

She really should get I'm touch with camp america or whoever her agency is. This doesn't sound normal at all.

Spoke to ds last night- he's having a great time! He was going to a theme park today. They're celebrating 4th July with fireworks later this week and then it's performance day and the first set of kids go home!

This must be very worrying for you because even though they are adults dealing with a situation like this away from home without any support is a concern for you.

My daughter has had the most amazing first week without the children but the kids turned up yesterday so now the hard work will begin no doubt.
I get the feeling the first week the organisers like the workers to feel welcome and appreciated so give them a good time when free from training. Rightly so I think the last thing they want is to give them a hard time with very little breaks and time off causing them burnout. Yes it’s not a holiday but it is blooming hard work and they deserve a decent break and time off like anyone working the long hours that they are.
The organisers also need to think about the mental health of our kids because the last thing they want is them giving up and coming home leaving them short staff.

Really hope your daughter can get this sorted so she can stick it out.
Thank you for sharing with us, it has encouraged me to make sure my own daughter is telling us everything and is really enjoying it all.

I have sent an email to the support email. No answer on the telephone number given as it’s closed for summer.

Dd has been there 5 full weeks so she has given it a good chance.

I wouldn’t like to name the camp.

Good for you, got to go with your heart and do what you feel is right.

Let us know how it goes.

@Thetrainer All of the J-1 sponsor agencies should have US contact details for counselors over the summer.

Hopefully she can speak to someone and get moved. I’d be concerned too.
I appreciate they are there to work but it’s a balance.
Mine worked 2 full days with campers but now day 3 she’s off 6pm to midnight. She says her plans are sitting by the lake then going into nearby very small town for a meal with a few of the other girls. Her first full day off is 3/7 - no-one gets a full day off week 1.

My daughter text last night to say she is looking after 12 9-10 year old girls.
She said she is enjoying it but everyone including the kids are struggling with the heat. Think we all know what that is like at the moment.

I’m sorry to hear one of the kids on this camp is struggling. I’d definitely contact Camp America to see what can be done.

The kids have arrived at dd’s camp and she’s loving it. She’s with 9 10-13 year old girls. There are 3 other councillors in the bunk with her too. She says the kids are cute and they like her accent.
DD is at a Jewish camp, although we are practicing Christian’s, she is really enjoying learning about their religion, she did some research before she left for camp.

DD has been given Thursday as her day off, which is quite nice with Shabbat being on a Friday, she essentially has two gentle days in a row.
I’ve not been able to speak to her as often as I’d like, but that’s more of a me issue. I’m just so excited to hear about all of it!
DD also gets an hour off a day. She looks so happy and healthy when we do FaceTime.

My dd was having the best time ever then she has just sent a message saying she doesn't fit but has friends and camp isn’t as friendly as you think! She posted a whole raft of photos on Instagram beaming. Any advice? Trying not to panic

I've enjoyed reading the experiences here. It's 20 years since I worked at a summer camp. I was actually employed directly, but we used to get counsellors from BUNAC, Camp America etc. I was a bit older at the time (22 hah!) so had my US licence to drive the mini bus and one of my favourite things was doing airport runs to pick up new arrivals :-)

There is often movement between camps, we often had counsellors join us midway through the season, so I'd say to anyone that is really struggling to get in contact with Camp America and see what your options are, it's not always a case of stay or go home.

We also used to employ people all the way through to Labor day, and so would get an influx of new international counsellors who'd been at other camps at the beginning of August as a lot of the US staff had to leave then.

Hi everyone, good to hear all the different experiences.
My DS has been gone nearly 3 weeks and still enjoying it so far. The kids have only just started camp so he might start finding it harder!

My DD seems to have turned into a ‘frat girl’ within the week! She’s in a day camp and being accommodated in university dorms in Boston and having a ball, she’s talking the lingo, eating amazing ice creams and trading snacks ( she took a lot of UK biscuits and sweets) Not sure how’s she going to feel when she actually has to do some work 😂

Have you managed to speak to her? Hopefully just teething issues.

