Why become a counselor?

As Counselors, the American kids are teamed one-on-one with a Russian child for activities including sports, arts & crafts, music, hikes and friendship. Although Counselors and Campers do not share a common language, the connections made – through smiles, sign language and undivided attention – are miraculous. For the rest of their lives, they always know that someone, somewhere really loved them. That human connection provides a never-ending spark of hope, no matter what the future holds.

The pay-offs of a program like Camp Siberia can hardly be understated. The children who experience the fun and undivided attention of caring counselors return to their orphanage with a new sense of joy and hope.

The young adults who travel half a world away come home with a new appreciation of the world and its diversity and of the gifts they have to offer that world. Just listen to what some returning Counselors have had to say:

"This program has completely changed my life thus far. Years have passed yet I still reflect on those three weeks often, and everyday I discover a new way in which I look at my world differently due to my time at a little house in Siberia."
-Maggie Pool

"Camp Siberia is something I find myself thinking about on a daily basis. It taught me about the power of love and has shaped the way I interact with people and see the world. Most importantly, it has inspired me to continue to show compassion to people wherever I can."
-Gordon Taylor

"Like all counselors who are blessed with the experience to be a part of Camp Siberia, I went to Russia thinking that my life would be changed, as was promised to me by the stories of others. But I had no idea that that "life changing" experience would change my views, change my life, change my heart. For from Camp Siberia, and my wonderful, troubled 13 year old Vanya, came my first encounter with the pain that comes with love. And from my crazy, beautiful 13 year old Natasha, came the experience of the joy that has an equal share in all that is love. For Camp Siberia, aside from from being everything else that it is, and it is everything to me, is love."
-Lizzie Scott

“…Since coming home, I don’t take things lightly anymore and I treasure everyone and everything around me…”
-Amanda Allender

“…It changed the way I live, think and see people…”
-Rob Spenser

"According to the Grateful Dead, “Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.” Who would have thought that two young, innocent, and beautiful boys living in a country ravaged by political turmoil and economic strife would teach me the meaning of love and happiness? But they did. Last summer was the third year that Camp Siberia planted the seeds of love and hope in a country badly in need of both. I was one of the lucky sixteen Bainbridge High students who traveled half-way around the world to a dacha (a Russian summer house), perched at the top of a valley overlooking the breathtaking countryside outside Novosibirsk, Siberia. Our mission was to create an American-style summer camp to bring fun and joy to a group of Russian orphans.

I met some of the most important people in my life on this trip. Two of the most important were those teachers, “my orphans,” Nikita and Edik. As a counselor, I spent every waking moment of each 4-day session with my camper, laughing, playing, and enjoying the time together, giving them all of my time and energy, my complete attention and love. Language wasn’t a barrier: we didn’t need words. Eleven-year-old Nikita, with the blondest hair and the brightest smile, will go away next year to military boarding school; this was his last summer of childhood. My other camper was nine-year-old Edik whose overflowing energy intertwined with his joy of living and being – once again – with someone who cared about him.

They showed me that whatever my troubles on Bainbridge Island, they are nothing compared to the ones Edik and Nikita face daily. Edik especially taught me how to deal with the curves life throws. He was born with a serious heart condition and has already undergone three open-heart surgeries; his fourth surgery was scheduled for the end of this past summer.

As if this were not hardship enough, Edik was orphaned last year when he and his mother were struck by a car. Although badly injured and now permanently scarred, Edik survived, but his mother did not. He now lives in an orphanage.

Despite all this, Edik is brave and hopeful enough to love another person, to run around the dacha like any other nine-year-old boy, and to take off his shirt even with the battle wounds from the three surgeries and the accident crisscrossing his back. How could anyone, I thought, live life with so much happiness and love after such ordeals? Edik showed me that you can and that you must move on in life and find other people to love even if you only spend a few days with them at a camp in the middle of the Siberian countryside.

During the time I spent with “my boys”, they showed me how powerful love can be. Yes, they still have to go back to the orphanage, but for those four days they are at camp, they are given love and hope that, I believe, will give them the strength to live their life with a positive outlook. They now know that there will always be someone who cares for them. There will always be a boy in America whose thoughts of them are filled with love and good wishes."
-Tristan Owens

Parent Perspectives

"I knew in my heart that a service project that involved cultural exchange as well as helping others could only be life-changing for all involved, but I had no idea that the experience that Camp Siberia provided would set the direction for my son Jack's education and vocational pursuit. Thank you Janie, and all involved with Camp Siberia, for providing this rich and meaningful opportunity for young people here and in Novosibirsk."
-Ann New - Parent of a Counselor, 2002

"It takes more than one hand to list the significant benefits of the Camp Siberia experience. For a teenager from Bainbridge Island, it provides a opportunity to learn about yourself and your capacity to adapt to new situations and challenges. Strong and lasting relationships are formed on several levels - both between the counselors and campers, and among the counselors. The shared experience of Camp Siberia forges relationships among the counselors that will last their entire lives. Learning first-hand about the lives of the campers and their circumstances opens the hearts of the counselors in amazing ways; they see that there is so much need in the world for compassion and connection. Their ability to form strong connections with the campers in spite of a huge language barrier is astonishing. In short, Camp Siberia opens the eyes and hearts of the counselors in ways that change their lives. The experience is wonderful for the campers, and perhaps even more wonderful for the counselors. Camp Siberia is an amazing gift to all who are associated with it. "
-Demi Allen - Parent of a Counselor, 2008

"....Cassidy, our counselor, came home so much more confident and a carries a certain gratefulness (corny sounding but true) that is hard to put into words. She was always compassionate, and an eager volunteer in the community, but to this day, now 6 years later, she is more connected and committed to making a difference. I believe nothing has influenced her in a positive way more than this experience.

Letting go, loving more, learning about the world, opening up, and being challenged, bring some Kleenex."
-Cris and Deb Ugles - Parents of a Counselor, 2003

“Seeing the young woman my daughter has become after this trip confirmed for me that letting go – and letting her go – was a gift I had to give her!”
-Erin Gallagher Whitson - Parent of a Counselor, 2002

“I thought my son was a good kid before he went to Russia, but the experience of working with children whose lives have been so much harder than his just opened up his mind – and especially his heart – to the rest of the world. He came back a kinder, more open and inquisitive person.”
-Ellin Spenser - Parent of a Counselor, 2001, 2002 and 2005