Participants
Camp Counselors must be:
- Sufficiently proficient in the English language to supervise and interact with American youth;
- A foreign post-secondary student, youth worker, teacher or individual with specialized skills; and
- At least 18-years-old.
Benefits
Financial value: Participants receive pay and benefits commensurate with those offered to their American counterparts at the camps.
More information
Camp Counselors will occasionally have to:
- Perform non-counseling duties as part of camp life, but not serve as “staff.”
- For example, they cannot serve as administrator personnel, cooks or menial laborers such as dishwashers or janitors.
Program Sponsors
Sponsors are required to:
- Conduct an in-person interview;
- Secure references regarding suitability;
- Ensure that participants have the required health insurance coverage;
- Provide participants, prior to departure for the United States, with information on their duties and responsibilities as a camp counselor, contractual obligations relative to accepting a camp counselor position and information on financial compensation;
- Maintain SEVIS records;
- Provide the sponsors 24/7 immediate contact telephone number;
- Monitor participants throughout their stay and provide assistance as needed; and
- Provide the Department of State’s toll-free emergency hotline telephone number to all participants.
Sponsors must ensure the following:
Eligibility: Must be at least 18-years-old, proficient in spoken English and a bona fide youth worker, student, teacher or other specially qualified individual.
Financial Compensation: Camp counselors must receive pay and benefits commensurate with those offered to their American counterparts at the camps.
Employers
Employers are required to:
- Provide pay and benefits commensurate with those offered to their U.S. counterparts; and
- Ensure that program participants do not serve as “staff” — including (but not limited to) administrative personnel, cooks or menial laborers such as dishwashers or janitors.