This is the first issue of the 15th year of
Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. Year after year I have written those words (or
something very like them), changing only the number as the calendar rolls
over to another season. Looking back over all those many years of CAMP
Rehoboth, I have to say, the journey has been an amazing one. Murray
reminded me a few days ago that we forget about how much it took to get to
this point. We forget all the meetings, the workshops, the hard earned
lessons, the time, effort, and support given by so many people willing to
help us "Create A More Positive" world. I have confidence that
this is going to be another amazing season.
This first issue of the year includes a nine page PDF file called The CAMP Report
05.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download and print the file. The report contains information about the
additional property purchase (37 Baltimore Avenue), and our plans for it,
including an architectural update and a timeline. The report contains
information about the Founders’ Circle, the new CAMPsafe contract, and
new volunteer opportunities. It also contains our full Strategic Plan and
information about our 2003 outside audit, completed in the fall of 2004.
Last, but certainly not least, the report contains Kathy Weir’s list of
all the things we did in 2004. One of the points in our Strategic Plan is
to improve communications. I think this report will help.
The CAMP Report also mentions the sad news that Andrea Andrus, our
Development Director, is leaving at the end of February. Andrea has worked
hard for CAMP Rehoboth over the years and we will miss her constant
presence in the office. Fortunately, another long time CAMP Rehoboth
volunteer will be taking over the position when Andrea leaves. I’m
pleased to announce that Beth Fitton will be our new Development Director.
Beth comes with much experience in the field of development, including the
writing of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Development Plan several
years ago.
Supporting art in all its many forms has always been a part of the CAMP
Rehoboth mission, so we were delighted to help produce, along with Fay J.
Productions, the recent performances of Eve Ensler’s award winning play
The Vagina Monologues at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. The
production was a part of a global movement called V-Day, which seeks to
stop violence against women and girls. The eager crowds at the January
performances proved that there really isn’t an off-season in Rehoboth
anymore. Our thanks and congratulations to Fay Jacobs and her talented
cast, Jane Squier Bruns, Stacey Fearheiley, and Eloise Ullman. Our thanks
also, to Nancy Alexander for coordinating the Women Helping Women silent
art auction that went along with the performances—and to all the artists
who participated.
Also discussed in the CAMP Report, is a new vision for the use of the
community center space and the joining of 37 and 39 Baltimore Avenue. For
several months now, we’ve been calling this "the campus
approach," and looking at all the different buildings as component
parts of a campus. Recently, however, it occurred to us that the word
"campus" was an even better one than we had first imagined. Look
at it, "camp" and "us." It feels like a perfect fit.
Of course, 37 Baltimore was Our Place Restaurant before we purchased it,
and now it is indeed "our place." By that I mean all of us. This
is community space and we are trying to be good stewards of something that
has taken an entire community to create. I said earlier that I believed
this was going to be an amazing year. I also believe that it will take all
of us working together to make it happen. On the cover of this issue,
Murray’s photograph is called Color the Heart Red. He says that it’s
about the power we all have to create a better world. I believe that the
CAMP Rehoboth Community Center will help us to do that. Happy Valentine’s
Day!
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