Camp Counselors Help Make Summer Camp Special for Children
May 18, 2011
Springtime showers ending and trees and flowers in full bloom can only mean one thing: summer and summer camp season are just around the corner.
Camps and their counselors are an essential part of the summer camp experience, as they help campers engage in all the fun activities. However, while on the surface it may appear that the counselors have the greater affect on the children’s camp experience, often it is the other way around, with the children and the camp experience affecting counselors’ lifelong memories.
One such case is Allyson Houlton, a senior at Auburn University in Alabama, who volunteered at Camp Smile-A-Mile (Camp SAM) on Lake Martin during the summer of 2010, as reported by the Auburn Plainsman.
Camp SAM isn’t a typical summer camp, however, as its primary population is children with cancer.
“It’s just a summer camp where kids with cancer can go and have fun and ride on boats and do all the things they normally wouldn’t be able to do,” Houlton told the news source. “I wanted to become involved in Camp SAM because my uncle passed away from melanoma two years ago, and I saw the effect it had on my family.”
The camp provides a number of typical activities, such as swimming in the 44,000-acre lake and archery, but it also helps children cope with their illnesses. There is designated time during the week where campers are encouraged to talk about their friends who have passed away from cancer, according to the news source. Camp SAM shows that summer camp can be about so much more than horseback riding, crafts and s’mores; it can also affect people’s lives in a profound way.
Many camp directors employ counselors like Ms. Houlton, and they also diversify their staffs with international students who visit the U.S. through a J-1 Visa sponsor organization. Not only are such counselors motivated, hard workers but they provide the added benefit of exposing American children to different cultures.
This exposure can help the camp’s children gain a broader, more multi-faceted view of the world around them. According to Liz K., a camp counselor from New Zealand, "Working as a counselor was truly the best summer of my life. I learnt a lot about American culture, life and myself and had the opportunity to plant seeds in so many young peoples lives.”
As both Alyssa Houlton and Liz K. demonstrate, such exchanges can be a great opportunity to develop a new understanding for both the campers as well as their counselors.
