"It all came together with the rainbow fence," says Murray Archibald, about the beginnings of CAMP Rehoboth, the non profit community service organization that works to build a safe, inclusive community in Rehoboth and other nearby neighborhoods. "In a way, that fence, with its intricately blended colors, lining the courtyard at 39 Baltimore Avenue says it all."
Just as CAMP is an acronym for Create A More Positive Rehoboth, the rainbow fence is a visual icon representing the diverse blend of people who make Rehoboth an eclectic, exciting and colorful community.
The idea for CAMP Rehoboth took shape in 1991 shortly after Murray and his partner Steve Elkins moved from New York to Rehoboth. More and more gays and lesbians were heading for Rehoboth on summer weekends, drawn by the beautiful resort and its burgeoning gay-friendly atmosphere.
While there were a growing number of places to dine and dance, with an increasing number of welcoming B&Bs, restaurants and shops, Murray wished there could be a "focusa place people could come for information about the community. And a way of reaching out "for understanding and cooperation" between members of the gay and lesbian community and the local merchants, government, police and fire officials, year-round and summer residents and anyone else calling Rehoboth home.
And from the very beginning, inclusion was the organizations standard.
"Our goal was to work with the entire community," says Steve Elkins. "After all, if we were isolated and that led to divisions in the community, we wouldnt really be a living representation of what the rainbow means."
To that end, the new organizations board of directors included both straight and gay volunteers, working together to define a mission and get to work.
It started with the name. They combined the gay sensibility and its hallmark campiness with Rehoboth history the city was founded as a Methodist campground retreat, with its name meaning "Room for All." The name CAMP Rehoboth was a natural.
Armed with a name and a mission the board got to work shaping the organization. They hired a director, published a fledgling 4-page newsletter, and set up shop in the courtyard at 39 Baltimore Courtyard. And, they put up that welcoming rainbow fence, under the direction of artist Archibald.
With lots of volunteers pitching in, CAMP started to make a name for itself by promoting, sponsoring, and participating in a variety of community events from World AIDS Day to Candidate forums to Community Unity Dinners and much more. In 1991, the Lambda Rising bookstore joined CAMP in the courtyard, adding to the appeal of the space as a place for visitors and residents to gather and communicate.
One of the most visible manifestations of the courtyards growing appeal was the multiplying Friday night crowds, browsing or shopping in the bookstore, sipping coffee while waiting for delivery of Fridays Washington Blade newspaper.
As the organization grew, CAMP Rehoboth leant its support and helped foster the development of other community groups like a local chapter of P-Flag, SCAC, support for the Metropolitan Community Church, participation with the Rehoboth Main Street downtown revitalization agency, and the Rehoboth Jazz Festival.
For its first two seasons, LETTERS, CAMPs newsletter, and the various programs of CAMP were managed by CAMP Executive Director Jim Bahr. But in 1992, Jim and his partner Victor Pisapia moved to Sydney, Australia leaving CAMP without a Director. There were a number of people who were helping to publish LETTERS, but CAMP was so much more than the newsletter. Recognizing the need for someone to remain focused on the direction of the organization, Murray agreed to be the volunteer Executive Director until a full-time staff person could be identified. That came about in the fall of 1993 when Steve was appointed by the board to be CAMPs Executive Director.
As the organization grew, the board of directors accelerated their mission to promote human and civil rights and fight prejudice and discrimination by promoting political awareness, hosting sensitivity training, and developing good relationships with the local media, police, government and community.
"The first year we did the police sensitivity training, it was very tense," Elkins remembers. Many of the young officers had awful stereotypes of gay people. I had to take a deep breath and prepare myself to walk into the room."
Elkins helped set up the training to advise them on a sensitive way to handle victims of hate crimes or verbal abusebut that first year many officers asked things like, how do I avoid contact with the gay people in town?
"They were afraid we were asking for special treatment," Elkins says, "even though we were just asking them to enforce laws protecting people and to understand that its scary for the gay people being harassed."
What a difference six years makes. Today, Police Chief Creig Doyle has a zero tolerance policy for gay harassment and at a recent training session the officers mostly asked questions about where to find copies of Letters "so that they could find the good restaurants," says Steve, grinning. CAMP Rehoboth has seen incredible change through the newsletter as well. Its grown from about 1200 copies of that four-pager, delivered to just a sprinkling of sites, to as many as 72 pages, a run of 6000 copies, delivered to hundreds of Rehoboth area businesses, and D.C., NYC, Philly and Baltimore. "I never dreamed wed have newspaper boxes on Rehoboth Avenue!" Steve says.
Not that the growth has always been smooth. In the early days, some businesses even those who advertised in the publicationdidnt want it displayed in their shops or restaurants. Some advertisers were afraid that the newsletter was "too gay," while for others, the networking outside the gay community made it "not gay enough." "Its a balancing act," Murray says, and to this dayas with any publication its a struggle to appeal to a diverse readership. But obviously, the publication is succeeding. It publishes bi- weekly in the summer, but issues now start up around Valentines Day and continue through late November.
These days the Rehoboth Chamber of Commerce asks for copies to mail to folks asking about gay and lesbian accommodations and events at the beach, the library requests a stack, Police Chief Doyle is on the mailing list along with subscribers from Norfolk to New York. "One early spring day two years ago, I was stopped on the street by a woman whohaving lived in Rehoboth for more than 70 yearshad seen a great many changes in the town." says Steve. "I didnt realize she even knew who I was, much less how she felt about what we were trying to do. I found out, however, when I heard her question. She wanted to know when the first issue of LETTERS would be out for the season. It seems she had missed it during the winter."
While Letters from CAMP is the most visible part of the CAMP Rehoboth operation, the office is open 7 days a week during the busy summer and has become an unofficial chamber of commerce and resource center for Rehoboths gay and lesbian visitors. CAMPs many generous volunteers continue to participate in local fundraisers, such as LOVE, PRIDE, and most notably this years Sundance, which raised an incredible $114,000 to benefit SCAC and CAMP and over a half a million dollars since its inception. With its support of other groups like P-Flag, the Mautner Project, and networking with Rehoboth Main Street and the citys many different communities, CAMP Rehoboth continues to thrive and grow. "Just recently, in recognition of the work the organization has done, we were asked to participate in Governor Tom Carpers bill signing ceremony for the legislation adding sexual orientation to Delawares non-discrimination law." says Steve.
So whats the future hold for CAMP? "Right now, we can only do so much with the resources we have," Murray says, but "wed like to expand our resource library, put together workshops, look toward creating a community center, and extend our networking with all the varied communities in the Rehoboth-Lewes area."
And while the organization has had its share of growing pains (like lots and lots of 3 a.m. nights putting together gigantic issues of Letters) and challenges like finding enough volunteers or balancing the needs of such a diverse community, CAMP Rehoboth continues to thrive.
Murray remembers waking up one morning and seeing the rainbow fence lying on the ground, a victim of a violent storm. "At first we thought we were the only ones with any damagebut then we went down to the boardwalk and saw a great deal of devastation," Steve recalls.
And CAMP volunteers, just like people city-wide, rolled up their sleeves and got to work putting things back together. Only this time they anchored the fence in concrete.
"Is there a metaphor there?" Murray asks.
CAMP Rehoboth, the courtyard and that rainbow fence continue to be a community anchor, fulfilling their original mission and looking for ways to create an even more positive Rehoboth.
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10/17/97 Issue. Copyright 1997 by CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. All rights reserved.