Overview
Program Description
The Journey program is a 6-day experiential program for 16–18-year-old participants to experience self-discovery, camaraderie, gratitude, and personal growth through intentionally crafted experiences. The program is comprised of two distinct tracks: Hero’s Journey and Champion’s Journey. All Journey Program staff work with both Hero’s Journey and Champions Journey Participants.
Hero’s Journey is comprised of living outdoors, completing low/high ropes challenges, practicing mindfulness, participating in ceremonies, and mastering wilderness first aid skills. Basecamp is located next to Bigelow Brook on camp property and is a 10-minute walk from the zipline. Seasonal staff, volunteers, and participants sleep on cots in yurts, camp in tents, hike with backpacks and gear, cook over the fire, and bathe in the river or with a heated shower unit. Seasonal staff live in shared housing at the Young Adult Lodge when not at basecamp. Staff do not need professional outdoor experience to be successful in the program but should have personal outdoor experience and should feel comfortable living outdoors for most of the summer.
Champion’s Journey invites participants aging into the Adolescent & Young Adult Program to become the “champions” of Camp. By creating and completing a “mastery project” in one of Camp’s various program areas (e.g., Arts & Crafts, Music, Woodshop, Cooking Zone, Adventure, etc.) and engaging in leadership and teambuilding initiatives, Champion’s Journey gives participants opportunities to practice leadership skills while enjoying the fun of Camp. Outside of mastery project and group challenge time, participants enjoy the amenities of the traditional summer program, like eating meals in the dining hall, visiting various program areas for nonmastery project time, and engaging in a mix of traditional evening programs and Championsonly evening programming. Participants share rooms with their peers while staff sleep in separate rooms in the same lodge. Staff should feel comfortable connecting with participants in their late teens who are beginning the transition into adulthood.
Qualifications:
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Must be physically and mentally capable of handling the care of campers.
• Must be familiar with and enforce all safety, emergency, and camp policies.
• Serve as a role model and provide support to camp volunteers.
• Commit to fostering a community that celebrates our camp values, which are inclusion,
gratitude, possibility, friendship and safety.
• Be flexible with the changing needs of the program.
• The ability to work with a diverse community.
About The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp
Founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp provides “a different kind of healing” to more than 20,000 seriously ill children and family members annually - all completely free of charge. For many of these children and families, Hole in the Wall provides multiple Camp experiences throughout the year at the facility in Ashford, Conn., in more than 40 hospitals and clinics, directly in camper homes and communities, and through other outreach activities across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
