Summer Camp Counselor

Position Title: Pawsitively Healing Camp – Camp Counselor

Salary: $1,482 for two weeks (approx 99 hrs total)

Duration: 6/10 through 6/22

onboarding/training 6/10 – 6/15, camp 6/17 to 6/21 (8:30AM-4:30PM)

Job Description/Responsibilities

Counselors will facilitate camp activities, supervise children and animals, direct volunteers, and ensure the safe and smooth implementation of summer camp programming. This will include lessons from the Pawsitively SEL curriculum, arts & crafts, team-building/icebreakers, lunch and snack times, and engagement with dogs, horses, and raptors. In addition, all staff will participate in a self-assessment to measure camp program quality.

Qualifications & Skills

Required

• Comfortable working with children AND animals
• Comfortable with facilitating group activities
• Adaptability and stress management
• Cultural sensitivity
• Strong communication skills
• A humane approach to both people and animals

Preferred

• Experience in counseling and/or child care
• Passion for animals
• Experience in dog handling
• Background in psychology, social work, and/or education
• CPR/First Aid Certification
• Familiarity with and knowledge of Indigenous traditions

Relationships

• Will work alongside five other Counselors, two Mental Health Specialists, and various volunteers
• Will report to Executive Director
• Will collaborate with guest presenters and visiting animal handlers to implement programming

Who We Are

The Arlee Rehabilitation Center (ARC) serves the Flathead Indian Reservation by providing a sanctuary where animals heal people and people heal animals. We serve the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Reservation residents burdened with poverty and historical trauma. We harness Reservation dog rescue to heal vulnerable people struggling with suicide risk, domestic abuse, and trauma.

We have 3 main programs.Our Reservation Canine Healing Experiment (RCHE) applies Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) and other tools in an effort to build resiliency and help mitigate the Native youth suicide crisis. It also offers safe sanctuary and animal-assisted therapy to victims of historical trauma and domestic abuse. We recognize the path to healing is layered and personal for each individual. ARC hopes to play a part, as the community works through deeply rooted and complex challenges together. ARC’s Paws on the Ground (POG) grassroots organizing program recruits Tribal community liaisons and volunteers to build trust and emergency response capacity for animals and pet-owners within hard-hit Reservation communities. Our Flathead Reservation Spay/Neuter Taskforce will carry out Trap & Release and Spay/Neuter Clinics while offering additional low-income veterinary support. Our vision is to ultimately transplant our innovative healing model to other Reservations.

ARC’s work is guided by a Cultural Sensitivity Position Statement that pledges a proactive effort at every opportunity to recruit, hire, involve, and embrace Tribal community members. Please visit our website at k9arc.org for more details.

Pawsitively Healing Camp

Our summer camp will run June 12-18, 9am-4pm in Arlee (at the Brown Building) and a nearby horse sanctuary. There will be approximately 25-30 campers, broken up into 2 age groups (8-10 and 11-13) and drawn largely from low-income, at-risk Reservation communities. We will offer transformative opportunities for kids to connect with dogs, horses, and raptors. Through our SEL curriculum, we aim to cultivate capacity for (1) Empathy, (2) Stress Management, (3) Self-Esteem/Self-Empowerment, and (4) Communication/Relationships. Our overarching goal is to build emotional resiliency that helps mitigate Native youth suicide risk.

The Pawsitively SEL curriculum (www.pawsitivelysel.com) will use canines to teach coping mechanisms that help youth overcome socioeconomic barriers. In addition, we will offer a guest presentation each day. Other activities will include animal-inspired Indigenous ledger art and cuddle time with canines. Presentation topics will include the traditional role of canines in Tribal culture, animal-related careers, and breed discrimination as a metaphor for cultural prejudice. We will provide nutritious locally sourced meals for each child, and hope to partner with Tribal Transport to provide shuttle services for Reservation families.

A required full week of training (June 10-15) will be our opportunity for team building and preparation for an exciting week of Pawsitively Healing!

Job Type: Temporary

Pay: $15.00 per hour

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Experience:

• Childcare: 1 year (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• First Aid Certification (Preferred)
• CPR Certification (Preferred)

Work Location: In person