Director Sought for General Assembly Covenant Children's Camp

In an effort to create an integrated religious experience for our children at our largest gathering as a faith community, the General Assembly Planning Committee (GAPC) is seeking applications for a Camp Director. The Camp Director will provide the content and implementation of a day camp that engages children in actively deepening and developing their faith formation around covenant and how we gather, the two areas of focus for General Assembly (GA) 2013.

The Camp Director will be responsible for both creating the curriculum and implementing that curriculum during the hours listed below. In addition, the Director will recruit, hire and supervise up to two additional volunteer assistants and will supervise the two professional (KiddieCorp) staff. After the camp, a summary report will be provided to the GAPC and the GA Office no later than July 15.

Logisitics

The camp will be headquartered in the Marriott Hotel in downtown Louisville, within walking distance many activities and museums (map).

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has contracted with KiddieCorp to:

• provide staff for check-in and pick-up
• provide two staff members during camp hours
• provide snacks and beverages
• process criminal history/felony background checks on all caregivers

Maximum number of campers: 24

Age of campers: completed grade 4 – 8 or the equivalent for home schooled youth.

Camp hours:
Wednesday, June 19, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday, June 20, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday, June 21, 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday, June 23, 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Curriculum

The curriculum should actively engage the children in exploring issues of covenant and how we gather as a religious people. These are the issues being explored by the youth and adult attendees at GA 2013. In addition, the children should investigate how covenant and gathering intersect issues of environmental justice. Currently plans for the large public witness are to address fracking, mountain top removal, and potable water. This curriculum should be grounded in our faith tradition and fun for our children.

The curriculum should include plans to share and expose the activities and learnings of the children to the youth, young adult and larger GA community. Specific plans for displays, public performances, interactions with GA attendees via songs or games or other ways to educate and inform the larger community of the camp's activities should be included in your proposal. This is intended to be an opportunity to make the children's presence known, but should not constitute the majority of the curriculum. Think about options such as creating and displaying their art work, impromptu activities that they can engage other attendees with in the hallway, videos that can be put on the UUA website, petitioning attendees to take action on what they have learned, making signs for the public witness, etc. You will be able to display things in the exhibit hall and engage others UUs in the hallways and might choose to ask the campers to attend the public witness as a group. At this point, no accommodation has been made for time in plenary hall or at any of the full assembly gatherings (but you can always ask). Your curriculum will be the property of UUA and may be distributed free of charge to Unitarian Universalist congregations.

Curriculum Resources and Budget

You are welcome to use any of the existing UU curriculum resources and any of the local Louisville resources. You may want to consider the Children’s Museum, the Muhammad Ali Museum, the Louisville Slugger Museum, the Glass Museum, and many other options in downtown Louisville. There is a local trolley that moves through the middle of downtown. The total for any materials that you purchase and/or any admittance fees for all attendees and all staff must be less than $1,800 for the entire week of camp.

Desired Skills, Experience and Background of Camp Director

We are seeking a Unitarian Universalist who has previous experience providing day camp experiences in multi-age environments. The Director will be familiar with and be responsible for implementing any and all safe congregation recommendations for children’s programming. The Director will be well versed in Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression/Multicultural work. Preference will be given to professional religious educators. Individuals of all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, orientations, preferences, classes, gender, sex, and theological orientation are encouraged to apply.

Compensation

Director honorarium of  $750, six nights housing (one room at a hotel determined by UUA near the convention center) and GA registration for the director. GA registration for up to two additional volunteers. All staff will also be fed with the children.

How to Apply

All applications must include:

• a letter indicating why you are seeking this opportunity,
• general description of learning objectives for the camp,
• a letter of recommendation from a congregation or UU camp where you have crafted and delivered week-long curriculum,
• a sample of a week-long curriculum that you have created for this age group, and
• a general letter of recommendation addressing how you manage children and volunteers.

Please assemble the materials described above and submit them to Janiece Sneegas, Director of General Assembly and Conference Services at jsneegas@uua.org. All applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST on February 15.

Questions regarding curriculum can be addressed to General Assembly Planning Committee member Debra Gray Boyd, (614) 353-0505, debra.gapc@gmail.com.

Questions regarding compensation and budget can be addressed to General Assembly Director Janiece Sneegas, (617) 948-4207, jsneegas@uua.org.