Comments on: Rock n' Roll Camp: Volunteering Is The Purest Form of Awesome

By: Alison

Alison — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:19:42 +0000

I’ve been a volunteer at Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls since 2005 and the experiences I’ve had fundraising, cooking, helping to produce benefits and events, sitting on the board of directors and as a 4-time Ladies Rock Camp participant have changed my life in so many amazing ways. I have met hundreds of wonderful people through the rock camp world. Many have become my closest friends. I have a booking agency now and most of my artists are women I have met through camp. WMRC is a magical place for girls and grown ups too.

By: kpee

kpee — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:18:59 +0000

oh i forgot to add that when they smashed the guitars, THERE WAS GLITTER IN THEM AND THE GLITTER GOT ALL OVER THE STAGE AND ALL OVER THE CAMPERS AND WE WERE ALL CRYING GLITTER TEARS AND IT WAS MAGICAL.

By: kpee

kpee — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:16:48 +0000

at mtl rock camp we had a whole bunch of awesomeness including rhythm using found instruments, critical media, tech/sound 101 (e.g. what is a sound wave, how to deal with feedback on amps, etc.), history of women in rock, band promotion/how to get gigs, patch-making, zine-making…. you name it. but my all-time favourite had to have been the guitar smashing workshop, where this artist from a local collective ran a discussion about sexism in rock music and made all these life-sized, papier-mache guitars that every camper got to smash one on stage (!!) while everyone cheered and all us volunteers cried our eyes out.

By: Britley Smith

Britley Smith — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:37:08 +0000

Morgan!!!! This is so cool!

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:46:42 +0000

That’s awesome – thanks for your reply, Morgan. Those ideas are great, and I’m looking forward to hearing more from fellow rock campers.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:18:27 +0000

It’s totally awesome that you’re going to help out!
Workshops are a really great opportunity to share your knowledge!
Other than the ones you mentioned, there’s been protest art/women and art, yoga, music journalism, women and media, StoryCorps… basically anything can be turned into a workshop! Most workshops are offered to all the campers so there are some content changes and stuff between age groups but at least for WMRC, there are also workshops offered just to the oldest group of campers.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 05 May 2012 20:10:23 +0000

Amazing! I’ve been aware of the Rock Camp for a long time but I’ve never volunteered. After reading this article, I looked up the dates for one near me, and I think I’ll be able to do it this year. I’d love to lead some workshops, which leads me to…

Question about WORKSHOPS:

I know that most rock camps offer some non-music workshops. A quick Google search shows examples like zine-making, self defense, body image, alternate instruments, gender identity, etc. Can anyone share some others that have been offered, or share some new ideas? I was thinking perhaps a photography/photo-voice type session. Any other ideas appreciated!

By: kpee

kpee — Sat, 05 May 2012 16:04:43 +0000

2x montreal RCFG volunteer right here. serious lifechanger. also i know some cities accept out-of-towner volunteers if you’re willing to travel.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:40:10 +0000

I have totally been missing out… I want my little cousin to be able to do something like this – sadly there’s not one near us. But it sounds amazing for both the campers and volunteers.

By: silvercake

silvercake — Sat, 05 May 2012 05:38:51 +0000

Awesome, I’ll look into it. Thanks for the heads up!

By: Jessica S.

Jessica S. — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:06:23 +0000

Great article, Morgan!!! So proud.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:58:22 +0000

Try to catch a camp showcase if it can work with your schedule!
I think for most camps they’re on the saturday afternoon after the session week!