LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
In Brief |
New Directory Lists Gay-Focused MDs If you're looking for a Delaware doctor that knows the medical issues you facebeyond AIDS and HIVthen turn to the new physicians' directory from AIDS Delaware. It lists nineteen primary care doctors in New Castle and Kent Counties, including Wilmington, Newark, Dover and Glasgow, and is available free of charge from AIDS Delaware. To get a copy, call 302-652-6776 or go online at www.aidsdelaware.org. Film Society Party Honors Volunteers In recognition of National Volunteer Week, the Rehoboth Beach Film Society will host a volunteer appreciation party on Saturday, April 8, for those individuals who offered a helping hand during its events from March, 1999 to present. "The Society's been embraced by so many giving people," said Nancy Kaiser, Rehoboth Beach Film Society Volunteer Chairperson, "from our Oscar Night fundraiser to the film festival in November. We really want to express our gratitude because we could never have gotten to this level without them." The cocktail party is Saturday, April 8 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at 21 Lake Avenueacross from the playground near Lake Gerarin Rehoboth Beach. The event will be held outside in the garden, weather permitting. For information or to R.S.V.P., call Nancy Kaiser at 542-2909. The third annual Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival will be held November 8-12, 2000. It is sponsored in part by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts. For more information call 645-9095 or visit their website at www.rehobothfilm.com. Head to Dover for Gay Lobby Day It's time to register for the ACLU-DE's 2nd Annual Lobby Day for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, being held on April 20, 2000. Lobby Day is held at Legislative Hall in Dover. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m. is a lobby training workshop led by Dennis Crowley. From 12-2 p.m. is a reception for legislators, and people will be meeting with representatives and senators. The lobbying is for a bill that prohibits discrimination based upon sexual orientation in housing, employment, public accommodations, and insurance. Last year's Lobby Day was a tremendous successwith over 100 people in attendance. However, even with that many supporters, legislators will still be saying that they hadn't heard from any of their constituents who support these laws. If you would like to attend Lobby Day, please email Delaclu@aol.com with your name, address, and phone number. If your can't attend Lobby Day, you can still help get these laws enacted. Send an email to the same address and provide the same information to the ACLU and ask to be added to the Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Project mailing list. (This list is kept strictly confidential.) If you have any questions about Lobby Day or the ACLU-Gay Civil Rights Project, email Deb Gottschalk at digottschalk@diamond.net.udel.edu. Quilt Originator to Visit Wilmington Most of us are familiar with the AIDS Memorial Quilt. What most of us probably do not know is that the Quilt was the idea of Cleve Jones, a San Francisco gay rights activist and organizer of the Karposi's Sarcoma Research and Education Foundation. After the loss of his dear friend, Marvin Feldman, Jones made a tapestry in his memory. The idea caught on quickly, and soon Jones was joined by others who had lost loved ones to AIDS. The Quilt was first displayed in October of 1989 during the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights and consisted of 1,920 panels. When it was displayed in Washington in 1992, it had grown to more than 20,000 panels, the equivalent of 12 football fields, weighing more than 30 tons. In 1996, it increased to 32,000 panels and currently consists of 42,960 panels25 football fieldsweighing more than 50 tons. Each panel, created by lovers, family, and friends includes items which reflect the personality and life of those who have died. The panels measure 3 foot by 6 foot, the size of a human grave. Cleve Jones will visit Wilmington on May 1, as part of a national tour to promote his new book, Stitching a Revolution: The Making of an Activist. The book tells the compelling story of Jones and his involvement in the gay rights movement in San Francisco and how the emergence of the AIDS crisis inspired him to create the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Its publisher, Harper San Francisco, plans to donate a percentage of proceeds from the sale of the book to the NAMES Project Foundation. Jones will conduct a book signing at Borders Books and Music, 101 Geoffrey Drive, Newark from 2 to 4 p.m. Borders will be doing a benefit for NAMES Project Delaware the entire week of April30 May 6. 