Queer Rock Camp 2018: A program of Girls Rock! Roc

Girls Rock! Rochester is dedicated to using music creation and performance as tools for cultivating self confidence in girls and trans youth. We foster creativity while building a supportive community of peers and mentors, while developing life and leadership skills to effect positive social change.

Queer Rock Camp is a week-long music camp (August 6 - August 10) for queer, gender variant, gender expansive and allied youth ages 12-18. Youth and volunteers come from near and far to join their peers in this unique and imperative program. Queer Rock Camp amplifies the voice of a population that is usually silent — allowing youth to be loud and to express themselves honestly and authentically through music. 

Queer Rock Camp empowers LGBTQ youth and allies while building community through musical collaboration in a safer space. We support the fluidity of gender, sexuality, and identities and provide educational workshops and skillshares to amplify confidence, creativity and self-expression. We are anti-oppression, and counter ageism by encouraging youth to be fully involved in the process of organizing and leading camp activities.

Where does your contribution go?

Year-round programming $3000 (30%): We have always dreamed of providing additional opportunities for our campers to live their rock and roll dreams after camp. Once camp ends, we want them to continue to experience the impacts of our programming. We need a space to make year-round programming happen, as well as the supplies. The amount of money we raise will determine the scope of what we can provide after camp.

Scholarship Fund $2500 (25%): As an organization, we have always been committed including all youth in camp, regardless of their ability to pay. This campaign will allow us to provide scholarships to campers who otherwise could not afford to come, for current and future Queer Rock Campers.

Instruments at camp $2000 (20%): Camp can't happen without gear! We need to ensure that we have gear to jam out on at camp. Not only do we need the gear, we need to maintain it. Guitar and bass strings, drum heads and sticks, and fixing and maintaining everything isn't free.

Gear loan program $2000 (20%): It's unfortunate, but true. Many of our campers don't have access to instruments at home. Some campers families' cannot afford instruments, some don't have access to music programs through their schools, or they may just want to try it out a little longer before they commit to purchasing an instrument of their own. If we build our first-ever gear loan program, our campers can borrow an instrument (at little or no cost to them) to keep building their skills throughout the year and up to the following year's camp.

Camp T-shirts $500 (5%): What's a true summer camp experience without a cool camp T-shirt? Help us provide our first cohort of Queer Rock campers with our inaugural Queer Rock Camp T-shirts, designed by musician and longtime camp volunteer Maddie Grandusky-Howe.

A huge thank you to Green Dreams for their longtime support and enthusiasm! 

Video song credit: Green Dreams - "Be Here Now"

greendreams.bandcamp.com/album/here-at-castle-makeout