Refer | Camp Augusta

Know Someone Groovy?

Camp Augusta’s Staff Referral Program

Hello there!

Did you land here looking to suggest someone to join the Camp Augusta community? We’re stoked to hear from you, and we’ve created a packet of referral resources to aid you in your connections.

Before making your referral, there are also some important considerations to keep in mind prior to sending us contact information for all of your wonderful friends. 🙂 Please read this page in its entirety before connecting us with your pal!

Four images side by side: a smiling chef holding a spoon, a person in a green dragon costume, and three people outdoors—two posing and one holding a guitar—against a backdrop of sunlit trees.

Once you are ready to make the referral, you can send us all the details using the form below.

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The Incentive:

Some proper match-making deserves compensation.

$100 for any referral who turns in a quality round one application AND
An additional $900 for any referral that is successfully hired and completes the summer

Don’t want a check?
The $100/$900 value can put toward:

Personal or professional development workshops (check with Camp first)!
A donation to some realm of camp important to you
A camper scholarship fund
Camp repair/infrastructure

A half watermelon on a platter with the words Camp Augusta donor carved into the red flesh, using the green rind for each letter. The background is a dark green surface.

Knowing Who to Connect With Augusta

Our search for great camp staff often has us looking for people who are not necessarily seeking a traditional summer camp job. They seek a rewarding and challenging experience, have experience and passion for working with children, and yet have not considered camp life.

There are a myriad of unique qualities that can fit well at Camp. From high-energy adventure enthusiasts to creative and contemplative mentors, we want to hear about what makes your potential referral a great fit. That said, we have found a few qualities that are common to all our successful staff referrals.

Strong referrals include folks who:

Love children – inspiring, teaching, and encouraging kids is their passion. They have some professional experience and future plans to work with children.
Are looking for a community and job that they can return to for several years (or more!)
Have a spark and zest for life, are not strangers to hard work, and also know when it’s a good time to break out in song and dance.

All must be 19 by June 1st and be able to make the full summer dates.
Keep in mind, even with your best intentions, not all referrals will be hired or will choose to join Augusta in the summer. Please remember this is not a reflection of you or your referral.

Things to share about Camp Augusta

With all potential staff, we are eager to make sure that opportunities at Camp Augusta are a good fit for their experience, interests, and needs. An honest insight into the joys and challenges of a summer at Augusta is important when chatting to anyone about applying.

The Staff Experience page offers valuable fodder to share about life and work at Camp. Some highlights include:

Three young people sit outdoors playing acoustic guitars together, focused on their music. Trees and blurred greenery are visible in the background, creating a relaxed, natural setting.

A group of people lying on their backs in a circle on a wooden floor, heads together and smiling up at the camera, creating a sense of unity and friendship.

Two people wearing harnesses cross a high ropes course suspended between trees, silhouetted against a clear blue sky with sunlight streaming through the branches below.

A mobile ice cream stand with a red striped canopy is parked among trees. Three women are inside serving, and the stand advertises Fresh Fruit Freezes and Ice Cream Bars. A red truck is parked behind.

Reasons people work (and return) to Augusta:

A calling to inspire children and foster social/emotional growth
For personal and professional challenge and growth
To make lasting connections with campers and staff
To make a positive impact on the world and lives of others
Build lasting friendships with an intentional community
To solve interesting problems
To explore your leadership potential
Career growth opportunities

Benefits of working at Augusta:

Fresh, local, and organic meals
On-site housing on 90+ acres in the woods of Northern California
100+ hours of pre-training that has been taught as a college accredited course, teaching skills such as non-violent communication and success counseling
Emotional growth – Camp will do wonders for your heart, soul, and karma through NVC
Creative Liberty – millions of ways to contribute
Flat Hierarchy – community driven, empowered staff
Fun – Learn to be intentional with your play
Camper Bonds – lasting memories of inspiring kids
Staff Bonds – international flair, diversity

Consider if…

Mentoring, teaching, and connecting with kids most of each day, 6 days a week sounds exciting
Sleeping under the stars, in an open air cabin, or platform tent feels like home
90 degree days spent playing outside until you can’t tell dirt lines from tan lines is their jam
When concerned or frustrated with a situation, they embrace curiosity and compassion

With this in mind, if you envision your friend at home at Augusta, we will be absolutely thrilled to connect!

Finding Referrals – How To (with templates!)

At the money level:

“If you were on a dedicated mission to get a single staff to work at camp (rumplestiltskin style), how long would it take you?” Take a guess at hours. Now divide $1000 by that number. That’s an approximate $/hr amount we want to pay you to get us this staff.
What could you do with $1000?
That is about 4 weeks of working at camp.

At the heart level…:

Work with a friend/someone you got here! They’ll join the Augustan family.
This is a huge help to camp and, thus, campers.

Ready to find a staff and get $1000? Here is a fresh KM document on How to Get a Referral Bonus. It includes the top 10 strategies (highlighted), referral templates to use, links to photo banks, flyers, and posting blurbs, and more.

How to Get a $1000 Referral Bonus

We really want to get you money and get us staff. If there is anything that we can do to help you get a referral (e.g. talking with an internship coordinator at a school you connected with, sharing/creating more resources, etc.) let us know how we can be helpful.

We’ll also be hosting group calls to talk about this sort of outreach. Hope to see you there. 🙂

Here are some pictures that you might use in your networking, and there are more here.

A halved watermelon on a platter with “Camp Augusta” carved into the red flesh using the green rind, displayed on a dark green tablecloth.

Three kids wearing paint-splattered shirts and rubber gloves smile and pose outdoors while making tie-dye. Colorful tie-dye fabrics hang on a line behind them among green trees.

A smiling person in a red dress and black hat is splashed with water from a blue bucket outdoors, while others behind them are also being splashed and laughing on a sunny day.

A person dressed as a pirate, wearing a tricorn hat and an eye patch, leans forward on a table while interacting with two children at an outdoor event surrounded by trees and tents.

A person hangs upside down on a large, vertical spinning wheel outdoors while others stand nearby holding balls, preparing to throw them. A group sits on the left, watching and taking notes. Shoes are on the ground below the wheel.

A group of people outdoors, covered in colorful powder, joyfully throwing powder into the air during a celebration, surrounded by trees and bright sunlight.

Five people and a goat sit on a floating platform with a white canopy, supported by two canoes, on a calm lake surrounded by trees and cabins in the background.

A person wearing a welding mask squats on gravel, holding a glass panel angled toward the sun. They appear to be solar cooking food in a tray on the ground beneath the panel.

Four kids play outside with foam, laughing and spraying each other with water blasters. They are covered in bubbles, enjoying a sunny day on green grass with trees in the background.

Making the Referral

Send the hiring team an email with a heads-up that you have someone in mind for Augusta!

Have an honest conversation with your potential referral to make sure this opportunity is a good fit for their interests and goals. See the sections above for good points to chat about.

When everyone feels ready, please send us along their contact information using the form below or have them submit an interest form. Make sure they let us know that you sent them!

If you know them well, tell us more about the person and why you think they would be a great fit! Email us a thoughtful letter of recommendation or fill out our referral form below to answer the following questions:

1. How do you know the candidate?
2. In what ways do you see the candidate excelling at camp?
3. In what ways do you see the candidate being challenged at camp?
4. What are five main ways the candidate will contribute to camp?
5. What is the candidate’s professional experience with children?
6. If you recently met them and don’t have a lot of insight, share (email or call) about how you met them, what you talked about thus far, and any initial impressions.

Thank you for taking the time to connect us with fantastic humans to join our team. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, we are happy to chat!

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