Camp Counselor & Adult Volunteer Application 2024
Please allow 30-60 minutes to complete this application.

Clapping Hands Farm runs camps and workshops for children and adults year round. You can learn more about our programs on our website: https://clappinghandsfarm.com Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out this application. We are excited to learn more about you!

This application is for adults and young people who want to work at camp as counselors or adult volunteers. It should be filled out by the applicant themselves, not by a parent or anyone else. If you need assistance for any reason, please contact us.

In general, you should be at least two years older than the oldest camper in a given camp in order to be considered as a counselor. Each week some of our counselors are paid and some are volunteers. Typically, we start considering people for paid positions when they are at least 15 years old. We have worked with Junior Counselors as young as 9 or 10 for our Art Party and Stepping Stones camps (which are for very young children.) If you are an adult, please skip over questions that are clearly intended for young people (parent names, etc.)

There are a limited number of paid and volunteer positions each week. We welcome and encourage applications from all interested, but the process is selective.

In Summer 2024 we will need help with
  • 2 Spring Break Camps
  • 2 camps for adults in May (Artful Life Camp for ages 19-30; Women's Camp for 18+)
  • 2 camps for very young children (Art Party for ages 2-8 and Stepping Stones for ages 5-9)
  • 1 camp for teens
  • 2 camps for ages 7-12 (Toys and Games Camp)
AND other workshops and programs that take place in the FALL, WINTER and SPRING

We will also be doing trainings through out the Winter, Spring and Summer for staff and some of these trainings will be required for specific camps. 


Sign in to Google to save your progress. Learn more
Email *
First and Last Name *
Preferred Pronouns *
Parent/Guardian Names
for anyone under 18 or if you just want them in the loop
Parent/Guardian emails
please include all parent emails here, separated by commas and clearly identified "Mom: abc123@gmail.com, Dad: abc123@hotmail.com" etc.
Your date of birth *
MM
/
DD
/
YYYY
Best phone number to reach you and best times to call. *
Best email to reach you *
I prefer to be contacted by: *
Your Mailing address *
street address, town, state and zip code
Carpool Location *
For example," Pittsboro Downtown" or "SW Durham." Please enter "NA" if you do not wish to participate in carpooling.
CHF Experience *
Please check all of the things below that apply to your previous experience at Clapping Hands Farm
Required
Please check below if you are interested in being considered for an INTERN or LEAD COUNSELOR position. Additional application steps and interviews will be part of this selection process.
IF you are BRAND NEW, please provide THREE references (name, email/phone number). Ideally, this should include at least one professional reference, one personal reference (someone who knows you well but is not related to you) and one family member. The professional references should be familiar with the quality of the individual’s work and could be an employer, a supervisor for volunteer work, or a teacher if you have no work or volunteer experience. 
CHOOSE CAMPS

Which specific camps are you interested in working this year? And available for? *
Please LOOK at your calendar and TALK to your family to make sure you are definitely free during these dates. NOTE:
1) each camp has a STAFF MEETING the Sunday before for counselors/adult volunteers from 3-7 p.m.
2)  that counselors and adult volunteers MUST be available for the entire week and the staff meeting unless specific permission from that week's Director and an individualized schedule is worked out in advance.
3) that HOURS for staff include an hour before and an hour after camper's day. Times listed below are for the shorter camper day. 
Required
NEW in 2024: NEW WORK SCHEDULE OPTIONS
We are experimenting with some new scheduling options. The full camp day is long and exhilarating and exhausting. For some people the "all in" of that is wonderful. For others it's too much and does not bring out their best. There are also tasks that happen AFTER camp that extend the day even further. We are going to try some counselor, lead counselor, and guest artist roles that have new schedules.  *
Please check ALL the boxes that work for you
Required
SCHEDULING SPECIFICS: Please list any possible conflicts with the weeks you checked above, including the weekend prior to camp. OR if you want to work specific days but not the whole week, this is the place to let us know that.  *
for example:  "I have to leave early on Wednesday, at 4 p.m. of Artful Life Camp " or "I want to volunteer on Thursday and Friday of Toys and Games Camp" or "I have band practice from 6-8 on T, W, Th of that week." or  "I'm 83 years old and can't handle a full day of summer heat, but I'd love to work each morning." 

Please let us know about ANYTHING else you have going on during the weeks you are interested in working or ANY of your needs & desires about scheduling here. 
Paid and Volunteer Positions- each camp week we have both paid and volunteer positions and both young counselors and adult volunteers. Please check the choices below to let us know what you are open to considering.  *
Required
STAFF TRAINING. We anticipate having several training and planning days for our 2024 camp season. These will include planning meetings for each camp; a sexual abuse awareness training; fun trainings on specific things such as Leading Games; Toy Making; Art Party Activities; Letter Boxing; Felting; etc. 

