Childrens' camp in California receives 330 beds from Serta
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, August 2, 2004
Itasca, Ill. — Serta has donated 330 mattresses to The Painted Turtle, a new 173-acre camp for chronically and seriously ill children in Lake Hughes, Calif.
Actors Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Jack Nicholson and other celebrities joined guests on May 22 to dedicate The Painted Turtle. The camp is the sixth Hole in The Wall camp founded by Newman.
"The children who come to The Painted Turtle need and deserve a good night's sleep, and it is our honor to help them get one," said Richard Yulman, co-chairman of Serta's National Bedding Co. licensee. Yulman's daughter and nephew both have worked at Paul Newman camps. "We fully support the mission of all the Hole in The Wall camps. They are widely considered among the finest multi-disease medical camps and family centers in the world."
"A lot of people have dreams and never do anything about them," said Newman at the dedication of The Painted Turtle. "When you have ideas and dreams, you do something about it, and that's what we've done here."
The children at The Painted Turtle "will benefit every day from Serta's generosity," said Deirdre Roney, executive director of The Painted Turtle. "It is because of generous and supportive partners like Serta that we can fulfill our mission to very deserving children and their families."
It cost $28 million to convert the facility — previously a recreational vehicle campground — into The Painted Turtle camp. Newman helped with the initial funding. He and fellow actors raised $2 million with a benefit stage performance, and the Los Angeles Lakers donated the gymnasium floor.
