Spending your summer at Manitou participating in outdoor activities with campers gives you a unique opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of the children in your care. You have been hired because you are believed to be capable of using good judgment, demonstrating teamwork, having concern for others, and making a positive contribution to the campers and the camp community.
The Manitou Environment
The Manitou community is unique. It is a community of people living together in an outdoor setting. Staff, in a variety of roles, provides trained leadership to make the community function effectively. While camp is an informal and intense experience, it is a relaxed, open atmosphere that provides adventure, fun and excitement.
Manitou and its Surroundings
We are guests in this community. We will treat our neighbors with respect. Whenever possible, we will patronize locally owned businesses. Our natural surroundings are unique and fragile. We will recycle whenever possible.
Responsibility as a Role Model
Your status is also unique. You exert tremendous influence on campers through your close contact with them, yet you have neither the rights of a parent nor the responsibilities of a director. Your influence is extremely important because children tend to imitate their adult role models. The example you set reflects your own values, expectations, background, and experiences. Parents have entrusted you with their most precious possession, their child. They are allowing you to be their partner in the development of their son. Realizing that their son is looking up to you, they expect you to not only provide a safe and enjoyable experience, but to help him develop the skills necessary to become a caring, competent, and successful adult.
Manitou Philosophy
The basic philosophy of Camp Manitou is to meet the individual needs of campers in athletics, social activities and moral values. We believe that our environment is ideal for teaching cooperation, sensitivity towards others and understanding. We are a teaching camp, which stresses learning through participation, good sportsmanship and the individual development of our campers. Through an emphasis on instruction and competition, Manitou attempts to impart a sense of belonging and the unity that comes from a family atmosphere. If our job is done well, campers develop both physically and socially. Our counselors are chosen for not only their teaching ability, but as role models for our impressionable campers. Our ultimate responsibility for the happiness and care of our campers is to their parents.
Camp Goal
For every camper to have a happy, safe, and rewarding summer.