CROP: Cultivating Community, One Project at a Time
by Debbie Woods
We are all strengthened by the community in which we live. CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program (CROP) promotes this vision by cultivating relationships and partnering with local organizations that provide a variety of community benefits.
CROP recently helped at the International Student Outreach Program (ISOP), and it was enlightening. Not only was a delicious meal served to the visiting students, there was a bounty of food available for the students to take home. Students selected from a cornucopia of fresh fruits and vegetables—peaches, tomatoes, peppers, and more—to provide nourishing meals throughout the week. A second highlight was the camaraderie. Volunteers interacted with students from around the world—Moldova, Romania, Turkey, and more. The students worked on refining their English language skills and willingly shared about their homeland studies and their summer experiences in Rehoboth Beach.
Upcoming CROPportunities
CROP has a project for everyone! Come join us and cultivate community by strengthening relationships and the deep levels of connection between us all. If you are interested in participating in one of these projects, or would like more information, please email us.
Saturday, September 22
AIDS Walk Delaware
Rehoboth, 8:30 a.m. to noon
Join us at the 32nd Annual AIDS Walk Delaware, which starts in Grove Park, Rehoboth. If you did not sign up to volunteer, please consider walking or donate! Registration begins at 9 a.m.
Saturday, October 20
Delaware Botanic Gardens Dagsboro, 8:30 a.m. to noon
We will be digging in, both metaphorically and literally, as CROP returns to the Delaware Botanic Gardens in Dagsboro. We will help to keep the momentum going as DBG continues to grow and become a world-class, inspirational, educational, and sustainable public botanic garden in southern Delaware. As an option, you can bring a brown-bag lunch and have a tour of the gardens and woodland afterwards.
Saturday, November 10
Rehoboth Beach Film Festival Cape Henlopen High School Lewes
The Rehoboth Beach Film Society promotes cinematic arts and provides educational and cultural enrichment for our community, and CROP is there to help. The volunteer team will assist with ticket taking and more. There will be several shifts throughout the day.
Tuesday, November 13
Food Bank of Delaware
Milford, 1 to 4 p.m.
The Food Bank of Delaware provides low and no-cost food to qualified programs throughout the greater Delaware region. CROP will once again be sorting and packing food so that families in need will have a happy and nourishing Thanksgiving holiday.▼
Debbie is an active volunteer with CAMP Rehoboth and also serves on the Membership Committee. She has lived full time in Rehoboth since 2009, when she retired after a long career in the Federal Government.
Author Reading
Saturday, September 29
8:30-9:30 a.m., Lewes Public Library Presentation Room A
Join other book lovers as CAMP Rehoboth introduces Robert Fieseler, author of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation at the History Book Festival. This essential work of American civil rights history reconstructs the 1973 arsonist’s fire that was the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Fieseler is a recipient of the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship and the Lynton Fellowship in Book Writing. The History Book Festival in Lewes September 28-30 is a first-of-its-kind way to hear more than 20 best-selling authors of current non-fiction and fiction. ▼
Stakeholder Community Meeting
Saturday, September 28
As is done periodically, and as CAMP Rehoboth faces the future, strategic plans are underway. Community input is crucial; ideas and opinions matter. Come join the discussion at a special stakeholder meeting on Saturday, September 29, in the Community Center. It’s free to attend, but space is limited, so go online to camprehoboth.com and make a reservation for the morning event. ▼