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I was just wondering if anyone had information about working at camp simcha?
example;
what age do you have to be for which different jobs?
when to apply? (how)
who usualy gets accepted? (what type of workers are they looking for)
how long is it? ( which is for girls and which is for boys)
ect.
🙂 ??? 🙂
I can’t answer specifically about camp simcha, but if you are interested I would recommend the following: camps for kids with special issues want staff who show an interest and a capacity to work with that population. Begin volunteering now in a pediatric unit in a hospital, call chai lifeline and ask for volunteer opportunities. Any experience you get, at any age will put you in a better position to show maturity, understanding of the issues the kids face, and a capacity to work with them. What a wonderful idea. Good luck!
I can answer your questions. I’ve worked at Camp Simcha for nearly ten years this summer.
1) You must be 18 years old to be a staff member (lifeguard, waiter/waitress, etc) and 19 to be a counselor. Occasionally they will accept a 17 year old with good references for a mother’s helper job to assist the head staff. 2)You should apply early in the school year. The deadline to apply and interviews begin approx December so make sure to check for the deadlines and get all the paperwork in on time. You find the applications and deadline information on http://www.chailifeline.org or http://www.campsimcha.org. 3)Camp has two sessions for boys and two for girls. (Camp Simcha for children with cancer and Simcha Special for children with chronic physical conditions). Each one is approx 2 week long. Depending on the calendar and yeshiva zmanim, some summmers it is 4 week girls in a row then boys and some summer it could be 2 weeks girls, 4 weeks boys, then 2 weeks girls again. The dates for next summer will be posted on the site once the applications become available.
I know a few staffers, and while Just askin’ listed much of the tech requirments, what was not spelled out (and I think bears mention) is that camps for special needs kids call for a level of emotional strength and patience that not every teen is capable of delivering.
You might be great at the rah-rah that standard camps need, but dealing with special needs kids calls for a whole different way of approaching life.
I’m not trying to talk you out of it. Just be sure its something you can handle.
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