15% of the proceeds of all books bought with NAMES Project coupons will be donated to that local chapter of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. ROAM (913 Shipley Street, Wilmington) will host a meet-the-author reception for Jones at 7 p.m. Plans are being made for an unfolding of a 24' by 24' section of the Quilt at Rodney Square at 5 p.m. Names of Delawareans who have died of AIDS will be read, and new panels will be displayed and dedicated. For more information, call Thom Meehan of the NAMES Project of Delaware at 302-737-7067, or email: DENAMES@aol.com. Survey Says? AIDS Needs Assessment The Delaware HIV Consortium is seeking people living with HIV/AIDS in Delaware to share their opinions about HIV services. The Consortium will be collecting this information through a survey available now through April 30, 2000. "The Treatment Services Committee does this survey every two years," explains Glen Pruitt, HIV Supportive Services Manager for the Consortium. "We try to identify what services are needed by people living with HIV infection, whether or not people are getting those services, and what obstacles people meet in trying to get services." The information gathered through the surveys will be used to prioritize funding levels for services next year. As a part of the 1998 needs assessment process, more than 300 people living with HIV/AIDS completed a survey. This year the Consortium hopes for even greater participation. "We seem to do well in getting to people through the HIV Wellness Clinics throughout the state. This year we want to reach out to more people: people in the community who have been diagnosed with HIV but who are not patients at the clinics. We want to see how their needs may be different than the others," adds Pruitt. The survey was re-designed this year to be very user-friendly, and can be completed in about five minutes. The deadline for returning surveys is April 30, 2000. To get a copy of the survey, contact Glen Pruitt at the Delaware HIV Consortium office, 302-654-5471 or email: gcpruitt@delawarehiv.org. Copies are also available at CAMP Rehoboth, 39 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach. 1999 Boon for Gay Tourism Industry Do you feel as if you are always on the go? There's a good reason, you are! According to the 1999 "Annual Gay & Lesbian Travel Survey" from Community Marketing, substantial growth was realized in the gay and lesbian travel market last year. "The report documents the remarkable growth of gay and lesbian travel this year," said Community Marketing's President, Thomas Roth." Not only are gays and lesbians traveling more frequently, they are spending more and visiting more exotic destinations than the mainstream." According to the report, for example, 85% of gays and lesbians surveyed took a vacation in the past 12 months, compared to a 64% national average; 36% took three or more vacations, and 45% ventured overseas, compared to just 9% of the national average. Among domestic carriers, American Airlines was rated "favorite" for the 5th year in a row. "Beyond the others, American has been active and visible in the gay community, sponsoring charities and gay travel-related promotions," Roth said, "and this has led to phenomenal bottom-line results. Companies that show genuine support and community involvement are rewarded. American has become an example for others wishing to demonstrate community citizenship, and thus earn brand loyalty." In fact, according to Community Marketing research, "giving back" to the gay communityin the form of donations and other supportis an important factor for 89% when choosing among travel supplier and agent options. Gay and lesbian income demographics reported in this travel survey concur with other studies: Many gays and lesbians have a higher household income level. 75% have incomes beyond $40,000 per year, and 23% have an income over $100,000 per year (compared to 9% of mainstream travelers). Roth warned, however, "This may paint gays and lesbians as big spenders, but that is clearly not the case. This community seeks out value and shops around as much as the other guy. Companies who 'target the market' with inflated prices will fail." Roth advises newcomers to the gay travel industry to do their research first by asking their gay and lesbian customers what they want, and developing an effective community involvement (charity support) program to demonstrate sincerity and earn long-term loyalty. "For me, though, one of the most amazing statistic figures is about passports," Roth said. "78% of those surveyed hold a valid passport, compared to just 29% of the mainstream. And what this shows is the community's interest in world travel, and a preparedness to go." Are you packed yet? Delaware Pride Millennium Ball Q.Public will present its first "Best of Gay Delaware Awards" at Delaware Pride's Millennium Ball, Saturday, May 6 at 6:00 p.m. The "Best of" awards were voted on by Q.Public readers. Award categories include: Best Overall Bar, Best LGBT Event, Best Female Impersonator, Best Restaurant and more25 in all. Presenters will include that divine diva of Delaware, Maxine Chambers, Delaware Pride board officers, and members of the Q.Public Staff. The semi-formal Millennium Ball (dinner/dance) is being held at the Brandywine Suites Hotel, 707 North King Street in downtown Wilmington. Funds raised from the Ball will help pay for the 2000 Delaware Pride Festival in Wilmington this September. The doors open at 6:00 p.m. for the event, and dinner will be served at 7:00 p.m. The awards will be presented beginning at 8:00 p.m., after which there will be DJ dancing into the wee hours. Tickets are $35 per person and are available through any Delaware Pride board member, or call 302-622-8081. Tickets must be purchased by May 1. The Brandywine Suites Hotel is offering a discounted rate of $79. For reservations, call 302-656-9300 and say you are attending the Delaware Pride event. Delaware Pride is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving a more united and visible LGBT community in Delaware. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 3, Apr. 7, 2000. |