The CAMP Report 2016: Introduction
All of us here at CAMP Rehoboth are pleased to present you with our 2016 Annual Report. You will find a summary of our activities, results by the numbers, and our audited financial statements. Though 2016 ended with a devastating election—one that could set back decades of LGBT progress and hinder our access to economic, political and human rights—we are nonetheless celebrating a highly productive year. We invite you to share in our pride for all that we have accomplished together, and for CAMP Rehoboth’s continuing support of and impact on the LGBT community.
CAMP Rehoboth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community service organization dedicated to creating a more positive environment in Rehoboth Beach and its related communities. For 27 years, CAMP Rehoboth has promoted cooperation and understanding between the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community, and the greater world around it, and has worked to build a safer and more inclusive community with room for all.
The CAMP Rehoboth Community Center is the “Heart of the Community,” providing tangible value as a gathering place for solace, support, and celebration, and as a hub for a wide range of activities. The Community Center also carries great symbolic value as evidence that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people have gained equality and the inherent right to participate as citizens who benefit from and contribute to the greater good of our society.
Founded in 1990, CAMP Rehoboth was partially modeled on the region’s early religious camps which brought people together for peaceful, educational and healing activities. CAMP (“Creating a More Positive”) Rehoboth dedicated itself to bridging the divide between the straight and LGBT communities of Rehoboth Beach. It has been instrumental in creating respectful dialogue and cooperation among town officials, the police, medical institutions, schools, and commerce about LGBT issues. Over its history, CAMP Rehoboth has earned a local and state reputation for promoting community well-being, working against prejudice, and helping to foster economic growth throughout our area.
Twenty-seven years later, CAMP Rehoboth is going strong and growing bigger, with a broad portfolio of activities promoting health (e.g., health screening HIV-AIDS testing, mental health support); community service (sensitivity training with park and city police, environmental clean-ups, work with food banks, disability programs and homeless shelters); youth programs; senior outreach (especially with the growth of Sussex County’s over 55 population, now over 40% of the total); policy education and research; and the performing and creative arts. CAMP Rehoboth is a vibrant, welcoming, and service organization committed to building a positive future for the LGBT and larger communities of Sussex County.
2016 CAMP Rehoboth Program Outcomes
Community Center
•The CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, a full service Community Center, is "the Heart of the Community." The Center includes a large multi-purpose room, gallery space, conference rooms, a library/reading room, and the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard.
•The Center is a vibrant cultural center that is used to promote artistic expression and creative thinking, and give aid to artists and craftspeople.
•CAMP Rehoboth sponsors concerts, plays, book signings, musical performances, art shows, and other cultural and public gatherings in the multi-purpose room.
•Friendly staff and volunteers greet thousands of individuals who walk through the doors of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center each year seeking information and assistance.
•In September of 2016, CAMP Rehoboth received a two-year $45,500 grant award from the Longwood Foundation for Fall 2016-Fall 2018 to support urgently needed infrastructure repairs and replacements. These repairs will help keep the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center a vibrant, financially sustainable, active, and welcoming place for LGBT and all people in our region. CAMP Rehoboth’s Board of Directors and the Operations Committee have been fully engaged in planning and managing capital improvements.
•Over 647 hours of space was provided by CAMP Rehoboth at reduced or no cost to local nonprofits that otherwise could not afford it. The donated space equates to over $38,000 of community value provided.
•The 80-member CAMP Rehoboth Chorus (CRC) gave 4 sold-out concerts in 2016 with over 1,400 in attendance. The CAMP Rehoboth multi-purpose room provides rehearsal and performance space for the Chorus.
•Last year the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus and Ensemble performed nineteen (19) Outreach Programs. Our emphasis is on performing at Senior Citizens and Assisted Living Facilities.
•In 2016, the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center was the venue for numerous entertainment events, including appearances by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC and Melamanie, a Brazilian String Group, and comedians who appeared as part of “Women’s FEST Presents."
•10 Art Exhibits by 60 new and emerging artists were held in the gallery space, including “Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus” that appeared in conjunction with the 2016 Women’s FEST Photography and Art Show.
Health and Well-being
•In 2016, our Health Day, held in partnership with Beebe Healthcare, served 128 individuals, a 30% increase over the previous year, and over 292 flu shots were provided to the community.
•In 2016 we strengthened our focus on the 55-plus population. Three community workshops were held to review the results of our needs assessment survey, with over 60 in attendance.
•CAMPsafe, now in its 19th year, provides free rapid and confidential HIV testing and HIV prevention services to Sussex County and those who visit Rehoboth Beach. Support and referrals are offered to persons testing positive for HIV.
•CAMP Rehoboth provides mental health counseling for those who need it.
•Nonprofit groups that promote community well-being regularly use the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center for meetings, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and YPAA - “Young People’s AA.”
•CAMP Rehoboth sponsors many discussion groups, including the men’s discussion group, grief counseling, and women’s discussion group. In 2016 many new discussion groups were initiated, including several serving the Transgender community and the aging LGBT population.
•In partnership with the DE Breast Cancer Coalition, CAMP Rehoboth sponsors the annual Broadwalk on the Boardwalk, commemorating survivors of cancer and their supporters. In 2016, 195 attended the walk and over $8,500 was raised for DBCC.
•CAMP Rehoboth also organizes the annual Candlelight Walk in December as part of World AIDS Day.
