FAQs

Domestic staff applicants should complete and submit the online staff application. In addition, new applicants are required to submit three references prior to their interview date. Once we receive your application, Camp Barney will follow up with instructions for scheduling your interview. More information on the application process is available here. If you have any questions, please call 678.812.3844. 

International staff applicants must apply through CampAmerica, JCUSA, or JAFI.

Applicants will be notified within one month of their interview date. Camp Barney will send you either an employment “Letter of Agreement” (possibly for a position other than one for which you applied), a written commitment to hire you for one of several positions by mid-March, or a letter explaining our inability to offer employment at that time. We will make concrete job offers as soon as possible, but in some cases, we may only be able to commit to hiring for an unspecified position at camp before assigning a specific role. 

Please click here to view our salary schedule for domestic summer staff. Due to the increased expenses of international travel and work visas,  salaries for international staff are determined through their hiring agency.

Please check out our personnel policies for more information.

We devote an entire week to staff training prior to camp arrival. This includes staff bonding, general skill development, and training on technical skills specific to your position.

International staff arrive one day before their orientation begins so that they have time to adjust to the time difference and get a feel for camp.

Head staff arrive a week earlier than other staff to learn about their roles, develop leadership skills, and become a part of camp’s management team.

Campers and Staff come to Camp Barney to escape the city and suburbs and enjoy a more rustic style of living in a natural environment. Instead of using air-conditioning, most of our buildings (including most staff housing) feature large screens to let the natural breeze in. All housing has electricity. Each cabin is in a village that has a bathhouse with bathroom, sinks, and showers.

Some housing at camp has air conditioning and private bathrooms. This housing is typically reserved for management staff, nursing staff, and office staff. If you have any concerns about living in the rustic settings described above, please make sure to share that with your interviewer.

In the mountains north of Atlanta, we enjoy generally pleasant weather throughout the summer with highs typically in the mid 80s (around 30°C) and overnight lows in the 60s (around 18°C). On some of the earlier nights of staff training, overnight temperatures sometimes dip into the 50s (around 12°C). Each summer, we typically have a few hot days (especially in July) that get into the upper 90s (around 36°C).

While most days are beautiful and sunny, we do have some rainy days during the summer so we advise bringing a rain coat with you.

During our staff training, we’ll provide training on modifying plans based around weather conditions.

For a complete list, please click here to see our suggested packing list. For international staff, please check the pack list for information about what we will provide to you. We will transport international staff members to WalMart on the day after arrival so you can purchase any items that you would prefer not to travel with.

Staff who live or have families in the Atlanta area are expected to do laundry at home during their day off to avoid overloading our in-camp laundry. For any staff who live outside of the Atlanta area or for head staff members, we offer a complimentary laundry service in camp that is available throughout the week. Typical turnaround time is less than one day.

7:15am- Wake up
8:00am- Breakfast
8:45am- Cabin Clean-up, Health Call, Activity Prep (for Specialty Staff)
9:15 am- Activity 1 (Campers participate in most activities with their cabin group)
10:30am- Activity 2
11:45am- Lunch
12:45pm- Activity 3
2:00pm- Rest Hour, Canteen, Mail
3:00pm- Activity 4
4:15pm- Activity 5
5:45pm- Dinner
6:45pm- Activity 6
8:00pm- Activity 7
8:45pm- Milkline (milk & cookies before bedtime!)
9:15pm- Activity 8/Evening Programs for older campers
12:30am- Staff in Camp
1:00am- Staff in Cabins

Yes! Each staff member will have 1-2 one-hour activity periods off each day and three full days off per four-week session. Several times a week, you will also have two to three hours during which you can leave camp at night after campers go to sleep. Staff are expected to return to camp by 12:30 AM with an in-cabin curfew of 1:00 AM. In addition, staff will have two days and nights off between first and second sessions.  

We schedule activities for staff usage. Typically, these are social occasions for staff to get to know each other while participating in activities that aren’t a part of their job roughly once per week. When possible, we also schedule free swim for our staff at the pool.

During nights off, staff can travel into our nearby towns of Cleveland and Helen to visit local restaurants and stores. We coordinate staff programs in camp and in town for staff enjoyment. Staff members with ideas for great staff programs are encouraged to work with our programming team to develop experiences for other staff.

Most days off are approximately 30 hours long, giving staff plenty of time to travel to nearby cities like Atlanta, Athens, Chattanooga, or Asheville. We help organize carpools or provide buses to help staff without cars get to Atlanta. We also have a network of volunteer host families in Atlanta. We make our best attempts to connect staff from outside of the Atlanta area with these host families to provide lodging and guidance during their days off. Many staff also choose to use their days off exploring the Chattahoochee National Forest, which offers hiking, camping, rock climbing, tubing, and paddling. Of course, sometimes it’s just great to spend a day off hanging out in camp!

Check out Discover Atlanta for information about some of the exciting things you can do in Atlanta.

Staff have access to our air conditioned staff lounge featuring comfortable seating, big screen TVs with satellite TV, and plenty of games. WiFi is available for staff at the staff lounge and in the main office. At the main office we have computers available for staff use with cameras for making video calls. We have locked storage available at the office for staff members to store valuable personal belongings that they do not want to keep in their cabins.

All meals in camp are kosher. There are accommodations and options for special diets and dietary restrictions at every meal. We encourage you to speak with us during your interview if you have questions or concerns.