This is the holiday issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth and the last one
of the year. With its publication we come to the end of the 14th season of
CAMP Rehoboth, and though we do not publish again until early 2005, the
work of CAMP Rehoboth will continue all winter long. On the cover of this
issue, Murray’s photo montage provides a glimpse of the past year, and
on page 8 he considers some of the lessons that CAMP Rehoboth has taughts
us over the years.
A big part of our goals for the coming year will be the addition of 37
Baltimore Avenue (the old Our Place restaurant) to the CAMP Rehoboth
complex. Last week we spent several hours with our architect Bob Hotes of
DPK&A. With the purchase of the additional property, our focus has
changed and we are viewing the project from a different perspective—one
that we are calling "a campus approach." As we’ve said before,
instead of rebuilding the current site, we will be renovating the existing
structure and building an addition. Our plans now are that we will move
into the new building sometime in the spring, and that we will break
ground on the addition in the fall of 2005. We will do our best to keep
everyone involved and up-to-date on the progress and plans for the new
community center complex. Our 5 year Founder’s Circle capitol campaign
still has another year and a half to go, and though our campaign will
continue under a different name, at that time it will no longer be
possible to be listed as an original Founders’ Circle member so make
plans now to include the community center in your giving plans for the
coming year.
December 1 is World AIDS Day, and once again CAMP Rehoboth and the
Sussex County AIDS Council are producing a Candlelight Walk and Service of
Remembrance and Hope. Last year’s event included The Ribbon Project,
which involved many volunteers running over 3,000 feet of red ribbon
through the streets of Rehoboth. This year pieces of that same ribbon are
being reused to create a completely new ribbon sculpture. To add a name to
the list of those being read during the service or for more information,
call CAMP Rehoboth.
Last week was the 7th annual Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival
and with almost 20,000 tickets sold, it was bigger and better than ever.
CAMP Rehoboth was again a big sponsor of the festival, for many reasons,
but especially because it fits so well into the mission of CAMP Rehoboth.
Though the festival is not specifically a gay and lesbian one, it contains
a large amount of films that are of interest to the GLBT community and are
supported by the GLBT community—the whole festival is supported by the
GLBT community, for that matter. Best of all, however, the films and the
festival provide a fertile ground for creative discussions, for education,
and for growth. The purpose of CAMP Rehoboth has always been about the
community as a whole, about finding common ground, and the Film Festival
does that beautifully. The Festival is also a personal favorite of ours.
This year Murray and I made it to 20 films, and though our backsides are a
little sore and I would just as soon not smell any popcorn for a while, we
were both thrilled and inspired by the diversity of all that we were able
to see. Congratulations to all who worked to make this festival a great
one.
On Sunday, December 4, from 4-7 p.m., CAMP Rehoboth will again provide
desserts for the annual Community Unity Dinner at the Rehoboth Beach
Convention Center. On New Year’s Eve at the Convention Center, the
fourth annual Starburst Gayla will benefit WomenHeart and the CAMP
Rehoboth Community Center.
On behalf of the board and staff of CAMP Rehoboth, thank you for
another amazing year. Happy Holidays from all of us.
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