Looking Back to the Future
The CAMP Rehoboth Volunteer Development Committee has been hard at work this winter creating a volunteer training program. The program includes an orientation that provides all the information a volunteer will need to know in order to be able to speak knowledgably about the work and mission of CAMP Rehoboth. A part of that knowledge base is an overview of the history of CAMP Rehoboth. This is our history as I see it.
Officially, CAMP Rehoboth’s history begins in 1991 when a group of community members and friends gathered in a workshop setting to talk about the establishment of a LGBT organization to serve the Rehoboth Beach area. My first memory, however, precedes even that, and I clearly remember the moment when the idea for CAMP and the acronym that it is made of (Create A More Positive), popped into my head for the first time. It was the fall of 1990, shortly before we moved to Rehoboth full time. I was sitting at the drawing table in my studio in New York City thinking about the fact that Rehoboth was originally established as a Methodist summer campground, and that gay “camp” was an integral part of who we are.
Out of the initial organizational meetings, a mission and purpose was created (see page two of this magazine), by-laws were developed, a Board of Directors was established to run the fledgling organization, and an application for non-profit status was made. That first year, Jim Bahr was hired as Executive Director and Editor of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth (the first issue of which was only four pages long!) Jim and his passionate young staff (Carol Fezuk, Barry Price, and Richie Griffin) worked long hours to create the foundation for Letters as we know it today.
The first office of CAMP Rehoboth was in one half of the space that is now Lori’s Café. In that first year, Steve Elkins and I (along with some family and friends) built the symbolic rainbow fence that ran down what is the middle of the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard today. From the beginning, operating a free, outdoor space where the community could gather was an important part of the program of CAMP Rehoboth, and the organization quickly took over management of the courtyard, even though as yet it didn’t own the property.
In 1993, Steve Elkins, then president of the CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors, became Executive Director and Editor of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, a position he has held ever since. At about the same time, the CAMP Rehoboth offices moved to a larger space in the corner of the CAMP Rehoboth courtyard.
Throughout the 1990s, CAMP Rehoboth continued its steady growth. As the decade came to an end, a series of CAMP Rehoboth workshops involved the community in new and exciting ways. Driven by this new community involvement in the work and efforts of CAMP Rehoboth, the idea for expansion into a full Community Center began to emerge. While that idea had always been a part of the big dream for CAMP Rehoboth, it was not until 2001 that it really started to take shape.
That year, the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Project (CRCCP) launched the Founder’s Circle Capital Campaign and set out to raise a million dollars for the purpose of developing the Center. At the same time, a new vision statement was created with the help of many people in the community. The vision was simply “to be the heart of the community.” Its accompanying statement provides insight on the dream of the CRCCP.
“The CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is an inclusive space with and without walls, which creates and nurtures a focal point for connecting people, activities, and resources—embracing diversity as an essential component. The Center is the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community’s contribution to creating a home for all.”
In 2002, CAMP Rehoboth moved out of its small, cramped office in the back of the CAMP Rehoboth courtyard and into the front building at 39 Baltimore Avenue (currently the home of Boxwood). Shortly thereafter, CAMP Rehoboth purchased 39 Baltimore for the purpose of building the new Community Center.
The following year, an architect was selected and design work began on the property at 39 Baltimore. Situations change, however, and in February of 2005, CAMP Rehoboth was able to purchase the adjacent property at 37 Baltimore Avenue. After a quick renovation, the first phase of the new Community Center opened its doors to the public in May of 2005.
In December of 2007, construction began on Phase Two of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. Phase two included the demolition of the rear of 37 Baltimore and the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard, and it added a large, multipurpose room, a kitchen, restrooms, loading dock, courtyard kiosk, and a complete renovation of the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard.
The completion of Phase Two of the Community Center in early 2009 now makes it possible for CAMP Rehoboth to offer five different spaces for community use. Since it opened, the Center has been the home to a wide variety of activities, programs, and projects. In addition to all the CAMP Rehoboth sponsored activities that take place at the Center (receptions, workshops, support groups, concerts, films, art shows, and more), space is also available for a multitude of other functions including: meeting space for other organizations, performance art, commitment ceremonies, memorial services, receptions, book signings, political forums, town hall meetings, and much, much more.
One of the great highlights of recent years was the signing of SB 121 (the non-discrimination bill) by Governor Jack Markell in the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center on July 2, 2009.
Though this brief history lesson has focused on our community space (and that’s certainly a vital part of the CAMP Rehoboth vision), CAMP Rehoboth is far more that just a building. As the building has grown over the years, so too has CAMP Rehoboth’s community involvement. In the 21 years since its founding, the organization has partnered with dozens of other organizations on a multitude of activities and projects. Most of all, it truly stands in the heart of the community, and offers a central place to address whatever needs might arise.
The name “Rehoboth” is a biblical one and its meaning has been loosely translated as “room for all.” Creating a more positive world that welcomes everyone continues to be the core component of the CAMP Rehoboth philosophy. That philosophy transcends the petty differences that can separate us by race, religion, gender, age, nationality, and sexual orientation.
The rainbow is a symbol for diversity because it represents the equality of each of the colors from which it is made. If one color is missing, the rainbow is incomplete. If one part of our human family is missing, forgotten, or ignored, then all of us are incomplete.
Looking at our history reminds us who we are as an organization. Remembering our core philosophy will help us to grow into our future. May there always be “room for all.”
Murray Archibald, Founder and President of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, is an artist in Rehoboth Beach. Photos: Steve Elkins, Murray Archibald, and the Rainbow Fence in 2005. CAMP Rehoboth main hall set-up for a wedding reception in 2011.