Work at Mataponi

Welcome

Dear Applicant, We appreciate your interest in Camp Mataponi located in Naples, Maine. Your inquiry is very important to us and we look forward to the screening and hiring process with you.

Our Priorities

The following description outlines our priorities in selecting staff. It is also intended to help you determine whether or not Camp Mataponi offers the type of work experience in which you are interested and for which you are suited. Please give this material careful consideration.

Camp is concentrated, structured and demanding. The girls are in camp for seven weeks. Our responsibility toward them is a twenty-four hour a day job. There is no greater trust than that placed on us by the campers’ parents, and no greater expectation than theirs for our complete dedication and attention to their daughters’ needs.

The most important aspect of being a counselor concerns the relationships you help to develop with and among the campers with whom you live. There are eight to ten girls and two or three counselors in each cabin. The atmosphere you and your co-counselor create has a great deal to do with the kind of experience each girl has. Great care is taken in making up the bunk groupings. Your preference with regard to the age of the campers with whom you wish to live and work with is given every consideration.

We check very carefully the references you provide. We inquire about your ability to relate with children specifically and with all types of people in general. We ask about your work habits, manners, personality, willingness to pitch in and a host of other factors which we think predict success at this setting. If you have a genuine interest in working with children, we encourage you to apply.

If you are interested in joining our staff, please fill out the online staff application in detail. We will contact you about the availability of a position and arrange a personal interview or extended telephone conversation devoted to a thorough discussion of your responsibilities as a counselor at Camp Mataponi.

Camp Mataponi is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate applicants in regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.

Staff Philosophy

At Mataponi, the girls need not be the best – they need only try their best. Our camp is geared toward developing each child’s self-confidence, improving self-esteem, instilling a sense of values and appreciation for others and helping friendships flourish. Sportsmanship, generosity, care and concern guide our campers throughout the camp season and beyond.

A summer at camp can be as fulfilling an experience for the counselor as the one they help create for the campers. If you are the type of person who enjoys being around highly energetic and motivated people, and gains a real sense of satisfaction from the pleasure and the challenge of working with children, then we encourage you to apply. We are looking for people who like to work hard and who like to play hard. You’ll have an opportunity to do both at Mataponi!

Responsibilities & Privileges

In addition to his/her ability to relate to children, each counselor is hired to lead or assist in a particular activity. With guidance from the administration and other veterans on the staff, each counselor is expected to implement a quality program in her area of expertise or to be a capable assistant. Knowledge, patience, creativity, and enthusiasm are some of the attributes vital to running a program that will generate and sustain the interest of the campers. Each counselor spends the bulk of her time in the morning and the afternoon at her activity. The evening program is, for the most part, prearranged by the Group leader. Each counselor is expected to participate in evening activities unless they have a night off. The routine is broken up by special events, out of camp trips, and occasionally even a rainy day! Counselors do have some free time during the course of a day and are encouraged to take advantage of it to relax and rejuvenate.

The use of most camp facilities are available when it does not interfere with camper programs.

The camp provides the counselor’s full income. The camp has a policy of no gratuities to counselors. Camp Mataponi provides room and board, all meals and snacks, laundry service, and in most cases transportation help to and from camp. Counselors are responsible for the shipping of their baggage.

Each member of the counselor staff has 5 full days off during the season and every other evening off with the exception of the first few nights of camp, a weekly staff meeting, and when they must be “On Duty”.

Counselors must maintain a fine personal appearance throughout the season. A pre-camp medical examination is required (school check-ups are acceptable).