Country Dance and Song Society

Camp Work Information

Office Work

Special Work Scholarships

These are the different kinds of jobs, beyond the regular camper jobs (see Camplife), that are available at our camps. Each is applied for differently and that information is given below.

Office Work [Back to Top]

CDSS hires 3 people to work for the 7 weeks at Pinewoods, another 2 for the week at Timber Ridge and for the weeks at Ogontz. These positions are usually filled by February 1, sometimes earlier. These positions include Bookstore Manager, Fundraiser and Bookkeeper. If you are interested in one of these, please send a resume and letter detailing your experience and availability to at CDSS.

Special Work Scholarships [Back to Top]

These are full and partial scholarship jobs that are filled for each week and that should not interfere with class participation. If you are interested in one of these, please send a resume and letter requesting a job and week to at CDSS or write for more information. The jobs include:

Lifeguard: full scholarship and Assistant Lifeguard: partial scholarship.

Requirements: current Life Saving & Water Safey, CPR and First Aid certificates, including AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) use. The lifeguard must be at camp and ready to work by 3:00 pm on the first day of the week and is needed through breakfast on the final day. The lifeguard is stationed at the dock, generally for two one-hour sessions each day. The life guard is responsible for informing campers of and enforcing water safety rules. Except at Family sessions, the lifeguard is also the designated first aid person, in the delicate position of assisting the campers and staff without dispensing medicine or medical advice. If needed, the CDSS staff will call an ambulance or transport an injured camper to the hospital or clinic. For Family and Campers' weeks, there are more specific and tightly controlled waterfront rules, an assistant life guard is present and the doctor or nurse will fulfill the first aid duties.

Dining Hall Manager: full scholarship.

Dining Hall Manager oversees the operations of the dining hall (not the kitchen) under the instructions of the dish washer and head cook. The main task is managing the campers who have dining hall jobs (about 60 campers). The Dining Hall Manager must be in the dining hall at all times that campers are working there. Each meal takes about two hours from first table setting to last dishes washed. The duties should not interfere with class time. Table setting does overlap with most lifeguarded swim times. Another aspect of the job is the managing, in cooperation with the CDSS office staff and the program director, any meal time announcements. This job has a real effect on the quality of life at camp. Many campers go home with their impressions of the eating, both food quality and dining hall comfort, weighing almost equally with the classes in their impressions of camp. The Dining Hall Manager must be at camp and ready to work by 4:00 on the day the week begins, and is on duty until the last dishes are washed for the last morning's breakfast.

Doctor or Nurse: Full Scholarship, Family and Campers' weeks only.

The doctor or nurse is the designated first aid person, in the delicate position of being on call at all times to assist the campers and staff without dispensing medicine or medical advice. It is also necessary to staff the first aid room, a self serve station with no medicine stocked, for one designated hour each day. If needed, The CDSS staff will call an ambulance or transport an injured camper to the hospital or clinic.

Sound System: pay to full scholarship; all weeks.

At each week the duties include setting up the main sound system each morning and closing it down and locking it up each night; also seeing that the second sound system is off and neat each evening. At some sessions the duties also include running the system through the evening dances and checking the system during the classes.

Work Scholarships [Back to Top]

There is work scholarship aid available at every week. These scholarships entail approximately 90 minutes of work every day: at Pinewoods, as dishwasher helper; at Timber Ridge and Ogontz, the work includes assisting the Camp Director in various tasks. Additional scholarship aid is available to potential and practicing teachers, leaders and musicians. If you are interested in this, please apply to the week and enclose a Scholarship Application Form.

Special Crew [Back to Top]

At our Family programs at all 3 camps, we have partial scholarships available for Roving Monitors. This is work during the evening dance -- probably 1/3 to 1/2 of the dance time. In some cases this task can be coupled with other tasks to increase the scholarship amount. Please send a resume and letter requesting a job to at CDSS or write for more information.

Camp Crew [Back to Top]

Each camp also has a crew of its own. These include kitchen and grounds workers. The positions range from paid to volunteer and from 1 or 2 weeks to the length of the season (about 13 weeks). CDSS is not involved in hiring those crews. Inquiries should be made to the camp managers at the addresses below. They usually have their crews in place by early April.

Pinewoods Camp:
Judy Savage, manager
80 Cornish Field Rd
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 224-4858
Timber Ridge Camp:
We don't yet know their crew system Ogontz Camp
Lynn Kent
245 Cove Point W
Charlestown, RI 02813
(401) 322-0637
no email

Program Staff [Back to Top]

Program Staff positions (dance teachers, singers and musicians) are hired by each Program Director. If you are interest in these, send a resume and cover letter to at CDSS for each week that interests you. He will forward them to the Program Directors. Most of these positions are filled by December 1.

413-268-7426
FAX: 413-268-7471

Country Dance and Song Society
132 Main St/PO Box 338
Haydenville, MA 01039-0338

Office Hours M-F 9:30am - 5:00pm EST

http://www.cdss.org/