[Travel] Teenagers working as volunteers in USA summer camps.

[AmexRuislip]

My 17 year old nephew has expressed an interest as working as a volunteer in USA.
Has anyone had their kids do this sort of thing?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I did it after my A levels (in 1989 )
I went through an organisation called 'Camp America', my brother did the same thing through another called 'BUNAC'.

Its a brilliant experience. Highly recommend it.

6 weeks or so working on the camp - coaching football, or whatever your skill-set lends itself to, then 6 weeks left of your visa, to bum around America, staying with all your new friends that you worked with (who are all college students, many of them attractive young ladies).

The organisation will match you up with a camp, normally through a UK fair, and will arrange your visa (educational), book your flights and pay you a (modest) allowance.

 

[AmexRuislip]

I did it after my A levels (in 1989 )
I went through an organisation called 'Camp America', my brother did the same thing through another called 'BUNAC'.

Its a brilliant experience. Highly recommend it.

Thank you

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

My son went to NE US with an organisation called BUNAC about four years ago - and loved it. Made great friends and then afterwards spent the little money he earned travelling down the East Coast through New England to Boston, NY and Washington. Wish I'd done it.

 

[StonehamPark]

I've got a few mates that have done it.

Went through Camp America and worked as Football and General Sports Coaches.
Crap pay but it's all about the experience.

 

[AmexRuislip]

My son went to NE US with an organisation called BUNAC about four years ago - and loved it. Made great friends and then afterwards spent the little money he earned travelling down the East Coast through New England to Boston, NY and Washington. Wish I'd done it.

I've got a few mates that have done it.

Went through Camp America and worked as Football and General Sports Coaches.
Crap pay but it's all about the experience.

Wish I had done it also

 

[Mattywerewolf]

I did it after my A levels (in 1989 )
I went through an organisation called 'Camp America', my brother did the same thing through another called 'BUNAC'.

Its a brilliant experience. Highly recommend it.

6 weeks or so working on the camp - coaching football, or whatever your skill-set lends itself to, then 6 weeks left of your visa, to bum around America, staying with all your new friends that you worked with (who are all college students, many of them attractive young ladies).

The organisation will match you up with a camp, normally through a UK fair, and will arrange your visa (educational), book your flights and pay you a (modest) allowance.

Yep me too. I went in 1990 and had a fantastic trip. Only downer was being stuck in central Ohio during Italia 90 and not finding out the fate of England in the semi's until 2 days later....I think technology has moved on a bit since then!

 

[greyseagull]

I'm jealous

 

[mattislost]

I did it after my 1st year of Uni in 2002. I loved it. It was hard work but so much fun. I went through Camp America and the agency actually get most of your pay for organising everything. I ended up with about $300 for about 2 months work! Some Americans and Canadians had arranged their contract directly with the summer camp and got about $2000! I guess is luck of the draw whether you end up with a decent camp or not, but if you do get a nice one, and the management like you, you can negotiate directly with them for the following year to avoid going through an agency.

 

[Billy the Fish]

A couple of friends did Camp America in the early 2000s, both loved it. Summer camp is a huge thing out there. Just don't ask what they do with the instruments at band camp....

 

[Phat Baz 68]

My 17 year old nephew has expressed an interest as working as a volunteer in USA.
Has anyone had their kids do this sort of thing?

My friend did this all beit 30 years ago with Camp America had a brilliant time and they are or were the best outfit to go with still going strong i believe

https://www.campamerica.co.uk/costs/applying/how-to-apply

 

[Goldstone1976]

Yep, my son and my younger daughter did it too, both through Camp America. Both loved it.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

Yep me too. I went in 1990 and had a fantastic trip. Only downer was being stuck in central Ohio during Italia 90 and not finding out the fate of England in the semi's until 2 days later....I think technology has moved on a bit since then!

Have you ever used Seagulls Player?

 

[Mattywerewolf]

Have you ever used Seagulls Player?