This is such a helpful thread and glad most of your dcs are loving it.
My ds17 is interested in doing it next year - he works as a lifeguard currently at a school so has experience of kids/supervising etc. He does however have a diagnosis of ocd which is managed very effectively with medication (no symptoms for nearly 3 years) but I wonder if this will be an obstacle. Interested in people’s experiences of applying with medical conditions, and also whether going straight after A levels next year - so not finishing exams before 10th June - is likely to make it quite tight anyway?

@Rumplestiltz My dc’s camp start was 23/6 but lifeguards did go week earlier as they needed to do certification. I’m sure there will be a camp that the dates work for him.
What about A level results day especially if he needs clearing? My dc is working until 15/8 then travelling.
My dc has a physical disability. She attended camp recruitment fairs but the camp that took her did a video interview so I did wonder if they realised. I made sure she declared it to camp America and it was on her medical form and form gp completes. No issues. I wouldn’t have thought a well managed condition would be an issue.

@Rumplestiltz I can only speak on behalf of the agency I work for but I know their policy is different to one of the other agencies.

At mine, each medical case is treated on an individual basis. With mental health diagnoses they will look at whether it is properly under control etc. Does your son have a support structure around him at home but might struggle if that’s removed from him?

How does he cope with change, how does he handle stressful situations, can he cope with a lack of sleep and no privacy? At the end of the day they need to ensure that the children he will be looking after are safe.

A few years ago at camp I spoke to a British counselor I found in tears. She suffered from depression and was on medication. However, instead of handing her meds in to the health centre as required she had kept them in her locker in the staff lounge - and then lost the key. She hadn’t taken her meds in 24 hours. She hadn’t properly disclosed her health history as she thought she would be rejected from the program.

What she had failed to acknowledge was that she had left a group of 10 girls totally unsupervised with no counselor whilst trying to sort herself out. Thankfully nothing happened, but it could have had very different consequences.

She was fired immediately for endangering the children and keeping non declared antidepressants in an undesignated area.

@Rumplestiltz DD has just done her exams so hunted down camps with late start dates. She only gets her first batch of campers this weekend.
DD went to the London Camp America recruitment day early this year and really targeted the ones with late starts. The bigger commercial camps start early and run late it seems, and a surprising number of camps won't take under 21s. So research is needed.

DD was doing a BTEC in health and social care. She finished it half a term early so she could be out in US on time.

Our biggest health problem was she had no proof she had Chicken Pox, she got it a week after her brother so i didnt bother taking her to the GP so it was never officially on her health records. We ended up running London on a bank holiday weekend to get her titre test to prove she had it!

I have just read about a 50 year old woman working at Camp America.

It is great to hear that you can do it at any age. I would like to do it one summer myself!

Happy 4th July.
My dd had a day off yesterday and FaceTimed, several of the staff went to a local lake for a beach type day. She is really enjoying it.
She was looking forward to 4th July celebrations which starts with a big water fight. She’s sent me a pic of cake the British Counselors have decorated like a Union Jack with bright blue and red m & ms.
I’m loving all the camp social media. Obviously aimed at parents of children but I can see her and there’s a really detailed blog daily.

Happy 4th July! DS and his friends have been off since Wednesday afternoon. The next group of kids arrive at camp on Sunday.

Most of them are spending the long weekend in Denver. All he's told me is that they're going to the Rockies game and "other stuff". Not sure what the "other stuff is" and I'm not sure I want to know! I did tell him that the Rockies game will be like an extremely long game of rounders!

I felt extremely old last night. I spoke to my friend who I went to America with when we worked there for a year. We reminisced about going to a baseball game and the 4th July celebrations. It was great until she reminded me that was 30 years ago!!! However, I'm so pleased that DS is making his own memories.

Or possibly a 'sorority girl'? :-)

How is she? Just wanted to say that my daughter is at her third year of camp and I can say that there have been many ups and downs. Around week 5 tiredness really sets in and small things become big. It’s hard to deal with from a distance but she got through it and it’s all part of it. I tell her I love her and she can come home any time. I’m here worrying and by the next time we speak she can’t even remember as things move so quickly and she’s so busy!!!