Junior Counselors

Becoming a Junior Counselor (JC) is the first step towards becoming a Counselor. Participants focus on service, leadership skills, and counseling techniques while spending their week(s) at camp. You will develop new skills, build strong relationships, and have an incredible camp experience.

Taking on the role of being a JC is taking on the role of the “Older Sibling” of the cabin dynamic — Getting to know and serve campers as a positive role model, assisting in a variety of camp activities, camp maintenance areas, and working directly with Camp Reed staff in a leadership role are just a few of the responsibilities JCs will be tasked with. Taking care of campers and helping to give them an unforgettable week is our goal, and we can’t do it without our JCs!

Camp Reed serves campers ranging in age from 6 years old (Mini-Camp) to 14 years old (Oldest Cabins). As a JC you’ll work with campers anywhere in this age range. You will also have the opportunity to work with campers of all ages, regardless of you cabin age assignment, during other camp activities such as units, free times, etc.  

Being a JC is a volunteer-staff position for those entering their junior (11th grade) and senior (12th grade) years of high school. If you are trying to accumulate volunteer hours for school, graduations, clubs, etc. JCing for one week at Camp Reed is the equivalent of 90 hours. 

Most commonly, we offer one to two Junior Counselor week opportunities during the summer. Situations do arise where we may have the opportunity to offer JCs more than two weeks. We will reach out should the situation arise based on the availability of weeks marked down on your JC Application. 

Application

There is an application required to become a Junior Counselor. Don’t worry though — the application process is simple and shouldn’t take too long! Please make sure to read it carefully and fill out ALL required sections.

Once completed, return to Alex “Battle Ax” Russell, Camp Reed Program Coordinator. If you feel more comfortable filling out a paper copy, you may drop it off to us at our Corporate Office located at 1126 N. Monroe, Spokane, WA 99201. 

Begin your application now:

• Step 1: Read through the 2024 Camp Reed JC Application Instructions
• Step 2: Fill out the 2024 Camp Reed JC Application entirely and return to the Camp Reed Office

Reference Check

Once your application is summited, Camp Reed performs online reference checks via Harver as part of the volunteer selection process. We ask that applicants take this opportunity to show us what sets them apart from others. Applicants are required to submit a minimum of three references. The system will prompt you to invite five references, but you are only required to have a minimum of three for your reference check to be considered complete. We would encourage you to invite at least five people to complete references on your behalf. 

Once Camp Reed has received an application, the applicant will receive an email from Harver inviting them to register online. Once registered, the system will prompt the applicant to invite professional references to participate in their reference check. 

2025 Junior Counselor Application Coming Soon!

Training

To prepare you for JC volunteer week(s), Camp Reed provides two options for training (mandatory).

The first option is JC Weekend, May 10th-12th, at Camp Reed. This is a great opportunity to bond with fellow JCs, get the needed trainings for being a JC and get a chance to familiarize yourself with Camp and some Staff members! We strongly recommend this training.

If you cannot attend JC Weekend, don’t worry! We have a second training option available, May 22nd, at the YMCA Corporate Office or via Zoom/Teams for those outside the Spokane area. Please indicate on your application which training you plan on attending.  

Certification

There are two required certificates for being a JC.

1. Child Abuse Prevention (CAP)
2. Washington State Food Handler’s Permit.

CAP will be taken care of during JC Weekend or the Office Meeting. We ask that JCs acquire their Food Handler’s Permit on their own time (class is virtual, around 30 minutes). You can find the course here: SRHD. Once you have completed this course, please email a copy of your certificate to Battle Ax at arussell@ymcainw.org.  

Not at all! We encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a Junior Counselor to apply! We welcome all who want to become JCs and give back to the community, even if you have never been to Camp before. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out at Alex “Battle Ax” Russell at arussell@ymcainw.org.