" I would like to thank all Camp America staff for communicating as quickly as possible."

The interest is really high for us from Camp America Team. I would like to thank all Camp America staff for communicating as quickly as possible.

"2024 will be my second summer working…"

2024 will be my second summer working at camp, i used Camp America last year and they where amazing helped answer any questions that i had about working at a America summer camp and they where and still are really affordable and i'm glad to be using Camp America again this summer. Last summer i had the most unforgettable experience while working away in America at a summer camp and i'm glad to be going back this summer for another unforgettable experience.

"Not diverse and friendly to minorities "

I had an online interview with the company and then went to one of the camp America fairs and got hired by one of the camps. A few days later I got rejected even though I got accepted by a camp. I emailed them about this and they rescinded the rejection and accepted me. I started doing my references and my enhanced DBS application for the camp until I got an email from the camp director saying that my offer was rejected. Honestly I was very confused by this but looking back camp America must have told my camp something that led to this. After this I asked for a refund but only got a partial refund for the online interview not me applying for the enhanced dbs. I think it was the worst experience I’ve ever had. It’s like the company actively didn’t want me.

I feel like the company doesn’t value diversity. Thinking back to the fair there was almost zero POC there. Their interviewers are all white. It feels like the experience is mostly catered to white people who are their target audiences

"The best experience of my LIFE"

The best experience of my LIFE! 10 years on and I still speak and think about it every day. Camp America are an amazing company with top customer service and communication. I felt hand-held through the process and prepared for the best adventure of my life :) Would recommend it to anyone who is looking to grow as a person and push themselves outside their comfort zone.

"Lack of inclusivity and terrible admin/ mixed communication"

As a parent I want to share mine and my daughter’s negative experience with Camp America. She applied very early and had her interview with someone from Camo America’s team in the UK. Two camps contacted her, and also arrange interviews with her. She waited several weeks and heard nothing. When she followed up with the camps she was told the spaces had been filled. We then went to the Camp Fair in Birmingham, which was a 7 hour round trip. Prior to going, we were inundated with emails, advertising the event and encouraging her to go. The adverts make it sound like it will be easy to find a camp space at the event. This is not the case, when we arrived There were hundreds of other kids there, parents or carers are not allowed to go into the venue with the kids and apparently it was absolutely jampacked full of young people. My first warning, if you have an anxious young person, this is not the place for them to go. Camp America should be forewarning attendees about this. my daughter spent two hours going around all the camps and came out quite distressed. It was her first real experience of sexual discrimination. She observed the camps were only choosing stereotypical boys and girls. She experienced one camp, give her a visual appraisal and then wave her on, they refused to even speak to her. A second camp, pulled her out the line, made her stand at the side and then offered the spaces they had left to the kids they put in front of her. After this experience, she decided that as a ‘gay’ girl, Camp America is not for her. I emailed Camp America over a week ago requesting a refund for all deposits, apart from the first one, which we understand is non refundable and as yet I have not even had an email acknowledgement to say my email has been received. I have reached out to camp America on several further occasions through the Facebook messenger system and they have assured me they will be in touch, but they have not been yet. However, they’re still bombarding my daughter with emails trying to get her to pay for her police checks which obviously she doesn’t need now. Asa parent, I would be very concerned about sending any young into the care of one of these camps after what we have experienced. Our experience has not been a great one, and the admin team seems fantastic at taking your money but appalling when you no longer decide it’s the right fit for you and you want a refund. I would be cautious if any young person does not fit the normal stereotype of boy/girl. Obviously this has been my daughter’s personal experience, but I thought it worth sharing as I wouldn’t any anyone else to have their confidence and self esteem knocked in the way my daughter’s has been.

"It was certainly an experience I’ll remember, but not for the right reasons"

Camp America markets on selling a dream. The real experience couldn’t have been further from a dream. We worked 6am-10:30pm (sometimes later if we couldn’t get the kids to sleep) with no breaks in the hot Florida summer heat on barely any food because the canteen served both children AND COUNSELLORS kid sized portions so by the end of the summer all of us counsellors had lost a significant amount of weight. Our days off weren’t really days off because they were 1pm-1pm so you could never really ‘see America’ like the marketing had claimed. The management of the camp were a bunch of narcissistic abusers of power who used the fact that our visas were tied to them as a threat to fire us if we didn’t do exactly what they said. In one of my cabins I had a very trouble child that I had regularly confiscated pills, knives, razor blades etc off, threatening anyone who would hear that she was going to kill me in my sleep because she hated me and my co-counsellor. We approached the camp management about how I did not feel safe sleeping in the same cabin as this child after these threats were made. The camp director proceeded to escort me into the forest surrounding the camp and yell at me about how out of order I was and how I wouldn’t tell him how things would be at his camp, and that I should pack my bags there and then and get the hell off his property if I didn’t like it. Additionally us international staff got paid $800 for the entire summer whereas they paid the domestic staff $5k. I WOULD NEVER GO BACK.

"Life Changing"

Camp America was a truly life changing experience for me. I left the UK as an anxious, shy individual and came back with confidence I didn't know I had. My career has massively benefitted from working at camp. 2023 was my 6th year being involved with Camp America and I have made countless friends who have had a profound impact on me. I would encourage anyone with a desire to do so, to take part.

"2024 will be my 3rd year working at a…"

2024 will be my 3rd year working at a summer camp, thanks to the help of Camp America. I was lucky enough to find my perfect match on my first year, to which I have returned to the same camp every summer since! It is my happy place, my second home and the place where I am surrounded by amazing people where I can be my true self. The memories you make and the experiences you get to undertake are some of the things you get to treasure from this freeing and fabulous experience. I could not recommend it enough to everyone and anyone! In addition to this, you get the opportunity to spend up to a month travelling after camp, meaning you can tour the states and see some incredible things. Whether that be the beauty of nature, that can be found across all states thanks to their differentiating landscapes, or exploring a cities such as the Big Apple and Chicago, famous for its hotdogs. Memories to be made around every corner! Camp America is the perfect agency to apply through as the help you every step of the way, with very easy processes, including applying for your visa, getting a placement at a camp that best fits you and all extra support that may be needed along the way.

"Not your ‘typical’ Counselor"

I did my placement with Easter Seals serving children and adults with disabilities. I’m 32 and thought I was too old to do camp America, but I absolutely wasn’t, in fact I’m glad I went at the time which was right for me. I had the most exceptional experience and learned so much. I could apply the experience to my study and professional practice in the UK. I’m autistic and have ADHD but that didn’t stop me either. I fell in love with the area I was least confident in, I returned home a stronger, happier and healthier person. The hardest part was leaving camp. I cannot imagine not being able to head back. Thank you CA and Easter Seals, Iowa. You changed me.

"Home from home"

Helped me find my home over the pond, the system made it easy to navigate and I felt supported while I was out there. Can’t wait to go back next year, not just a once in a lifetime experience!