The biggest global giving day of the year, Giving Tuesday, is on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Thanks to a generous, long-time friend of The Painted Turtle Camp, all contributions made now through Dec. 3 will be matched- doubling the impact of the gift.

On June 22, 2004, the first camper came through the gates of The Painted Turtle. There are more than one million children in California with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. More than 17,500 of those children are unable to attend summer camp due to their medical conditions. That is, until The Painted Turtle came along.

The Painted Turtle Camp in Lake Hughes has provided more than 180,000 camp experiences to children and their families, absolutely free of charge. since 2004.

Each year, the camp provides more than 3,000 on-site camp experiences to children with serious medical conditions and their family members. The Painted Turtle welcomes roughly 130 children to each of eight overnight, medical condition-specific Summer Sessions, up to 130 campers and family members to each of the 10 Family Weekends and over 400 guests to both the annual Holiday Gathering and the Spring into Camp event.

Additionally, The Painted Turtle Camp serves 3,500 campers annually through an in-hospital program, The Painted Turtle Outpost. Outpost brings the camp experience into 22 hospital sites, medical centers, and clinics throughout California, as well as to community events.

“It has been an extraordinary 20th year celebrating over 200,000 campers and their families who have come through those same gates and experienced the magic of Camp since then,” said Executive Director April Tani. “To celebrate this incredible milestone, The Painted Turtle is committed to raising $400,000 by Dec. 31. Help us hit the ground running by donating on Giving Tuesday to launch us toward our goal. With your continued support, we will keep the magic going well into the future to serve the next generation of Painted Turtle campers and their families.”

To give visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/celebrating-20-years-200k-camper-experiences.

Remember to give before Dec. 4 so your gift will count toward the giving match of 100%. Have your gift count double.