June 20 - June 26th, 2010
The Painted Turtle Camp
17000 Elizabeth Lake Road
Lake Hughes, CA 93532
(310)451-1353
info@thepaintedturtle.org

This year we are pleased to announce our Kids' Camp will be at the Painted Turtle Camp -- one of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall camps, located in Lake Hughes -- in Southern CA. There will be free transportation via bus provided from Lucille Packard Children's hospital in Palo Alto, CA.

Held for one week each summer, Kids' Camp offers children with kidney disease the rare opportunity to enjoy a summer camp vacation while continuing to receive necessary medical treatments. While attending camp, children can participate in all camp activities including hiking, swimming, horseback riding, canoeing, team and individual sports, cooking, art, stargazing, campfire circles and, most importantly, making friends.

The Painted Turtle serves children from California and elsewhere with many different medical challenges. This week, June 20 - June 26, is just for kids with kidney disease. Our goal is to provide an exhilarating, challenging, and nurturing camp experience through which children gain a greater sense of independence, self-esteem, and self-reliance. The Painted Turtle aspires to maximize the beneficial therapeutic impact of camp with a state-of-the-art facility and an innovative camp program which integrates peer support and outdoor adventure with high quality medical care, supervision, and education.

While constant awareness is given to the medical needs of our campers, The Painted Turtle has intentionally set out to remove any hint of a medical presence. When campers visit the medical clinic at camp, the Well Shell, they will find colorful walls, windows overlooking the sparkling lake, and a giant domed turtle shell ceiling overhead. In this state-of-the-art facility, The Painted Turtle's full-time Medical Staff is joined each session by volunteer medical professionals who generously commit their time and talents to help care for these special kids around the clock.

Kidney Kids Camp aims to encourage these valuable connections with other children, to foster greater independence with regards to self-care, to increase campers' self-esteem and activity levels, and to provide a safe and oftentimes first experience away from parental worries.

Click here to see the Painted Turtle website and to find application materials. The staff at The Painted Turtle will be happy to answer questions about the process, please call them at: 310.451.1353.

   
Camp Jones Gulch
La Honda, CA

Family Camp is a weekend camp for kidney or transplant patients and their families. It gives them an opportunity to bond with other families and share their similar stories with each other. Support systems and life long friendships often develop. Attendees can participate in activities such as archery, canoeing, horseback riding, scenic hikes, arts & crafts and more. For some families, Family Camp will be the only vacation they get throughout the year.

The patient's social worker is asked to fill out part of the application.

Applications will be available here after January 31st, 2009. For more information please contact Patty McCormac at patty.mccormac@kidney.org or 415-543-3303, ext. 104.