Rain City Rock Camp for Girls Programs
At Rain City Rock Camp for Girls, girls have a place to be themselves, express themselves, and explore their creativity. Single-sex environments have been found to provide girls with a higher sense of self, increased confidence to pursue goals, and an awareness of the lives of those around them. Girls are given a place to develop and assert themselves outside of gender roles still imposed by cultural and social norms.
Rain City Rock Camp for Girls Summer Camp is a day camp for girls ages 8-16. Girls come for a weeklong crash course in playing an instrument, songwriting, zine making, self-defense, and more! At the end of the week, campers get to perform their original song with their band at a local live music venue. Campers do not need to have any prior music experience and instruments will be provided. Rain City Rock Camp for Girls offers partial and full scholarships to girls in need and will never turn away a girl for her inability to pay.
Ladies Rock Camp (LRC) is a weekend day camp at that serves as a fundraiser for Rain City Rock Camp for Girls. LRC is an opportunity for ladies 19 and over to let loose for the weekend and play rockin' music together. You’ll choose an instrument, receive instruction, form a band, and work together to write an original song that you'll play on stage Sunday. Over the course of the weekend you'll also be offered a variety of workshops on topics related to being a woman who rocks!
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
In our first years of programming (2009-2011), RCRC has experienced tremendous growth and success, supported largely by an all-volunteer staff and Board of Directors. We earned our 501(c)(3) status, completed a 3-year strategic plan with broad stakeholder involvement, doubled the size of our Summer Rock Camp program (from serving 39 girls in 2009 to 83 girls in 2010), offered thousands of dollars in camp scholarships, ran Ladies Rock! Camps, strengthened alliances with other nonprofit organizations by participating in events such as Girl Fest! and the Seattle Art Museum’s Family Day, and diversified our funding base. In January 2011, the Board of Directors hired Natalie Walker as RCRC’s first fulltime Executive Director, and in November of 2011, an additional part-time Operations Manager, Michelle O'Connor was hired. We exceeded our goals for 2011 by doubling the size of our RCRC Summer Camp with two week-long sessions serving 120 girls. We ran our first in-school program at the only alternative high school in the Edmonds School District, Scriber Lake High School for 16 junior and senior girls.
Currently, Rain City Rock Camp for Girls is in need of dedicated volunteers and donations to help us carry out our mission. You don't have to be a musician (or a woman) to volunteer -- we have roles for every one! If you're interested in learning more about volunteering, please visit our website. We also greatly appreciate financial and in-kind donations.