Volunteer FAQ

A volunteer commits to a week at a time: 40 hours for our day camps. Each day camp runs Monday to Friday, from 8am-4pm for day camps. Overnight camps start Sunday morning and run until 6pm on Friday.

We love parents as volunteers. However, we have found that parents volunteering with their kids is not the best fit for our programs. If you are a parent, you are welcome to volunteer for a camp that your child is not participating in.

Yes, if you have volunteered in the past you still need to come to a volunteer training. Each year we have all of our paid staff come to staff training. Volunteer training helps you get into the volunteer mindset. It is also a time to practice and be updated on anything that is new or that has changed. We recommend that returning volunteers come to the Returning Volunteer Training. It is set up for you with new ways to go deeper into your mentoring and nature education.

There is no hard and fast timeline for when you will hear back about a volunteer schedule. Volunteer scheduling is a very large puzzle with many moving parts. Some volunteers hear back in a week or two after applying; for others it might take one to two months. If you have not heard anything after one month please check in with the Volunteer Coordinator.

If your available dates change at any point please email the Volunteer Coordinator.

If you are under 18, please apply under your parent’s existing account. If you are over 18 and do not currently have your own account, please create your own account.

When you volunteer you will get an email with the gear list for the camp. It is the same gear list that the campers get. You can also go online to the camp page and find the Program Details and gear list there.

No, transportation is not provided to camps for volunteers.

If you need to cancel a week or your total summer please contact the Volunteer Coordinator as soon as possible.

We have five locations where WAS camps are held. You can follow the link to the Maps and Directions page on the bottom of our website to find the closest park to you or to get directions.

Campers must be signed in by an adult authorized by the parent. If the sibling is 18 or over, they can sign in a younger sibling.

Thirteen year olds are more than welcome to apply. But know that more thirteen year olds apply to volunteer than any other age. Like any job where there is an application process, experience, maturity, and knowledge of WAS Camps plays a major role in being chosen to volunteer.

We do not provide housing for volunteers. However, we are happy to provide you with any contacts that we are aware of. If you are coming to an overnight camp, tent camping space and food is provided during the camp.

Volunteers and instructors find out about the group they will work with on Monday morning the first day of camp.

It is not possible to request an instructor for any summer camp program.

All volunteer hours can be verified by the Volunteer Coordinator. Hours can be verified at any time. Please, send the paperwork your school might have or request a letter from WAS.

At this point there is not a possibility to get a formal written evaluation. However feedback and evaluations are woven into the volunteer weeks. The Volunteer Coordinator is happy to talk to or write up recommendations for jobs or school applications.