Camp Sojourner Overview
Camp Sojourner is an affordable overnight camp for Philadelphia-area girls (and non-binary youth excited to be part of a girl-centered space) between the ages of 8 and 18, focused on team-building, leadership development, appreciation of nature, and creative arts. Camp Sojourner’s mission is to provide girls/youth with a rewarding and life-changing sleep away camp experience, which will ultimately help them become strong leaders who take charge of their own lives and make a positive impact on the larger world around them. Towards this end, we also offer year-round mentoring, service projects, and enrichment activities. We are a nonprofit organization, and we fundraise all year so that we can provide these opportunities no matter what their families can afford to pay.
Our overnight summer camp, Camp Sojourner, takes place in Stokes State Forest in New Jersey, about two and a half hours from Philadelphia. We are expecting to serve 70 campers this summer, including 14-18 year old teen leaders. Our program includes traditional camp activities such as swimming, boating, hiking, team-building, and campfires, as well as creative and performing arts such as singing, dancing, drawing, painting, theater, drumming, and wood-working.
Camp Sojourner seeks to create a diverse community where the dignity and experience of all participants are honored. All staff/interns must be committed to:
▪ the positive development of youth;
▪ working collaboratively with youth and adults;
▪ building relationships with people different from themselves;
▪ communicating openly and honestly;
▪ encouraging campers in their exploration of creative arts, self-actualization, social justice, and the natural environment.
▪ honoring a girl-centered and POC-centered space
The Position: We are seeking an intern who will work with Camp Sojourner staff to help with pre-camp administrative and logistic preparation, on-site camp work directly with youth, and working with youth directly during pre-camp programs in Philadelphia at Bartram’s Garden/Sankofa Farm. Certain particular aspects of the position will depend on the strengths and interests of the intern (see below.)
Location: Community partnerships and workshop sites include our office at the Calvary Center for Community and Culture (801 S. 48th St/Phila PA 19143), Bartram’s Garden/Sankofa Farm for monthly farm days (5400 Lindbergh Ave/Phila PA 19143), and the New Jersey School of Conservation for our overnight summer camp (1 Wapalanne Rd/Branchville NJ 07826.)- transportation is provided to camp.
Responsibilities include:
- Assist with planning and preparation for our one-week overnight summer camp, including administrative and program support related to tracking paperwork and preparing program materials for camp programs.
- Support in-person programs at Bartram’s Garden/Sankofa Farm monthly before camp (every second Saturday of the month, 9:30am-1:15pm). This could involve leading ice breakers, supervising volunteers and/or youth, supporting other staff with lunch and program supply set up and clean up, documenting activities through photography and video—specific tasks to be determined with camp director based on skills and interests.
- Help organize and order supplies for our summer program
- Help to transport supplies up to our summer rental site the week before camp (date TBD.) (Note: transportation and driver will be provided; intern just being asked to help load, unload, and organize supplies along with other Sojo staff members and volunteers.)
- Serve as a staff member during our one-week overnight camp, as a counselor and possibly arts instructor based on experience and interest.
- There is a possibility of working on foundation grant applications and fundraising research, depending on intern’s skills and interests.
Job Qualifications:
We welcome candidates who are mature, thoughtful, collaborative, open-minded, respectful of young people, and committed to helping create sanctuary spaces at a time when many people feel under attack. Ideal qualifications include:
- Experience working with young people
- Comfort working outdoors in garden, farm, and camp settings
- Ability to work collaboratively in inclusive and community-based environments
- Strong editing and writing skills
- Enthusiasm for young people, social justice, and emotionally engaged programming
- Interest in art education in non-traditional learning settings (such as outdoor or community-based environments)
- Detail oriented
- Familiarity with Excel, Google Docs, PowerPoint
- Ideally be able to lift 25-50 pounds to help with camp supplies
Job Requirements and Schedule:
This is an internship which will need to happen mostly in-person, with some flexibility for hours during certain parts of the summer and highly structured during other parts of the summer.
In the early summer, office hours will be 5-10 hour per week, per agreement with camp director, at our office in West Philadelphia at the Calvary Center for Community and Culture (801 S. 48th St/Phila PA 19143.) The 34 trolley/T2 stops directly in front of our office, or on street parking is available. Office hours will involve meeting with other staff, administrative tasks, and occasionally moving and organizing supplies.
Once per month on second Saturdays, we host a volunteer farm day at Sankofa Farm (5400 Lindbergh Ave). Intern should plan to attend from 9:30am-1:15pm—the 36 trolley/T5 runs directly in front of the entrance to Bartram’s Garden property if a car is not available.
In mid-July, there will be some Zoom sessions as part of staff training, which will be scheduled as soon as possible.
The week before camp, last full week of July, we typically have more intense office hours to do all of the final preparation and copies for camp. Intern’s specific hours can be determined through meeting with camp director in early summer.
Camp dates for the overnight camp week are Saturday August 1, 8am to Saturday August 8, 7pm. There is a staff bus which brings staff from Philadelphia up to our summer camp site, and then returns staff back to Philadelphia after camp. You are able to drive yourself up to camp if you prefer, by 12pm on Saturday 8/1.
The week after camp we will schedule hours to debrief and unpack/store supplies back at our Philadelphia office.