The Painted Turtle, a nonprofit dedicated to providing a life-changing authentic camp experience for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses, is participating in #GivingTuesday to help raise awareness and support for its cause.

#GivingTuesday is held on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving to kick-off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaboratively give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate, as well as to help improve their local communities and create a better world.

The Painted Turtle is looking to its community of campers, families, volunteers and supporters to participate, and has created innovative social media tools to make this a fun and interactive experience.

This year in honor of #GivingTuesday, every gift made to The Painted Turtle will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Wallman Family, up to $5,000. In addition, The Painted Turtle has created innovative ways supporters can engage with the organization on social media, including sharing their turtle spirit through their profile pictures with a custom filter as well as posting “unselfies” to express the various ways they’re involved with organization.

“Part of the magic of The Painted Turtle is that it creates a safe space for kids—one where they feel that they belong and have the chance just to be regular kids,” says Blake Maher, Executive Director of The Painted Turtle. “Sometimes our campers medical challenges limit the experiences they and their families can have , so offering them the medical support they need, whether in providing their medication on-site or in having adaptive activities, allows them to just play and have fun and not worry about their treatment. The Painted Turtle is free of charge to all kids and their families. Our hope is that by participating in #GivingTuesday, we create more opportunities that make camp possible for even more children.”

Doctors who have visited The Painted Turtle report seeing their patients smiling and laughing, a sight relatively unseen in hospitals. In 2014, the Yale University’s Child Study Center found that post-camp The Painted Turtle campers demonstrated significant positive changes in their behavior, including increased confidence, self-esteem, and social skills.

These changes were also related to other positive outcomes, such as improved attitude toward taking medications and ability to adapt to different situations.

The Painted Turtle’s mission is to provide a year-round, life-changing environment and authentic camp experience for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The Painted Turtle supports children’s medical needs, inspires them to reach beyond their illnesses, and provides care, education and respite for their families. All campers and families attend free of charge. www.thepaintedturtle.org.