This is the July 4 issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, and as I do every year at this time, I find myself a little surprised that the holiday weekend has arrived so quickly. Memorial Day weekend may be the official start of the summer season, but the Fourth of July is really when the summertime starts to heat up in Rehoboth—and I don’t just mean the temperatures. Now through Labor Day is the real “high season” at the beach. Be sure and check out the Fay Jacob’s article in this issue on Rehoboth’s famous Drag Volleyball!
We had great participation in the Community Conversation meeting we put together at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center on June 19, to address LGBTQ issues in our local schools. Along with CAMP Rehoboth, participating organizations included Equality Delaware, ACLU of Delaware, PFLAG Rehoboth, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and others. In his CAMPmatters column Murray goes into a little more detail about the meeting, and also reminds us that it takes grassroots efforts to change the culture in our community and in our schools. Haven’t we done all this before?” he asks. In one of our recent member spotlight features in Letters, CAMP Rehoboth members Rose Schmidt and Carolyn Horn said they are members because “the work is not done,”—and surely it is not. Thank you to all who came out to participate in the discussion, and especially to those who signed up to be part of the follow-up team.
The countdown for Sundance 2017 Hosts, Supporters, and Sponsors to sign-up continues as we head into the month of July. If you’re like me, when sign-up forms arrive on my desk, I often set them aside with every good intention of taking care of them quickly—and then life kicks in and I forget all about them. Please return your forms as soon as possible, or make it even easier and go to camprehoboth.com and do it all online. This will be the 30th anniversary Sundance, and we plan to make it more spectacular than ever. This is CAMP Rehoboth’s largest annual fundraiser; please consider becoming a Sundance Host, Supporter or Sponsor today.
The fabulous boys of 6 Futcher Drive are once again supporting the work of CAMP Rehoboth with another outrageous Pool Party during the July 4th weekend—this year on July 2. Under the guidance of CAMP Rehoboth Board member Mike DeFlavia and Tony Sowers, the party is always amazing. This year’s Pool Party 2017 theme is Alex in Wonderland—A Twisted Tea Party, and is sponsored in part by CAMP Rehoboth Annual Sponsor Smirnoff Vodka, with music by DJ Mike Reimer.
CAMP Rehoboth has had a great response to the two CAMP Cruises we offered over the last few years, and we’re very excited to have another trip in the works, though this time it’s a land based vacation and not a cruise. For March of 2019, Accent on Travel has put together an amazing African Adventure for CAMP Rehoboth travelers that includes Cape Town, South Africa, a Safari, and Victoria’s Falls with an optional additional safari in Botswana. The trip is limited in size, and had a waiting list of previous travelers when it went on sale—so don’t wait if interested as it seems to be filling up already. Call Accent on Travel at 302-278-6100 for information about the trip.
In recent years, the CAMP Rehoboth grants team under the guidance of CAMP Rehoboth Board member Leslie Sinclair has done an amazing job. The Team was instrumental in putting together a request to the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF) for this year, and as can be seen in the photo in the In Brief section of Letters, we were thrilled when DCF Senior VP Rick Deadwyler, and Andy Staton, Chair of the DCF Grants Committee, presented us with a check for $22,750 to be used for repairs and renovations. A big thank you to all who made that happen for CAMP Rehoboth.