The Painted Turtle

Through the camp experience, our goal is to offer campers the opportunity to celebrate childhood – to swim and fish, ride horses, sing campfire songs, and make friends that will last a lifetime. Activities at camp empower children to discover who they are and instill in them the skills, confidence, and healthcare knowledge needed to thrive at their highest potential. While at camp, children and families are surrounded by others with a similar diagnosis, which instills a greater sense of understanding and belonging. In short, our goal is for children with serious medical conditions to realize all that is possible in their lives.

We serve more than 5,000 campers and family members every year. Through our on-camp and off-site program offerings we are continually exploring ways to welcome as many children and their families as possible into our programs and ways that meet their needs by safe and affirming means. Reaching capacity in all existing programs and the consideration of growth is a complicated formula that involves medical safety, site readiness, dietary requirements, staffing, volunteer availability, and budgetary issues. Our goal over the next several years is to increase our capacity to serve by strengthening our ability to do so for decades to come.

The Painted Turtle offers an exhilarating array of camp activities and intentional programs that foster personal growth, self-confidence, and exploration. Our programs empower campers to make new friends, gain independence in their medical care, and become their greater selves.

The Painted Turtle offers year-round programs including: Spring and Fall Family Weekends for the entire family, one-day family events, week-long Summer Sessions, and hospital outreach programs.

The Painted Turtle is governed by an independent, volunteer Board of Directors comprised of prominent and influential business and community leaders who are committed to our mission. Board members attend three board meetings each year, serve on committees, make governance decisions, support The Painted Turtle financially, and are proactive ambassadors of The Painted Turtle.

The Medical Advisory Board guides the direction and development of our medical program, ensuring that the medical care provided at The Painted Turtle is of the highest quality. The Advisory Board is comprised of many of the Pediatrics Department Chairs in our Founding Hospitals or their selected representatives. Their commitment to the advancement of care for pediatric patients with serious medical conditions is demonstrated by their many contributions to our organization.

In 2019 The Painted Turtle served over 2,073 on-site camp experiences for children and families, cared for over 120 medical conditions, hosted 8 summer sessions, 10 family weekends, and 1 day camp. Our hospital outreach program made 159 visits to serve 3,479 children.