• Letters from CAMP Rehoboth
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Advertising Information
    • Where Can I Get Letters?
    • The Write Stuff
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • SUNFESTIVAL 2022
    • Women's FEST
    • Block Party 2022
  • Programs
    • Arts & Culture
    • Education & Advocacy
    • Health & Wellness
    • Community Building
      • CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program (CROP)
        • CROP Photo Gallery
        • Volunteers on the Move
      • CAMP Rehoboth Families
      • CAMP Rehoboth Ladies Golf League
    • CAMP Facilities
  • About Us
    • Membership
    • Volunteers
    • Board of Directors
    • CAMP Rehoboth Staff
    • Reports and Financials
    • History
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Press
  • Resources
    • Beach Guide Directory
    • LGBTQ Resources
    • LGBTQ Providers
    • LGBTQ Delaware Data
    • Trans & Nonbinary Resources
    • BIPOC LGBTQ Resources
    • LGBTQ Local and National Resources Guide
  • Contact
  • Shop
close× Call Us 302-227-5620
close×

Search form

November 18, 2022 - Volunteers on the Move by Fay Jacobs

A Huge CROP of Worthy Projects 

 


“See those people in the green tee-shirts? They’re here to help.”


And with that introduction, a brigade of CAMP Rehoboth volunteers descended on the shelter building, buckets of paint and brushes in hand to refresh and rehab a safe place for homeless girls.


The job site could just as likely have been a Habitat for Humanity drywall installation, a transfer of collected non-perishable items to a food bank or, as recently happened at a church, ushering at the memorial service for a notable community member.


The group is the CAMP Rehoboth Community Outreach Program (CROP). And on the day of the memorial service the volunteers exchanged their green tee-shirts for dressier black and white apparel and provided some comforting outreach.


CROP has been lending a helping hand to local non-profits, charities, and worthy projects and adventures since 2009.


Originally invented as a CAMP Rehoboth crew of enthusiastic unpaid workers calling themselves the Volunteers on Vacation (VOV), the crew was led by founder Claire Ippoliti. One of their first projects was responding to a community need by painting the West Rehoboth Community Center.


“I had seen what volunteers had done in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and thought about giving back here,” Claire says. ”And I knew it would be good for people to get to know individuals in the LGBTQ community.”


According to Claire, while it was the original vision to have people vacationing in Rehoboth volunteer with CAMP Rehoboth, it really turned out to be a group of locals volunteering. Those early volunteers included Glen Pruitt, Sue Goudy, Dan Melesurgo, Kathy Wiz, Gregg Glaviano, Muriel Hogan, Leslie Sinclair, and Debbie Woods. 


Some of the first projects saw a Career Day in West Rehoboth, digging a vegetable garden and hosting a holiday party in the community of Burton Village, and more. “It was really about getting to know each other and making friends,” Claire says. “And it turned out we had a rewarding impact.”


VOV found itself providing enriching activities for underserved children and supplying services for senior citizens, the homeless, and more. Claire led the group for five years before changing jobs and having to step back from the leadership role. Leslie Sinclair and Debbie Woods took the helm, although “It was more of a leadership team,” says Leslie.


By 2015, VOV became CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program or “CROP,” a new name that better communicates what the program is all about.


As the program grew, some of the organizations CROP partnered with included Delaware Food Bank, Immanuel Homeless Shelter, Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park, Burton Village 4H Afterschool Program, Delaware Botanic Gardens, and the Center for the Inland Bays. Projects took place not only in Rehoboth, but in Lewes and all over Sussex County. 


In an average year, CROP, representing CAMP Rehoboth, will have over 100 volunteers and provide hundreds of hours of service to the community. That’s a lot of food delivery, clearing of park paths, ushering at CAMP concerts, and working with other non-profits.


“One of our major concerns these days is food insecurity,” Leslie says, and Debbie recalls delivering food for the homeless at the Red Mill Inn— “during a blizzard!” The group has been known for amassing mountains of non-perishable food and a caravan of SUVs delivering it to food pantries. CROP continues to fight hunger in the area by sorting donated food at the Food Bank of Delaware in Milford, packing items into boxes for distribution to other charitable organizations and ultimately for delivery to the hungry.


One of CROP’s most fun projects takes place each spring during the CAMP Rehoboth Women’s FEST. Volunteers from CROP go to the Southern Delaware Therapeutic Riding site in Milton to help by power washing facilities, and even “pasture picking” says Debbie with a smile. And as there are many volunteer visitors from out of town at FEST, this project harkens back to the original volunteers-on-vacation idea.


