Camp isn't just about the campers!

 by Donna Schwartz

Jessica & Eden back in the day

About a month ago I boarded a plane from Philly to Ft. Lauderdale excited to be going to a wedding of a close friend. Close is probably an understatement. See I met this beautiful young lady when she was five and I was 15. It was the summer before my sophomore year in high school and she was in my very first camp group at Camp Maccabee. I was a young Junior counselor and she was a nervous first time camper.  I immediately connected with her and the entire group of 5 year old girls. I remember getting paid something like $300 for the entire summer but it didn't matter, I was having a blast.  One day at pick-up the camper's mom asked if I babysat as they were new to the area and were looking for someone to watch their 2 & 5 year old on an occasional  Saturday night.  Since my summer wage of $1.35 an hour wasn't cutting it, babysitting seemed like a good way to supplement my income. What happened next changed my life.  I met the entire family and fell in love. This family of 4 became my adopted family. They treated me as if I was their 3rd daughter and I loved them for it. Fast forward a lot of years, I'm still really close with this family.

All of us at Jessica's Rehearsal Dinner

As I reminisced with all of her friends at the wedding each one of them told me how many memories they have from those years at camp and they were surprised to hear how much I remembered as well.

As camp directors, we look at a variety of factors when matching counselors with groups: Personality, age, compatibility with co-counselor, etc.  I'm sure Pattie, the camp director back then never thought "hey let's put Donna with this group of 5 year old girls so that she can make a family friend for a lifetime."


We always talk about all the reasons why children should go to camp but I think we should be talking about why teens should work at a camp also. There's nothing like the friendships we make during the hot summer days.  The bonding that happens while singing silly songs and covering yourself in paint to signify your loyalty to your color war team is unmatched by any other work experience.  As camp directors it's our job to teach young staff how to be a good employee. We teach them responsibility and work ethic.  For so many young teens this is their first employment opportunity and the things we teach them will be with them for a lifetime. A teen who is willing to work very hard in the hot sun with campers hanging all over them while ensuring their safety will make a great employee in the future. You're welcome big corporations of the world!

Most camps around the country are starting this week. Welcoming campers and getting ready to make memories of a lifetime. Take some time to get to know who is spending the next 8 weeks with your child, you never know if they'll be part of your family for the next 20 years.