Salaries
All summer staff positions come with room and board. Summer staff also have the option to raise additional support through our Amicus program.

What can I expect to earn per week?
Salaries for first year counselors and support staff at our Santa Cruz camps start at $175 per week; program positions range from $190-$320 per week.

Salaries for first year counselors and support staff at Kidder Creek start at $175 per week; program positions start at $197 per week.

Higher weekly salaries for returning staff
Staff returning for a 2nd summer at any of our 4 camps earn an additional $30 per week; staff returning for a 3rd (or more) summer earn an additional $55 per week.

-                     Tips will no longer be distributed to staff at Ponderosa Lodge, Redwood Camp or Echo. The minimum start salary at Ponderosa, Redwood, and Echo has been increased to $175 weekly (from $155/wk) to compensate for this lost income.

-                     Salaries at the Conference Center will also be raised to a minimum start salary of $175 per week.

-                     Tips will be distributed to all Summer and Part-time staff at the Center. Summer Staff will receive tips in their pay check (not in cash, as in years past).

-                     For Summer Staff working at the Center: your weekly salary will be a combination of tips and wages. For example, if you earn $175 per week: $20 of that amount will be in tips. In order to guarantee you the same weekly salary throughout the summer, we are estimating that each week our guests will donate the equivalent of $20/week per staff member in tips (this weekly estimate is based on what guests have donated over the past 5 years).

-                     If the amount of tips that come in during the summer is more than $20/week per person, then the surplus tips will be distributed equally amongst Center staff. There will be no penalty to CC pay should the tip total fail to reach the estimated amount.

-                     Kidder Creek does not participate in the tip program. The base pay rate at KC will be set at $175 per week to match comparable positions at the Santa Cruz sites.

-                     The bonus program for returning staff will continue at all our sites. Staff returning for their 2^nd year will receive an additional $30 per week. Staff returning for their 3^rd (or more) summer will receive an additional $55 per week.