Placement options

To be a specialist counsellor, you need to have skills in one or more of the following areas to at least an elementary teaching level and with relevant back-up qualifications. To be a general counsellor, you need experience of working with children in a leadership role. All participants are, in a sense, general counsellors, even those who teach a particular activity.

Camps need staff in all the areas listed here. Activities in particular demand include horse riding, tennis, gymnastics and other land sports, swimming and watersports in general, outdoor pursuits and theatre/arts and crafts. For those with the relevant experience, there are opportunities to work with special needs or socially disadvantaged children. Please consider your own abilities before applying. If you have friends with skills in any of these areas, please let them know about Summer Camp USA.

Your role

Usually, two or three counsellors are assigned to a cabin of four to eight children and take responsibility for them at camp. The camp director expects staff to set a good example, ensure that the children keep themselves and the cabin clean and that they follow the camp’s routine.

Your counsel to the children may include dealing with homesickness and personal problems as well as looking after and teaching them. Your role is like that of brother/sister/parent/teacher/friend and cheerleader all rolled into one.

A full-time job

You should be prepared to spend 24 hours a day with the children, living and sleeping in the same cabin, working and playing with them. Hard work at times – but incredibly rewarding if you’re up for the challenge!

Summer Camp USA is a work and travel experience. It can be a beneficial and enjoyable experience for anyone with a specialist skill or sports ability and the desire and enthusiasm to work with children.

Teachers or trainee teachers find that camp is as relevant and useful as teaching practice. Non-teachers and non-students have much to contribute to and gain from the programme. There are also many openings for those with experience of working with mentally, physically or socially disadvantaged children.

Orientations

To ensure that you are as fully prepared as possible for a summer on camp, you need to attend a BUNAC Orientation before you leave for the US. These take place in various cities around the UK and in Dublin in April. Find out dates and times here.

You will also have an orientation once you arrive at camp. This can last from one day to one week, depending on your camp. This orientation could include; preparing the camp for the kids or getting to know your role and how the camp operates. You may not know all of your duties until after the orientation when your camp director has assessed all the staff and assigned the various jobs.

The different types of camps

Most BUNAC participants are placed at camps in picturesque lakeside settings in the Northeast and New England. You may however be placed in the Southeast, the Midwest, Texas, on the West Coast and in Canada.

All camps strive for a dedicated staff of energetic counsellors. You do have an opportunity to tell us which type of camp you would prefer to go to, but the more flexible you can be, the greater your chances of placement.

The camps where we place counsellors have high standards and are approved by the American Camping Association or similar accrediting bodies. Depending on their skills and experience, Summer Camp USA counsellors are placed at all of the types of camp listed here.