- The Painted Turtle
The Painted Turtle is a camp located near Lake Elizabeth in
Lake Hughes, California . The camp is for children who are terminally or chronically ill.History
The Painted Turtle was founded in 1999 by
Paul Newman and Page Hannah-Adler.cite web| url= http://www.thepaintedturtle.org/turtle/thecamp/ourstory/ |title=The Painted Turtle - Our Story|publisher= The Painted Turtle |accessdate=2007-03-23] The camp was conceptualized by Adler and soon was able to get Newman to sponsor it as a part of hisHole in the Wall Gang Camp s.cite web|date=November 15 ,2002 |url= http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/11/15/yh.cov.painted.turtle/index.html |title=The Painted Turtle|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2007-03-23] The camp got its name from thePainted Turtle , as Adler states "It's an animal that has a tough exterior and a soft interior, very much like these kids that we're serving." It opened its doors in the Fall of 2003.Mission statement
The Painted Turtle seeks to reach beyond illness, to inspire children with life-threatening diseases to become their greater selves. It is our mission to provide a year-round, life-changing environment for these children and their families - one that allows children to participate in an authentic camp experience by supporting their medical needs, and offers their families care, education, and respite.
Camp experiences
Activities include Horseback Riding, Ropes Course, Arts and Crafts, Woodshop, Team Building Experiences, Fishing and Boating, and Singing and Dancing.
Many different groups come through the camp every year and stay for about a week. These groups include:
#
Crohn's Disease andUlcerative Colitis (Inflammatory Bowel Disease )
#Skeletal Dysplasia (Dwarfism )
#Asthma
#Kidney Transplant
#Diabetes
#Arthritis
#Liver Transplant
#Spina Bifida
#Hemophelia
#Muscular Dystrophy Health facilities
The main health facility is the Well Shell where they treat all the kids and sometimes the counselors to as many of them often have the same condition as the kids in the current session. The Well Shell provides a postive feeling even when sick due to the manner in which it is decorated and the way the kids are treated.
Volunteers
The Painted Turtle is run with the help of volunteers. In June 2006 a national collegiate sorority,
Delta Zeta , partnered with The Painted Turtle. Given this partnership the camp became a part of the sorority's national philanthropy program.cite web|date=August 4 ,2006 |url= http://www.deltazetamarketplace.com/news-august.asp|title=Delta Zeta Sorority Partners With The Painted Turtle as Part of National Philanthropy|publisher=Delta Zeta|accessdate=2007-03-23]ee also
*
Hole in the Wall Camps References
External links
* [http://www.thepaintedturtle.org/turtle/ The Painted Turtle]
* [http://www.scvtv.com/html/nm-current.html Newsmaker: The Painted Turtle] (30-min. TV interview, free online viewing)
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