Camp Gilmore

My Project

Hi, my name is Taylor. My gold award project consisted of renovating the craft cabin at a Salvation Army camp called Camp Gilmore in Malibu, California. The reason I chose to renovate this cabin is because the original condition was very worn down, graffiti everywhere, in disarray, dirty and uninspiring. The previous campers and staff had written graffiti on most of the cabinets and walls, and the whole cabin just needed to be reorganized, cleaned and completely repainted. All the new people that came to the camp every summer had added more and more to the dark and neglected space by making it look even worse to the point it was in when I began my project. The cabin already didn't look inspiring without the graffiti because the paint and design wasn't done well enough to make a creative space. This made it so anyone in the cabin already wouldn't have felt inspired and as a result made it look even worse because no one would have felt like they were making it much worse than it already was. I worked diligently to repaint the cabinets, walls, and bookcase. Also, I added chalkboard and washable paint to the walls so the campers can add their own designs to the wall without ruining it. The staff was not keeping the supplies organized so I added more bins with labels. Also, I added sponge painting to hide imperfections in the cabinets and to cover the graffiti. The lighter colored paint in the cabin creates a much more inspiring atmosphere, it is lighter and brighter. To give some information about Camp Gilmore, it has served 2000 children every summer since 1939, all of the children attending are underpriveleged and paid no fee to attend camp. Camp Gilmore is a non profit so they are working with a limited budget, this is also why I chose this as my project because I believe in camps and I felt it was a shame that children coming from inner cities had to be in a cabin that was in disarray. Therefore, the improvements create an atmosphere that makes them excited to do art. In renovating this cabin, all the children and staff that come every summer will experience being in a much more creative environment and enjoy being in a space that inspires them. Any environment that is improved will inspire others to keep it that way, especially when using chalkboard and washable paint, lighter colors that brighten up the cabin, labels to recognize where all the supplies are, and a creative design all around the room. There are new children and staff that come to camp every year, but I have talked to the director of the camp who will talk to the new counselors every year to educate them in making sure the cabin does not go back to the uninspiring and dark look that it had before. With the improvements my project has made, anyone at the camp will immediately see the new inspiring and bright space instead of not enjoying it as much. Before the project, most people couldn't even find the craft cabin because it looked like a worn down cabin on the outside and inside. Now, when you walk in, anyone will immediately see the improvements and how uplifting the cabin feels which helps campers and staff feel more inspired. When campers are inspired, they will be more likely to be excited to create works of art in this space and staff will be more inspired to keep it organized. When a space is light, bright and organized, it allows people to be more creative. 

My Gold Award Project, Before and After

Camp Gilmore Information