Noblesville Parks and Recreation is offering a summer Counselors in Training program for 12- to 17-year-olds to learn and lead children at Noble Kids Camp, the full-day, week-long summer camp. This is the third year for the parks department to offer the teen mentorship program.
In addition to providing a place to grow friendship amongst other teens looking to become leaders, the mentorship program will provide a unique adventure opportunity as well as engage the teens in a service project each week.
“The Counselors in Training program is a great opportunity for students who are maybe too old for summer camp, but still want to stay active over break,” said Recreation Program Coordinator Amber Mink. “They will learn skills throughout the program that will continue to benefit them after summer camp is over – such as interviewing and organizational skills and scheduling.”
All interested teens will interview for the mentorship, be required to go through staff training from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 5 to 7, and be given specific tasks for the week. To set up an interview, contact Kaitlyn Smith at (317) 776-6350 or ksmith@noblesville.in.us. Interviews must be set up by Monday, May 13 and a maximum of 15 people will be selected for the program.
Participants will get to create their own schedule with an average minimum of six hours a week. Teens will be assigned different rolls and tasks each day, which will include creating games for children, making a child feel welcomed at camp, help the staff member stay on schedule and manage campers. To protect the Counselors in Training participants, no counselor will be one-on-one with campers, able to assist with restroom issues or provide first aid beyond calming a camper.
“We encourage six to 20 hours a week working with the campers to ensure they get the most out of this program,” said Mink. “We know summer schedules are busy which is why we designed such a flexible program schedule. Participants also can use their camp time as service hours for other organizations.”
The cost of the program is $250 which includes a staff shirt and all the expenses with their adventure days. Adventures include Topgolf, Edge Adventures, laser tag, an Indy Fever Game, Trader’s Point Creamery and water tubing. On these adventure days, counselor staff will focus on a professional development subject.