On the horizon for CROP are continued projects for the Brandywine SPCA and a collaboration with the Rehoboth Beach Bears to help keep people warm this winter. CROP and the Bears are heading up a drive to collect hats, gloves, and coats to distribute to organizations helping those in need. It’s certain that another caravan of SUVs, transporting all that collected warmth, will be on the road with CROP this holiday season. 


CROP volunteers can still be recognized by their bright green tee-shirts as they work with kids, clear debris from walking trails, deliver to the homeless, sort mountains of canned goods, or greet people at CAMP Rehoboth Chorus Concerts. Each year CROP volunteers contribute hundreds of hours toward making Rehoboth Beach and its surrounding communities a better place to live and visit.


CROP is always looking for more volunteers. It’s an opportunity to make friends and do good. Interested? Contact crop@camprehoboth.com. ▼


Fay Jacobs is the author of five published books and is touring with her one-woman sit-down comedy show, Aging Gracelessly: Still Rock ‘n Roll to Me!
 

‹ November 18, 2022 - Community News up November 18, 2022 - Community Connections by Laurie Thompson ›

Past Issues

Issues Index

  • February 4, 2022 - Issue Index
  • March 4, 2022 - Issue Index
  • April 1, 2022 - Issue Index
  • May 6, 2022 - Issue Index
  • May 27, 2022 - Issue Index
  • June 17, 2022 - Issue Index
  • July 8, 2022 - Issue Index
  • July 29, 2022 - Issue Index
  • August 19, 2022 - Issue Index
  • September 16, 2022 - Issue Index
  • October 14, 2022 - Issue Index
  • November 18, 2022 - Issue Index
    • November 18, 2022 - Cover to Cover with Issuu
    • November 18, 2022 - From the Editor by Marj Shannon
    • November 18, 2022 - In Brief
    • November 18, 2022 - President's View by Wesley Combs
    • November 18, 2022 - CAMP News
    • November 18, 2022 - The Elkins-Archibald Atrium by Sondra N. Arkin
    • November 18, 2022 - Community News
    • November 18, 2022 - Volunteers on the Move by Fay Jacobs
    • November 18, 2022 - Community Connections by Laurie Thompson
    • November 18, 2022 - Out & About by Eric C. Peterson
    • November 18, 2022 - Ubuntu by Kevin Mallinson
    • November 18, 2022 - Health & Wellness by Pattie Cinelli
    • November 18, 2022 - Health & Wellness: Classes + Events
    • November 18, 2022 - The Writing Life by Roi Barnard
    • November 18, 2022 - Four Stellar Volunteers by Michael Gilles
    • November 18, 2022 - Straight Talk by David Garrett
    • November 18, 2022 - Words Matter by Clarence Fluker
    • November 18, 2022 - It's My Life by Michael Thomas Ford
    • November 18, 2022 - The Sea Salt Table by Ed Castelli
    • November 18, 2022 - CAMP Stories by Rich Barnett
    • November 18, 2022 - Historical Headliners by Ann Aptaker
    • November 18, 2022 - Guest House Chronicles by Tom Kelch
    • November 18, 2022 - View Point by Richard J. Rosendall
    • November 18, 2022 - Be a Sport! by by Heather Rion Starr
    • November 18, 2022 - Dining Out by Michael Gilles
    • November 18, 2022 - OUTlook by Beth Shockley
    • November 18, 2022 - Celebrity Interview by Michael Cook
    • November 18, 2022 - The Real Dirt by Eric W. Wahl
    • November 18, 2022 - Spotlight on the Arts by Doug Yetter
    • November 18, 2022 - Booked Solid by Terri Schlichenmeyer
    • November 18, 2022 - CAMP Rehoboth | Impact Report 2022
    • November 18, 2022 - Training CAMP by Jon Adler Kaplan
    • November 18, 2022 - Visiting View by Robert Dominic
    • November 18, 2022 - We Remember
  • December 16, 2022 - Issue Index

Follow Us

Follow us on Social Media!

RECEIVE WEEKLY EMAIL

Information

  • Letters
  • Events
  • About Us
  • CAMP Center

Support CAMP

  • CAMP Membership
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
Copyright © CAMP Rehoboth, 2023
  • p. 302-227-5620
  • info@camprehoboth.com
  • 37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971