Eight Reasons Why Being a Camp Counsellor is the Best Job You’ll Every Have!
Hi!
My name is Amy and this will be my second year as the Program Director for Golden Lake Camp, and my fourth year here in total. I started my GLC journey as a volunteer, and spent 2.5 weeks there my first summer. I could go into lots of details about all the amazing things I experienced, the equally amazing staff and campers I met, the personal and spiritual growth I went through, and the deeper connection with God I fostered, but I don’t think you want to read an essay-length story! In short, by the end of my time volunteering, I had been having so much fun that I didn’t even remember my honorarium until the Executive Director (the one and only, lovely Beth Payson) reminded me the following summer when I had applied for Perm and, subsequently, messed with the budget that year by not cashing my cheque…whoops!
Working at GLC literally (and I don’t use that word lightly) made my life better, and I’ve met some lifelong friends there. The atmosphere and love in this place are infectious, and you truly make noticeable differences in childrens’ lives.
You can have an equally awesome GLC story, and it can start by choosing to volunteer, just like I did! : )
And if you want real-life examples, here’s a list of my favourite things about counselling at GLC!
1. Your boss will become your friend
2. You meet people and campers from all over Ontario, which makes for different atmospheres to come together to make one crazy fun place
3. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is willing to help you out with stuff in any way you can
4. You will learn how to fix just about anything with duct tape and hot glue
5. You learn that it’s not money and fancy things that make for a great experience, it’s the people you’re with!
6. We are a United Church camp, but you can show up with any or no beliefs and find nothing but love and acceptance
7. We accept all campers to camp!! This is one of my favourite things about our camp, and I think it says so much about the kind of atmosphere we provide. No matter your finances, or walk of life, you can come to GLC to have fun; we will work with you to make it happen. We want to see kids have fun, make friends, find God, and that’s our mission.
8. There’s no such thing as “strangers”. When I first walked into the staff meeting on my first day of volunteering, people were saying hi to me, and starting conversations with me when I was too shy to start them on my own. I’ll never forget that
