
The Painted Turtle is the sixth addition to Paul Newman’s family
of Hole in the Wall Camps for seriously ill children. It is also
the only multi-disease camp and family care center of its kind on the
West Coast. Through educational, therapeutic, safe, and just plain fun
summer camp and year-round programs, The Painted Turtle provides a life-changing
experience to children whose daily struggles often diminish both their
desire to be well and their ability to lead a rich, productive life.
The Painted Turtle offers an exhilarating, challenging, and nurturing
array of traditional summer camp recreational activities, seamlessly intertwined
with programs that inspire children to become more self-confident and
self-reliant, as well as more cooperative with their medical caregivers.
There is a strong healing potential in the lessons children learn and
the friendships they form at The Painted Turtle.
At first glance, Hole in the Wall Camps look like any other traditional
summer camp. There are swimming, boating, fishing, horseback riding, arts
and crafts, ropes courses, a state of the art gymnasium, and nature activities.
Yet, look more closely and you will find that at The Painted Turtle, every
child, no matter their illness or capacity, can participate fully in every
single activity, because of the subtle, yet liberating, access components
built right into the camp facilities themselves.
There is one adult to every two campers and nurses who join kids in their
cabins and throughout their daily activities. The Painted Turtle is staffed
by California’s top medical specialty professionals, who volunteer
to live at the Camp throughout each session and who work closely with
our full-time staff of nurses and doctor.
Paul Newman started the first camp in the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps in Ashford, Connecticut. Over the past several years, he expanded that vision by helping to establish camps in New York, North Carolina, Florida, Ireland, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Hungary, Israel, and here in California at The Painted Turtle. Global Partnership initiatives are also in Africa and Southeast Asia. For more than 20 years, The Association of Hole in the Wall Camp’s medical specialty camps and program have empowered children to reach beyond the limits of their medical conditions to create lasting and positive impacts on their lives. Since this time, they have improved the lives of more than 164,500 children in over 39 countries and throughout all 50 United States – all free of charge.
In 1999, Paul Newman and Page Adler founded The Painted Turtle. Of the
more than one million children in California with chronic illnesses, our
needs assessment revealed that there are over 17,500 who are unable to
attend summer camp due to their medical needs. The Painted Turtle provides
these children and their families with an empowering, renewing experience
completely free of charge.
Since nearly 40% of our campers are from low income families, The
Painted Turtle and our supporters give these children the gift of a lifetime,
a gift of laughter, fun, and personal growth that they would otherwise
not be able to experience. This gift has the potential to improve both
the quality and quantity of our campers’ lives, because what makes
them stronger, happier and healthier at The Painted Turtle, is exactly
what they take with them into every challenge they face for the rest of
their lives.
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