The Mayhew Program, Bristol, NH -

Mayhew challenges and helps at-risk New Hampshire boys to believe in themselves, work well with others, and find their best. We accomplish this mission through a unique and award-winning year-round program comprised of a residential summer camp and a school-year mentoring program. Boys participate, tuition free, for eight years.

We’re looking for great people who are eager to be role models for the boys at our camp located on Mayhew Island in beautiful Newfound Lake. Here, the boys are challenged to help create a positive, supportive, and sustainable community both within their cabin groups and in the greater Island community.

“Hey, wait a minute,” you might be thinking, “that sounds like a summer camp to me. I don’t want to be a camp counselor.”

Yes, we run a camp program, but WAIT! We’re not your typical summer camp. Sure, we have lots of fun, but we’re a place with a serious mission as well.

What makes Mayhew different?

THE BOYS WE SERVE: Mayhew boys all come from disadvantaged backgrounds (low-income, single-parent homes) and participate tuition-free. Some boys are referred to Mayhew because they’ve demonstrated questionable behaviors at home and at school that make them at-risk for more serious problems in the future. Other boys simply lack opportunities to participate in the sorts of activities that Mayhew offers. Still other boys are referred to Mayhew simply because they can benefit from the boost in self-esteem that Mayhew often provides.

Regardless of the reason for their referrals, all Mayhew boys must make their own decision to join the Mayhew community and to strive to live up to its ideals and expectations.

OUR YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMMING: We’re called the Mayhew Program because we’re much more than a summer camp. Mayhew begins for the boys on the Island, but the support Mayhew offers lasts throughout the year with our community outreach. We employ 7 full-time staff members who visit with the boys in their home communities throughout the school year.

OUR AMAZING LOCATION: Mayhew’s summer program is lucky enough to call Mayhew Island home: an idyllic private island in Newfound Lake, New Hampshire.

OUR SMALL SIZE: With a counseling staff of 25 charged with working with just 42 boys during each of two summer sessions, you’ll be an integral part of a uniquely supportive and cohesive community. There’s a genuine camaraderie and shared sense of purpose among everyone at Mayhew.

OUR WELL-HONED PHILOSOPHY: Mayhew’s been around since 1969 and over the past 50+ years we’ve managed to create a very well-defined, well-practiced, and effective approach to working with the boys of the program. Everything we do is centered on the notion of working for the good of the group and the community. We emphasize the ideals of Respect, Responsibility, Community, and Challenge in everything we do. Mayhew offers great training in learning to work effectively with young people: an invaluable experience for anyone interested in teaching or working in the social services.

OUR FOCUS ON CREATING AN UNRELENTINGLY POSITIVE COMMUNITY:
Mayhew strives to be an overwhelmingly positive and supportive community for boys and staff alike. That’s not to say that we ignore negative behaviors, but our primary focus is on recognizing the positive contributions of the boys, no matter how small.

Take it from our staff:

My Mayhew experience concreted ideals that I believed in at the time of my arrival on the Island but did not have the language to articulate. Mayhew gave me that language. Now rich in the experience, I constantly apply principles learned (or re-learned) at Mayhew in my professional life. It is the primary reason why I am in a leadership position within the public education system.
Mayhew provided two axioms – I know, with no uncertainty, that groups of people with a common mission can effect change and that people within the group can change as well.
Personally, Mayhew is one of the two things in my life that I believe happened to me and saved my life.
Staff, 2003

Mayhew has been a large part of my life, going on to be about 7 years. I’ve now been on multiple sides of Mayhew, being a camper on the island, a link, and last summer a CIT. And in each of those positions I learned something, and grew as a person. Most importantly I learned what it meant to be part of a community. As a camper you have people to talk to, people who can relate to you. And when I was a CIT I had a community that showed me that they had my back. I felt comfortable, and I got happy when I was able to lend a hand, as they have done so many times. Mayhew has helped shape the person I am. And going on to work with Mayhew is helping me shape the person I want to be. I thank Mayhew for the opportunities that I have been given, and an even bigger thank you for letting me be part of the great community.
Staff, 2022

Benefits & Activities:

Make a meaningful difference in the lives of some very deserving boys
Develop practical & effective skills for working with youth
Challenge your own limitations and grow in more ways than you ever thought
possible
Experience life on a private Island!
Earn up to $6000 + full room & board for ten weeks
Be an integral part of uniquely positive and cohesive community working towards
a shared mission

Meals: Provided
Housing: Provided
Seasons: Summer
Positions: