Staff FAQs
A Virtual Question & Answer Session
With Courtney Todesco, & Caleb Parker, Kenwood & Evergreen’s Head Counselors
Our Camps are located in the state of New Hampshire, on the North Eastern coast of the United States. The closest cities to us are Concord, New Hampshire and Boston, Massachusetts. Click here to view our location on Google maps (enter the following address: 114 Eagle Pond Road, Wilmot, NH 03287).
You should expect all kinds of weather, with the exception of snow. A few times each summer it will rain (sometimes it’s light and sometimes it pours!) So bring something to keep you dry. On most days it will be sunny with temperatures between 70 & 80 degrees Fahrenheit (21-27 Celsius). Mornings can be as cold as 60-65 degrees (15-18 Celsius) and evenings can be very cold (once in a while down to 50 Fahrenheit, or 10 Celsius!). So make sure to bring a sweater or two, a light-weight jacket and a raincoat or mackintosh. At the same time, most of the summer is very hot, so bring plenty of shorts, t-shirts and other lightweight clothing.
Amazing! Diverse! Tasty! Our professional chefs serve delicious and nutritious meals 3 times per day (including vegetarian, gluten free and many other allergy-safe options) with salad and fruit bars available at every meal.
Domestic staff are expected to provide their own linens. Staff traveling from outside the United States are provided with sheets, blankets, a pillow, and towels. If you are not warm enough please ask your Head Counselor the following morning for a supplemental blanket. We want you to sleep comfortably.
See our link for our Recommended Packing List. If you are a specialist please remember that you are expected to bring any equipment that you will need to perform your duties (example: Tennis Staff should bring any racquets that they will need). You can also purchase 2023 Kenwood & Evergreen Staff Apparel from our dedicated Online Store which will open soon!
Our community is based on one basic idea: to create the most developmentally impactful overnight camp experience for children. This shapes everything that we do, and it is how we produce such powerful outcomes. Camp should be a place where children learn life skills like leadership, resilience, creativity, independence and the ability to collaborate with others. We create these outcomes in a fun environment where children feel safe enough to really be themselves and secure enough to reach out and try new things. Our small overall size and the close relationships between our campers and counselors help to foster this atmosphere.
Camp is also about friendship and learning to live with people who may be a little different from you. Our counselors help our campers through the challenges of life away from home by helping them develop better interpersonal skills and independence. As a result, our campers emerge with life-long friends and friendships.
Many of our staff come from the US (whether they grew up at camp or found the opportunity through a friend or online) and we also have program and support staff from all over the world! (9 countries this past summer!)
You get 5 days off throughout the summer while the campers are here that lasts 26.5 hours. The schedule is posted each week and each day off typically has 10-20 people. You may choose to hike or check out the beaches in New Hampshire or Travel to the historic city of Boston for shopping and sightseeing.
There are very often several kind domestic staff members on the day off who are more than willing to use their cars to transport everyone to whichever destination the group decides. We also have camp vehicles available to use for anyone who is over 21, has a valid driver’s license in their home country, and takes a short road test with our transportation director. There is also a bus service to surrounding NH towns and Boston that is located 15 minutes away.
That all depends on your specific job and department. So the question really is what do you want it to look like? For a counselor or specialist the role is best summed up as being a big brother / big sister for the campers. Ensuring physical and emotional safety of the campers is of the utmost importance. You will; eat all meals with your campers, lead or assist activity periods, hang out with them during down times – rest hour (after lunch) and free play (after dinner), helping them to wind down at the end of the day and prepare for bed. As a support staff member, your focus is shifted to a particular department: office, kitchen, housekeeping or facilities. In these roles you work as part of smaller teams, completing daily tasks that enable camp to function. Each role is of equal importance in order for camp to run!
If you’re an international staff member, your visa sponsor company determines your salary for your first summer. If you’re a domestic staff member then your salary is determined by your position.
We have Internet access in our Staff Lounge and it is free for all staff to use. This is made available to staff during time off each day. We also have a wireless network in the Dining Hall. You are welcome to bring a laptop to access the network, but please remember that we will not be responsible for damage or theft to your personal belongings, and with only one connection it can get very slow. There are cordless payphones available for staff use in the Staff Lounge. These phones can both make and receive phone calls.
Yes. There are cordless payphones available for staff use in the Staff Lounge. These phones can both make and receive phone calls.
Staff may not receive phone calls in the Main Office. However we encourage you to use Facetime/Skype etc during time off in the staff lounge. In an emergency situation a message will be taken by one of our Office Assistants.
We like to enjoy what we call an ‘unplugged summer’. This enables our campers and counselors to be present in the moment and fully engage with each other in a way that is intentional and results in a more profound experience for everyone. That means our staff restrict their use of technology to designated time off and our campers are limited to the activities where such technology is necessary (e.g. photography and film making).
Valuables, including passports, cell phones, jewelry and large amounts of cash, are best not kept in cabins. Almost every year somebody disregards this advice and loses money. We provide lock boxes for each staff member in the Dining Hall and in the Evergreen Office. We cannot be responsible for valuables left in the cabins.
Yes and no. They are brother-sister camps that share the same facilities. We are a community. One camp that is separated by gender for living arrangements and activities during the week. There are several times throughout the day when campers from both camps have the opportunity to interact such as meals and free play. On weekends we hold all camp events which involves campers being placed on teams with those from the other camp and participating in activities together.
Contact the Camp Office at 781-793-0091 each weekday between 9-4pm EST and ask for one of the Head Counselors or e-mail us.