Ha ha...I guess better to see the rotating wheel of death than wait 2 days and see we lost on a shootout in a copy of the newspaper my mum had sent airmail...but only just quicker!

 

[The_Viper]

I could easily go into a 5 page essay about how this was the greatest time of my life but I'll try to keep it short. If you can go, go. It's the best decision I made in my entire life. I did it in my third year of university and went through BUNAC in 2012, I then went back to the same camp in 2013 (Camp Hilltop in NY state). I didn't get paid a massive amount in my first year, my second year I got paid a crap ton.

Working with the kids, people all around the world and living for 10 weeks both summers in that place changed my whole life. I'm now married and living in Charlotte, NC with a fellow counselor I met at the camp, two or three of my friends from there are still holding long term relationships, we had a massive gathering in Liverpool and Scotland in consecutive years for NYE, with people from everywhere. I still keep in touch via email with a few of the kids there, over 40 of them even made a fan page for me on Facebook! (LOL). To know that you mean that much to those kids, and have genuinely effected their whole life in such a positive manner is probably my greatest acheivement ever. I've had one kid email me how he got onto his High School soccer team (they're all 16/17 now, I lived with the older kids in my two years, first year they were 12/13 and then 13/14, lots of them were returners and it made it even better), he got the interest in soccer from me, and has become a totally different person, one of the 'outcasts' of the cabin so to speak, totally different lad now, I even got a wedding gift from his parents with a thank you card too.

It's not just me though, we also got another gift from one of my wifes kids parents, she introduced the girl to horseback riding at age, she lived in central manhattan and never had a chance to ride. She now is applying for some of the top specialist colleges in equine stuff in the US thanks to the abilities she gained at camp from her counselors and instructors.

My fellow counselors have stories like this too, you literally change peoples lives and it's incredible.


I know all this sounds like typical american cheesey garbage and I would have been sat on the other side of the screen 5 years ago thinking the same thing, but even now, when you meet someone who did the same thing you already have a massive bond, and camp is all you want to talk about. Camp is a once in a lifetime experience and I will look back at it as the best days of my life, absolutely no doubt about it.

 

[Jbanged]

I did it after my A levels (in 1989 )
I went through an organisation called 'Camp America', my brother did the same thing through another called 'BUNAC'.

Its a brilliant experience. Highly recommend it.

6 weeks or so working on the camp - coaching football, or whatever your skill-set lends itself to, then 6 weeks left of your visa, to bum around America, staying with all your new friends that you worked with (who are all college students, many of them attractive young ladies).

The organisation will match you up with a camp, normally through a UK fair, and will arrange your visa (educational), book your flights and pay you a (modest) allowance.

Sounds amazing. Why was I never signed up to this!!!

 

[Miximate]

My son is currently at Plumpton college on an Outdoor Education course (climbing, sailing etc..) and he wants to go this Summer. This has acted as a great reminder and he'll be following it up when he's back from his skiing trip (also with the college!!)

 

[Gordon the Gopher]

Another big yes for camp america. I did it in the late 80s in new York state and enjoyed it so much I did it again 2 years later near Michigan city.

 

[Change at Barnham]

My son went two summers in a row aged 18/19, He went with CCUSA (Camp Counsellors USA). They have a good website that you can easily Google. The deal was that they paid his return airfares to Boston, paid him about $100 per week and gave him food and lodgings. He had a cabin of 12 kids to look after with another young adult and then supervised sports activities during the day. He made so many friends that he's still in touch with and subsequently travelled to Aus and NZ visiting them. The whole experience gave him so much confidence and loads of great experiences. He now works as a sports coach in a private school. I would urge any parent to encourage their kids to apply for a position. It's not hard to get on because they need numbers to staff the camps.

http://www.ccusa.co.uk/

 

[glasfryn]

my stepson went a good few years ago and because he was a psychiatric nurse he went to a camp for special needs children and enjoyed every minute, then delivered a car across the other side of the country and enjoyed every minute of that too .
we were a little worried at the time but the yanks looked after him so well he wanted to go back but unfortunately did'nt