With the publication of this second issue of the 27th volume of Letters, the 2017 CAMP Rehoboth year begins in earnest—with all eyes fixed on the coming spring, and the summer high season to follow. It will undoubtedly be another amazing year, and as always, we are grateful to the many members, sponsors, donors, supporters, and volunteers we depend on to accomplish the work we do throughout the year.
Speaking for the 51 “happy campers” who joined the 2017 CAMP Rehoboth Cruise to Asia, I can only say, “Wow!” We had a non-stop, over-the-top experience, and made a lot of new friends along the way. One of the gifts of living in Rehoboth and being involved with CAMP Rehoboth is living and working in a community where men and women (gay and straight) join together in a lovely mix that keeps life interesting. That mix was evident on our 2017 cruise. We are deeply thankful to CAMP Rehoboth Premier Annual Sponsors Annette and Rick Stellhorn of Accent on Travel, who once again put together this awesome experience for us. They are already working on a surprise trip for us in 2019, and while we’re not quite ready to release any information about it, I will say that a Safari hat just might be needed. Watch our website for details. See CAMPshots and CAMPmatters for more on the CAMP Cruise.
Now that it’s march, we are counting down the days until the 2017 CAMP Rehoboth Women’s FEST, April 6-9. All year long the indefatigable FEST 2017 Team under the guidance of Nancy Hewish, Dottie Cirelli, and Fay Jacobs has worked to provide another first-rate festival experience for the attendees, and I know it will be another big success. While we were cruising around Asia, the Team had a slight change of plans with Karen Williams replacing Jessica Kirson in the entertainment line-up—and they handled the change with ease (or maybe it just appeared that way to me because I was 9,000 miles from home!). Let us know if there are any problems associated with this change, or if there is anything else we can do to make the FEST 2017 experience a good one.
Volunteers are the backbone of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, and from office work—including some staff positions—to Board and leadership positions, our volunteers are important to us. The next CAMP Rehoboth Volunteer Orientation is March 16—and on April 29 we will celebrate at our Volunteer Appreciation Party.
Though I didn’t follow the news as much as usual on our vacation, none of us missed the fact that already the new administration is weakening federal support for transgender students, and have revoked federal guidelines that gave transgender students the right to use bathrooms that match their gender identity. The Trump administration notified the Supreme Court to disregard memos from the Obama administration about transgender students. The memos stated that barring transgender students from using restrooms of their gender identity violated anti-discrimination laws. Here in Delaware, we already have gender identity protection, but in states where that protection is non-existent, there are still hurdles ahead—and we will not give up until the whole of the LGBTQ community is safe.
None of the work we do here at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center could happen without the dedication and pledged support of our members. As we kick off our 2017 Annual Membership Drive please take the time to renew or upgrade existing memberships, or sign up to become a new member if not already one. From providing advocacy for our community, to our programs and services—or simply being available when someone needs a question answered, CAMP Rehoboth is here for you, and we need you to be a part of our support team. Sign up today at camprehoboth.com or visit the CAMP Rehoboth office on Baltimore Avenue.