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Volunteer

FAQ

Do I get paid?

No everyone is a volunteer but we do provide a $300 travel stipend if you commit to volunteering for 2 or more weeks.

What are the sleeping arrangements like?

There are 8 cabins at camp that sleep 8-10 people in bunk beds. Each cabin has a bathroom with an indoor and outdoor shower. We also have smaller cabins for overflow volunteers that sleep 2-4 people.

Do you have any time to yourself?

Camp Jabberwocky is a fun and challenging place for everyone in the community. Counselors are expected to put themselves second to campers and camp as a whole, which helps for it to run smoothly and it gives campers an unforgettable summer experience. That being said, counselors are given about 1-2 “nights off” where they may leave camp starting at dinner time until midnight. In the past, counselors usually do not want to leave for a night because it is so much fun!

What is the most important thing to pack?

A bathing suit and your positive attitude! Do not bring towels or sheets/linens if you want them to return home with you at the end of the summer!

What can I do to prepare?

Get some sleep! Days at camp are booked solid with fun and challenging activities so feeling fresh and energized when you arrive would be very helpful.

What will my responsibilities be?

Camp is the sum of all its parts! It is a strong community of people who work together, take initiative and have a lot of fun in the process. A counselor’s biggest and most important responsibility are the campers and their daily care. Each counselor is also assigned a chore that usually occurs once a day such as: cleaning bathrooms, making lunch, mopping the main cabin floors, dishes, laundry, setting tables, clearing tables and more. Counselors and campers teach the morning classes so bring your special talent and teach us all about it!

What does a day at Jabberwocky look like?

Days vary at camp depending on the activities, but a typical week day might look like this:

  • 7:15: Wake up!
  • 8:00: Breakfast (sometimes hot, sometimes cold)
  • 9:00 Music
  • 10:00: Period #1 (A variety of classes are provided such as art, pottery, sports, kayaking, horseback riding, trips, poetry, computers, yoga, meditation… anything YOU want to teach!)
  • 11:00 Period #2
  • 12:00: Wash hands!
  • 12:15: Lunch
  • 2:00 Load the bus for the BEACH!
  • 5/5:30: Showers
  • 6/:6:30: Dinner
  • 7/7:30 Evening Activity (Variety of things like getting ice cream downtown, MV Sharks Baseball games, band concerts, studio night, performance by the Vineyard Sound, Prom, cookout/drumming on the beach, night kayaking, fishing trip on the Skipper, challenge night and so much more!)
camper and volunteer hugging

Volunteer

Interested in joining our family by volunteering? We need doctors, nurses, cooks, program specialists, and direct care volunteers.
You can volunteer for a day, a weekend, or a season. Find out exactly how you can help.

Apply now

Volunteers

Jabberwocky volunteers, like Jabberwocky campers, return year after year. Typically, from one year to the next, about 75% of the volunteers return. This phenomenon started during the early years of the camp and continues to this day. It is not uncommon to find volunteers who have been around for five to thirty years, and occasionally longer.

Since everyone lives, eats, and plays together, community life becomes a team effort. For example, cooking, cleaning, problems solving, and decision making are not tasks reserved for any particular individual. Rather, they are responsibilities entrusted to the entire group.

Jabberwocky is a place where long days, common work, and frequent celebration transform strangers into brothers and sisters. Indeed for many volunteers, Jabberwocky is not just a good place to work: it’s a home.

We provide onsite housing, food, and a travel stipend.

camper and volunteer in a hammock

Program Volunteers

During the morning, between breakfast and lunch, campers participate in classes in a range of different areas. A Program Volunteer is someone who facilitates classes during this morning time, in an area of their expertise.

Cooks

Cooks, with the help of other volunteers, are responsible for making breakfast and dinner daily for 50 - 100 people. They also help plan lunch.

camper and volunteer having fun
volunteers costume party

Medical Volunteers

We are always looking for volunteers in the medical field. From our nurses to our doctors, each one of them volunteers their time to contribute to the Jabberwocky community. We provide onsite housing, food, and a travel stipend.

Other opportunities

If you are interested in volunteering in other ways, we have lots of ideas. Some opportunities include:

  • Gardening and planting

  • Helping with events

  • Clean-up before camp and between sessions

  • Closing camp for the Winter

  • Painting / fix-up projects

  • Laundry

  • Offering a specific class for a day or more (in the past this has included: poetry workshops, pottery, classes in felting, flower arranging, dance, yoga, acting, photography, art etc.)

If you are interested in helping out, please contact us at info@campjabberwocky.org

camper and volunteer on a boat

Dates - 2024

If you are interested in Volunteering for Summer Camp and/or Family Camp, please see our dates below.

Summer Camp

  • Work Weekend: May 24 - May 26
  • Orientation: June 19 - June 22
  • Session 1 Week 1: June 23- June 29
  • Session 1 Week 2: June 29- July 5
  • Orientation: July 6- July 7
  • Session 2 Week 3: July 8 - July 14
  • Session 2 Week 4: July 14 - July 20
  • Orientation: July 21 - July 23
  • Session 3 Week 5: July 24- July 30
  • Session 3 Week 6: July 30- August 5
  • Orientation: August 5- August 6
  • Session 4 Week 7: August 7 - August 13
  • Session 4 Week 8: August 13 - August 18
  • Pack and clean camp: August 18- August 20

Family Camp

  • Orientation: June 6
  • June Family Camp: June 7-June 10
  • Orientation: August 22
  • August Family Camp: August 23 - August 26
  • Orientation: August 29
  • Labor Day Family Camp: August 30- September 2

Become a volunteer

Interested in joining our family by volunteering?
We need doctors, nurses, cooks, program specialists, and direct care volunteers. You can volunteer for a day, a weekend, or a season. Find out exactly how you can help.

Apply now