A GLBT Camp on every corner...

During a recent interview that I was doing with a member of the press about Camping.OUT - Triangle's GLBT youth summer camp - I got to talking with them about how I would ultimately like to see a dramatic increase in the number of youth camps made available to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.

I was reminded of this again this past Saturday when I was a part of a panel that followed the Michigan Premiere of Camp Out - a film about The Naming Project's GLBT Christian summer camp. On the panel with me was The Rev. Jay Wiesner, one of the creators of the camp featured in Camp Out. Jay and I have corresponded over email before and it was nice to be able to put a face to the name and emails. Plus, he's a great guy and I always enjoy a good conversation with such a person. They have a great program and I suggest checking it out if you are looking for a GLBT alternative to a Christian summer camp.

Over conversations with Jay and while watching Camp Out, aside from wishing I could teleport to camp, I was reminded of how powerful an experience camp is for people (not just youth). That is why Triangle Foundation is working with several other GLBT youth-serving professionals to one day create some materials on how other GLBT camps can be created across the country. There are thousands of youth camps in the USA - more than any other country on the planet. It should stand to reason that with thousands of youth camps there should be more than about a dozen GLBT camps.

Hopefully one day the dreams of many GLBT camp directors will be realized and there will be a dozen GLBT camps in every state instead of just a dozen GLBT camps in the country. Until then, I wanted to take a quick opportunity to mention some of the GLBT camps that currently exist and as such are helping us reach this goal...

• Camping.OUT (GLBT youth and allies as well as children of GLBT families)
• The Naming Project Summer Camp (GLBT youth)
• Mountain Meadow (children of GLBT families)
• YES Summer Camp (GLBT youth)
• Camp Lavender Hill (children of GLBT families)
• CampOUT (GLBT youth and children of GLBT families)
• Camp Ten Oaks (GLBT youth and allies as well as children of GLBT families)
• Camp Rowan (GLBT youth)
• Camp Ten Trees (GLBT youth and allies as well as children of GLBT families)
• Spectrum Family Camp (GLBT families)
• Rainbow Family Camps (GLBT families)
• 'Camp' Camp (GLBT adults)

Keep an eye on the Camping.OUT and Triangle Foundation web sites for information on how we are working together to develop more camp opportunities for the GLBT community.

PS. Special thanks to Anthony, a Camping.OUT 2006 participant, and Ari, a...well 2006 high school graduate (it's what the sign said...honest), who were also on the panel, did a great job and were a lot of fun to hang out with.