•As part of CAMPsafe, 5,350 individual outreach contacts were made in 2016, an 8.5% increase over 2015. Over 79,800 safe sex kits were distributed. 520 HIV tests were conducted, with 46 individuals participating in the Health Counseling Program.
•In 2016 CAMP Rehoboth began performing HIV testing at Burton Village, a low income residential development run by the Delaware State Housing Authority. In addition, 41 AIDS/HIV tests were performed at the Immanuel Code Purple Homeless Shelter.
Outreach, Education and Advocacy
Highlights
•CAMP Rehoboth’s Women’s FEST has expanded from a half-day event in 2001 to a four-day conference of information sessions, events, and entertainment. Our Keynote Speaker was feminist icon Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation. We also hosted Laura Liswood, Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders, and benefited from a workshop conducted by the League of Women Voters. Women’s Fest fosters economic growth throughout the area by bringing thousands to Rehoboth, with half of the attendees coming from out-of-state.
•In the wake of the June 12th mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, CAMP Rehoboth quickly organized a vigil in the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard to show our love and support for the victims and their families and friends. This interfaith event included leaders and pastors who came together to share the experience with us: Rabbi Beth Cohen (Seaside Jewish Community Center), Reverends Vicky Starnes and Pat Loughlin (Epworth Methodist Church), Rev. Max Wolf (All Saints’ Episcopal Church), and Delaware House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf. It was a time for our local community to come together and share our tears of sadness, to let go of our anger, and to pray for peace and an end to violence.
•The post-election days last November saw a sobering increase in calls expressing fear from community members to CAMP Rehoboth’s office. Leaders of our support and discussion groups said that group members expressed concerns and have been anxious as to whether there will be a return to the discrimination experienced by the LGBT community in Rehoboth Beach from years past. Since the election, CAMP Rehoboth has increased the availability of counseling services and advertised these through local media, and has held several observances of peace and meditation, open to all comers.
Other Activities
•In 2016, CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program (CROP) participated in 16 community service projects, with 168 volunteers providing 581 hours of community service. This equates to a value of over $11,600 provided to nonprofit/community organizations in need. A new relationship was formed with Southern Delaware Therapeutic Riding and in April, 14 CROP volunteers helped them prepare its new facility to meet the special needs of its riders.
•CAMP Rehoboth provides education and outreach to the larger community, promoting positive images of LGBT people, functioning as a networking and information resource, supporting local nonprofits that work toward the betterment of the community, and fostering the economic growth of the area.
•An average of 20,000 page views per month is received on CAMP’s website.
•CAMP Rehoboth publishes and distributes Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. This 90 to 120-page magazine is a valuable resource for residents and people visiting the area.
•CAMP Rehoboth fosters the development of nonprofit groups that support CAMP Rehoboth’s mission, and helps them with their fundraising by donating advertising space in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. This year, CAMP Rehoboth donated 362 pages of advertising for nonprofits, valued at over $94,000, a 5% increase over last year.
•In conjunction with Seashore Striders, CAMP Rehoboth helps organize the annual Sundance Land and Sea Racing Festival, now in its seventh year. 208 people participated.
•For the last 25 years, CAMP Rehoboth leadership has provided sensitivity training to city and park police, lessening tensions among the community at large.
•In 2016, 58 city and park police participated in sensitivity training, bringing the total trained since inception to 742.
•CAMP Rehoboth promotes human and civil rights and advocates at both the local and state level on behalf of the LGBT community on such issues as marriage equality and gender identity.
•CAMP Rehoboth maintains a very small staff and used 475 volunteers this year to carry out its critical programs and services.
•In 2016, three volunteer orientations were delivered. A Volunteer Appreciation Party with a theme of “Seas the Day” was held at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center in May, with over 150 volunteers in attendance. We are rebuilding our Volunteer Development Committee and have recently brought on a new Committee Chair who is establishing herself as a strong leader.
Conclusion
Looking ahead to 2017, we shared an important message from co-founder Murray Archibald, November, 2016:
“As an organization, CAMP Rehoboth is committed to serving the people of our community and state. As we plan strategies for the next few years, we will do so understanding that the political landscape will be drastically changed from what we have known in recent times. We will continue to create partnerships with organizations throughout our community, and to fight against discrimination at all levels. We will continue to work with our allies wherever we find them. We will speak out when we witness injustice. We will continue to provide advocacy and training throughout the state. We will continue to work to build safe and inclusive communities for all people.
There has never been a time in the history of any progressive movement, when the expression ‘two steps forward and one step back,’ was not applicable to it. We must understand and remember that this is part of the process, and that every time we move forward we take a few more people with us.
To the younger members of our community who may never have had to fight for equality, what happens in the next few years may be difficult to understand, but please don’t despair. We’ve been here before. Never forget that every voice counts—that your voice counts—and we need every bit of support we can muster.”
There were no better words to help articulate our vision for 2017. We look forward to reporting to you about our work in 2017 in the next Annual Report.
For more information about the activities, programs, and events of CAMP Rehoboth call 302-227-5620 or visit camprehoboth.com.
CAMP Rehoboth 2016 Income and Expenses
Income
Donations $82,230
Grant Revenue $176,637
Membership $226,814
Letters Revenue $195,717
Special Events $458,811
Rental Income $88,206
Interest/Dividends $5,089
Total Income $1,233,504
Expenses
Program Services $701,720
Administration $199,443
Fundraising $210,773
Total Expenses $1,111,936
