Volunteer Counselors

Counselor Information

From June to August, around 175 high school to college aged young adults volunteer to counsel one week at CYC. Our counselors love their faith and share a desire to serve our campers. They also happen to be the goofiest people we know, enjoy spontaneous dance parties, and are not afraid to step outside their comfort zone. If you are 16 or older, we want you to apply! We promise that you will get to know some of the best kids you will ever meet and make some of the best friends you will ever have.

Each week, Counselors are responsible for a lot of the FUN that happens at CYC. With the help of your director, you will run many of Catholic Youth Camp’s daily events. Depending on the week, you may host a talent show, perform in an epic lip sync battle, or lead songs around the campfire. Counselors also help run some of our outdoor activities, which include things like archery, GaGa ball, and low ropes. You will team up with our summer staff to lead a cabin of around 20 campers. Counselors get to invest in our campers by building relationships within their cabins and small groups. You must work hard to learn names and faces, be available to campers by sleeping in the cabins, and be willing to pitch in on things like dish team and end of camp cleaning. Because counseling will require full focus and energy, cell phones and other electronics will generally not be allowed during the week. Aside from 2-3 evening socials, this is a fast paced, high energy, 24/7 volunteer experience.

By uniting faith and fun, it is our mission to serve youth and young adults as they become joyfilled missionary disciples of Christ. It is essential that our counselors are united in this mission. We are looking for:

1.) Disciples: Counselors should be exemplars of true servant leadership and must be capable of representing Church teachings.

2.) Mature: Counselors must have the ability to cope with stress and cooperate well with others while attending to their personal needs. 

3.) Hard workers: Counselors must have the ability to follow directions, complete tasks, and demonstrate a willingness to learn.

To apply:

1.) All counselors must fill out an ONLINE APPLICATION.

2.) All counselors must complete a counselor application packet (the packet can be found under "Documents" on the left hand side of this page). If you are a new counselor, please bring your completed packet to your counselor training (information about trainings below). Returning counselors must mail their packets to Catholic Youth Camp by May 1st. 

3.) If you are a new counselor, or have not counseled in the last three years, we also require that you attend a counselor training. You will be able to select which counselor training you want to attend during your online registration.

Counselors can earn up to 56 service hours per week and are required to be at camp at 11:00am on the Saturday before their week begins. Counselors are generally done cleaning by 3:00pm on Friday. Counselors must be available for the entirety of their week.
 
Counsel at CYC this summer to serve campers and pray hard and we guarantee that you will grow in your relationship with Christ and make lasting memories and friendships. We truly appreciate your interest in serving our youth. 

Feel free to contact the office at 515-309-1936 or office@stmcenter.com if you have any questions. Thank you! 

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Important Links: 

Online Registration Link: Counselor Registration
Counselor Reference Link: Counselor Reference Form
Counselor Packet: Counselor Packet 2021

Virtus online training instructions: click HERE

Counselor Retreat Days: 
April 24th (Zoom/Offsite) - Most likely to change date if on Zoom. 
May 16th - Camp
June 4th - Camp - Noon-4pm at St. Thomas More Center

If you can no longer attend your selected training day and need to change it, please click here to log back in to your account and choose another date.