Counselors and volunteers are also encouraged to attend our workshops and camps all year round at free or reduced charge as part of their staff experience. 
please check all that apply
SCHEDULE FOR STAFF TRAINING. We will do our best to accommodate your schedule in planning the training days. Please let us know about your availability Winter, Spring and Summer *
Please list below the best times for you to come to training days. For example: "I'll be available on weekends during the school year and my schedule gets more flexible after May 15 when I get out of school" or "I am too busy to do anything during the school year, but I could do trainings starting in JUNE" etc. 
Camp at Clapping Hands Farm takes place 100% outdoors. This includes summer heat, ticks, rain, bugs, etc. What is your experience and comfort level with spending time outdoors? *
Self-care is an important ingredient in being able to bring your best to the camp day. Getting enough sleep, eating well, taking time for yourself both during and after camp,  honoring your limits, and asking for what you need- all contribute to being able to do your job well.  Please describe your current strengths and challenges in the area of self-care below. Include ideas for specific support strategies you could put in place during the camp week.   *
Counselor/Adult Volunteer's attention is expected to be on campers and their needs for  significant portions of the camp day. Please give at least one example of a situation where you were focused on attending to others' needs, helping other people with fun things instead of doing that fun thing yourself, or any time you engaged in serving others. Please describe both the experience and how it impacted you. *
Tell us about your experience taking care of children. Are there particular ages or kinds of kids you enjoy working with?
 *
Please list all your previous volunteer or employment working with children or minors. *
Tell us about your leadership experience. *
Please describe any experience you have with Visual Art, Dance, Theater, Music, Outdoor skills/activities, Games. *
Why do you want to be a counselor/adult volunteer at Clapping Hands Farm THIS year? *
This is the most important question. Take your time with this one.
What are your favorite things about being a counselor/adult volunteer? What do you expect to love about being a counselor/adult volunteer? *
What do you find challenging or what do you expect to find challenging about being a counselor/adult volunteer? *
How does camp fit into your personal goals/life? *
What are the specific goals or things you want to work on as a counselor/adult volunteer this year? *
What can you teach or lead? What materials do you need to lead these projects? *
Example: ultimate frisbee- need frisbee; weaving- need sticks and yarn;  running games- don't need anything;
Please talk about your own cultural heritage, your connection with your own cultural heritage and your experience working in groups or communities that included people of many races, religions, identities, and backgrounds. *
For example (this is Louise's answer to this question!): I am Japanese on my mother's side and Russian Jewish on my father's side. I love making Japanese food and origami and am always interested in learning stories from both sides of my family. My family in general includes many races and religions---- I have a Hindu uncle from India, a Catholic uncle from an Italian family, my children are African American. I was a leader in a project where people learned and told stories from their faith backgrounds- and worked with Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities as part of that project and learned a lot!
Please read our COVID response page and respond below.
Clear selection
Before commencing work at camp, all volunteers and counselors aged 18 or older are required to have completed a Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Training. This online training takes about 90 minutes and should be completed at least one week prior to starting work.
 *
Do you require any support--be it technical, emotional or otherwise--to assist you with completing the Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Training? If so, please specify how we can help.
 For all staff over 18 years old, before commencing work at camp, we will perform a criminal background check. The results will be taken into consideration before employing or assigning work to you. All results will be treated with sensitivity and kept confidential within the management team.

Please confirm your agreement.
 *
Required
To assist our background check, please let us know your full legal name and any other names you have gone by.  (For applicants who are under 18 years old, please answer: Under 18.)
 *
To assist our background check, please let us know your city, county and state of residence now, and in your previous adult years. Indicate the period in which you lived in each location. (For applicants who are under 18 years old, please answer: Under 18.)
 *
For applicant who are 18 or over, before we conduct a criminal background check, are there any interactions with the legal system that you wish to inform us of and explain?
Clapping Hands Farm is a drug and alcohol free space. *
For staff that means I expect you to NOT use drugs or alcohol BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the camp day from Sunday through Friday of a camp week (or if you are not working the whole week, then the 24 hours prior to you starting work through the end of your work here.)
Check all the things you are EXCITED to help with: *
Do NOT check things you are not excited about doing!
Required
Any questions? Concerns? Or anything else you'd like us to know to help you be successful?
A copy of your responses will be emailed to the address you provided.
Submit
Clear form
Never submit passwords through Google Forms.
reCAPTCHA
PrivacyTerms
This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy

Does this form look suspicious? Report

Google Forms