Volunteer FAQs
How do I register to be a volunteer?
Registration takes about 15 minutes, and you will need your insurance carrier information, doctor and dentist names. If you are a new volunteer, you will also need to list and provide contact information for at least 2 references.
What is the main responsibility of a Cabin Leader?
Cabin Leaders are ultimately responsible for the care of the campers.
They live in the cabins with campers and stay with them throughout the day and night. They get their campers from place to place and make sure they're having a good time.
Senior Leaders can and do assist with supervision and care for campers, but often have other duties that need to be attended to.
What does a typical day of camp look like?
The basic camp schedule:
7:30 AM - Wake up
8:30 AM - Breakfast in the Dining hall
9:30 AM - Leader Meeting
10:30 AM - Education
12:30 PM - Lunch
1:30 PM - Free Choice time (Swimming or games at the Pavillion)
4:30 PM - Elective Activities - Camper’s choose activities to participate in. Examples: Crafts, archery, canoeing/fishing, hike, etc.
6:00 PM - Dinner
7:00 PM - Group Activities - Campfire time, team challenges or other activities done in groups or with the entire camp.
8:00 PM - Back to cabins.
9:30 PM - Lights out for campers
That sounds like a pretty full schedule! Will there be some down time?
Yes.
Every Leader is required to take a 2 hour break every full day of camp. These breaks will be assigned to you based on what activities you will be involved with at camp. For example, if you are helping with Education, your break will be in the afternoon during Free Choice time.
Shorter breaks (15 minutes) are possible, so long as campers are adequately supervised.
Leaders are not required to be in bed by lights out, but you should make sure to get enough sleep to be able to function during the day!
Will I need to be at camp the entire week?
Yes.
For the safety of the campers, yes. We need to maintain sufficient staff to supervise the campers. Our campers are at camp 24x7, so we need our staff to be at camp 24x7.
Under very rare circumstances, volunteers may be allowed to leave camp, but this needs to be planned ahead and scheduled with the Camp Director.
What does it cost to volunteer?
That question isn't as strange as it may sound at first.
Volunteering is an act of giving to Camp Quest Kansas City, it's certainly going to cost you time. We appreciate that very much, and we will try to minimize any possible out-of-pocket expenses you may have.
Room and Board are entirely covered during camp. We also reimburse for approved programming expenses, but those need to be cleared in advance by the Program Director.
Some travel funds may be available to help off-set the cost of gas, but these requests must be sent to campdirector@campquestkc.com no later than July 1, 2024. Please send in requests for travel funds as soon as the need is known.
The camp dates say July 28 - August 3, 2024. But the volunteer registration says the dates are July 27 - August 3. What’s up with that?
Saturday, July 27 is the date of our mandatory, in-person training session. Every Leader is required to be present for this training.
All Leaders are welcome to arrive at camp on Friday, July 27th. Since many of our Leaders are traveling from great distances, being able to be there the night before has been very helpful for many.
Friday night is often when we unload and unpack and organize the camp’s supplies, finishing up on Saturday evening and/or Sunday morning.
If you have children attending camp, they can arrive early with you, too; however, they are still in your care until check-in time on Sunday.
WILL THERE BE TRAINING?
Absolutely! There are several aspects of it.
Online training
Camp Quest Kansas City utilizes Expert Online Training, a professional training organization geared specifically towards Youth Development at summer camps. This training comprises a series of short videos and quizzes that can be completely entirely online before camp.
For 2024, we are striving to improve in-person training by having some of the trainings offered via live Zoom sessions before camp. Keep an eye out for this training information as we get closer to camp.
In-person training
Saturday, July 27, one day prior to camp, we will hold a training session, where we will go over our staff manual and other policies specific to our camp.
I’ve registered to be a Leader at camp! Now what?
Our senior staff, particularly our Camp Director, Assistant Camp Director, and Program Director will be available for you to contact. Once hired, you will be added to our private Facebook group. You will get the most out of pre-camp communications through the Facebook group; Although all important information such as training and other essential communications will be emailed to each person to the email provided to us.
We follow the following steps for staff applications:
The application is reviewed and considered based on its merits and our current staffing needs.
Interviews are scheduled.
References are checked.
Volunteer is accepted onto staff.
Online Training is assigned.
An additional video meeting to go over some camp details.
Criminal and National Sex Offender background checks are performed.
In-Person Training/at camp orientation happens.
Camp.
After-camp staff dinner happens (optional).
I don’t feel my child will be comfortable at camp if I’m not there. Would I be allowed to volunteer for camp?
It depends.
Most - but not all - children by the age of eight are capable of spending a week at camp. If you must be at camp for your child to be capable of going to camp, then they are not ready for camp*. This is an evaluation only you can do.
It is also important to ask yourself this question:
Is my child not ready to be away or am I not ready to let them go away?
If your only reason for volunteering for camp is to keep an eye on your child, then you likely wouldn’t be what we look for in a Leader. While we don’t expect parents to ignore their child, parent Leaders must be willing and able to care for all campers in their cabin and activity groups and allow their camper space.
*This may be different for campers with developmental/physical differences and would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.