Children from all backgrounds find that spending a few weeks at Echo Hill provides them with a nurturing community of peers and supportive adult counselors. This environment encourages and challenges them while fostering friendships that last a lifetime. Echo Hill’s unique mix of free-choice daily activities, spontaneous fun, and cherished camp traditions builds a sense of community and belonging that resonates with both new and returning campers.

Personally, I returned for four consecutive summers to the States during my university holidays. While other volunteer programs around the world interested me, I couldn’t resist another summer of rustic camping on the Chesapeake at Echo Hill. The emotional significance of those summers cannot be understated-they were life-changing and influenced the work I pursued for the next decade.

It was easy to see the profound impact camp had on young people. Watching our Campership kids grow year after year was simply phenomenal.

I first applied for the job when I was 18 (you had to be 18 to apply). Six weeks later, I landed stateside. Although I had worked on youth-based projects in the UK, I quickly discovered that Baltimore is very different from the Home Counties. Crime, poverty, and racism in the USA presented new challenges. However, after finding my footing, I established a network and a meaningful connection with the children I was there to serve-many of whom had never experienced the Chesapeake Bay and faced significant economic challenges that continue to impact their lives. These challenges often place them well below the poverty line, making the opportunity to attend sleepaway camp an unattainable dream.