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5 Reasons Millennials Should Work as a Camp Counselor

At Camp we focus on the benefits for campers but rarely do we mention all the benefits our staff of young adults receive. This week we saw an article on Levo, a career development company, called 13 Reasons Why Every Career-Driven Millennial Should Work At Camp For A Summer.

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We picked our Top 5 reasons from their list:

  1. You get to be a role model.
    For however long you have the opportunity to interact with the campers, you quickly become one of the coolest (and most influential) people in their lives. Camp counselors especially have the opportunity to impact campers because of the amount of time spent with their kids.
  2. You truly make a difference.
    There are so many benefits to working at a camp, including making a difference. Check out this quote from the New York Times blog The Camp Counselor vs. the Intern, here.

    “What I do there matters,” she insisted. In several conversations, she told us about helping a camper cope with her mother’s debilitating depression and comforting others whose parents were fighting or separating, about aiding 11- and 12-year-olds who were coming to terms with their sexuality, battling anorexia, confronting body fear. She talked about the many hours devoted to water-skiing lessons, about instilling the confidence needed by awkward, gawky, painfully self-conscious 8- and 9-year-olds to stay prone in the water, hold on to the rope, then rise up and stay on their feet as the boat pulled away. “What’s more important than that?” she asked. I had no answer, because I couldn’t come up with anything more important.
  3. You hone your leadership skills.
    There are plenty of opportunities to improve your leadership skills by working for a camp because, at one point or another, you will be asked to lead. Whether you are leading other staff members or a handful of campers, you will be looked up to for direction and wisdom.
  4. Peer networking.
    Not all of your co-workers will be elementary education majors. In fact, you will meet a plethora of majors who have done the same thing you have: sought out a beyond-the-typical summer job. An awesome time to expand your peer networking to individuals from all over the country and from all walks of life.
  5. You will learn so much about yourself.
    As awesome as camp life is, it also is challenging. You may not know how to deal with a situation with a camper, your co-counselor for the week might not be the most compatible with your sense of humor, and some days might seem like they drag on forever—is it lights out yet?! However, it is moments like these where your true colors shine. You will learn so much about yourself and, at the end of the summer, will be able to look back and be proud of all that you made it through.

Are you ready to have the best summer ever while helping influence young campers? Learn more about joining our staff of nurturing counselors today!

Campsickness… A True Ailment

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Campsick

/kamp, sīk/

adjective
(as defined by Urban Dictionary)

The opposite of homesick (or home-lonely; medically, you’re not actually ill). Intense longing to be back at summer camp. Afflicted persons may show a variety of symptoms, including melancholy, reminiscence, and attempts to incorporate camp culture, routine, and lingo into “real world” life.

Some cures for “camp sickness” include send the afflicted person back to camp and constant communication with fellow Robin Hooders. Designated camp time will allow those who are campsick to instantly be cured of all symptoms.  Otherwise, be patient with them. Try to distract them without making them feel as though you don’t care about how they feel. Listen to their camp stories, even though you’ve likely heard them more times than you care to. If possible, try to incorporate their favorite camp customs into the “real world”. Encourage contact with other “camp people”, because they will share experiences and alleviate the feeling of being alone.  

After spending the best summer at Robin Hood, many campers missed it so much they became campsick. Most of their friends at home did not understand, and aggravated the feeling.

Remember When…

Untitled designRemember the first day of camp? Cleveland and New York buses pulling in one right after the other? Getting to see all of your camp friends and meeting new ones all at once was the perfect way to start she summer.

Remember our first rainy day? “Trash Fash” debuts in Girls’ Camp and the creativity was flowing with two “looks”, day and evening, made out of coffee filters, plastic cups, toilet paper and other items found in your Trash Fash bags? Remember Boys’ Camp’s 3 on 3 indoor basketball tournament sponsored by Pepsi-Co? Great coaching Saxons!

Remember your first campfire? Saxons and Scribes you began your legacy by teaching songs and buddying up with the TPJs.

Remember Robin Hood’s Not-So-Talent Show? DC & Woody starting the “Whip and Nae-Nae” craze for the summer?

Remember July 4th? Waterslides, Fortune Tellers, raffles, games, a dunk-tank, dance party at the beach and the Ice Cream Truck?

Remember Robin Hood Gives Back? Boston Cares visits and talks about veteran awareness. Campers spend time working throughout camp and then cool off with charity laps in Lake Ossipee? How many laps did you swim?

Remember Robin Hood’s So You Think You Can Dance? Taylor vs. Katy, Shia LeBeouf, an Outkast medley to name a few…

Remember when the Court Jesters hooped it up with Robin Hood elite? Entire camp “whips and nae nae’s” on the lower court. Team Robin Hood shows them we’ve got skills with 3’s from Podl but we can’t beat em!

Remember PVD? We started the weekend with the talent show which was so much fun! Remember Saturday, the weather was perfect… not too hot and not too cold. Remember playing and enjoying the magic in the trees with your families?

Remember Excursion week… anxiously waiting to see when you were leaving and where you were headed?  All the fun exploring New England with your groups? Junior camp has the Realm to themselves for 3 days…

Remember Founder’s Day? Celebrating RH milestones, gifting camp with incredible additions including a new Briar says…, lots of items honoring Chuck’s 50th Summer and a Fake Break too!

Remember Green & White? A 5:50am drumline wakeup call to lead you throughout camp? DC & Woody on jet skis with honorable judges on speedboats behind them to announce the beginning of the best five days of the summer!

Remember Robin Hood running on Dunkin for lazy day with team dinners that night?

Remember the last few days of camp? Amazing energy at activities, GL swap day, Scribe and Saxon speeches, sunsets and group bonding?

Remember the last day of camp? Getting your phones back and setting up Robin Hood group chats because ‘campsickness’ is a real thing!!!!

Remember 2-0-1-5 Keeping Andy’s dream alive.  Best friends from the start, we’ll never part.  Our love won’t fade…

Hello From The Realm!

It’s hard to believe it’s been 6 weeks (or more) since we were together in The Realm.  Summer 2015 brought us some incredible memories. We had amazing weather with only a few rainy days; a record number of campers successfully hiked Mt. Washington, a nail-biting Green & White competition kept everyone guessing until the final scores were read and a summer filled with celebrations as we honored Chuck’s 50th summer.

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Now that you’re back in school, we know schedules can get really busy. We encourage you to stay in touch with your camp friends and reminisce about the summer at Robin Hood. While we are screen free during the summer, we hope you are in communication with each other in group chats  –  we love that Robin Hood is not just a ‘summer’ camp! Take time to talk to your family about your favorite 2015 memories, this year’s excursions or create a RH 2015 playlist and have a dance party in your dining room. Before we know it, we’ll all be dancing in the Dining Hall in the summer of 2016.

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As for what’s happening in the world of Robin Hood right now…

  •      We have a record number of sign ups for 2016
  •      The yearbook is being finalized and getting ready to print
  •      Junior Camp Boys’ bathrooms are being re-done
  •      NYC Reunion Slideshow is in the works

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Living 10 for 2 means we still have quite some time until we’re back in The Realm. Please stay in touch with us and let us know if you’ve “spotted” some Robin Hooders. Email info@robinhood.com or text us with your photos and you just might see it on Facebook, Instagram or in an upcoming newsletter.

Best,

DC & Woody