Summer Camp Volunteer

ABOUT BECA: BECA exists to provide quality, affordable bilingual education to the educationally disenfranchised while fostering meaningful cultural exchange. BECA’s model is more than an international teaching program; we distinguish ourselves by the breadth and depth of our community engagement, our dedication to fostering long-term relationships with our communities, and our commitment to ensuring that our BECA teachers are trained and supported to unleash the amazing potential of their students, and to learn from them and their families. In the 2016-17 school year, one of our long-time dreams came true - we hired a BECA graduate as a teacher! Now, half of our teaching team at each school is made up of BECA graduates, and the other half is international volunteers. 

POSITION DESCRIPTION: Each Summer BECA hosts a 3-week, half-day, day-camp for students in elementary grades, to provide students with opportunities to remain immersed in the English language over the long break through fun games and activities – making the transition back to classes in August less difficult and preventing summer learning loss. Each year, we seek out a team of 6-8 Volunteer Summer Camp Counselors to work with approximately 75-100 students across multiple grade levels, with about 15-20 students per classroom. 

In addition to supporting students, Summer Camp Counselors will also: conduct 1-2 home visits per week with the Summer Camp Director, commit to a service project on the school grounds, as well as host team dinners on a weekly basis. 

REQUIRED DUTIES:  

• Plan, execute, and document daily activities for students in a collaborative environment
• Make summer camp a fun way for students to maintain/increase their English language ability
• Work collaboratively to plan activities across disciplines including art, reading and writing, and physical education

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:  

• A commitment to BECA’s mission and a dedication to social justice
• Fluency in English
• Experience working with children (preferred, but not required)
• Willingness to operate and be creative in a low-resource environment
• Foundational knowledge of Spanish (not required, but helpful)

Because the Summer Camp is a supplemental program, BECA recoups the program’s expenses through donations paid by Summer Camp Counselors who wish to participate. In exchange for this experience, we ask that you contribute or fundraise $1,500 for the BECA program to help defray costs (food, accommodation, training, materials, and a high-speed internet connection). A reduced contribution may be available for applicants with demonstrated need.

For current college students, please note that volunteers in the past have successfully applied for on-campus grant monies to cover this expense and travel. We encourage you to explore what opportunities your college offers to subsidize summer experiences. Please contact us if you have any questions; we will try to help you in any way possible.