OUR VISION
My wife Debbie and I were visiting Key West when we saw several veterans and their families attempting to negotiate Duval street in their wheelchairs and on their crutches. Many of them were missing limbs or coping with their scars from war. Seeing them moved us to take action. We asked ourselves "What could we do? What skills or talents do we have that would allow us to give something back to these brave men and women? Was there a program or an organization where we could volunteer our time and energies?"
I have enjoyed SCUBA diving since 1985 and decided to become a SCUBA instructor in 1993. Debbie got certified to dive in 2006 and immediately fell in love with the sport. We wanted to share our love of the underwater world with these brave men and women of the military that had given so much of themselves to defend our freedoms. Several months later I had an opportunity to take a Disabled SCUBA diving Instructor course.
Unsure of where this would lead I completed the course and looked toward my fellow servicemen to apply my new found skills. Debbie was instrumental in contacting the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, and programs serving wounded veterans in the Central Florida area, and establishing community partners who wanted to help give back.
While there are several similar programs already in operation we could not find any that were focusing on and serving the veterans returning from war and living in Florida. That’s when we formed the non-profit company “Divers 4 Heroes”.
Divers 4 Heroes is a 501c3 not for profit company dedicated to the rehabilitation of wounded veterans and their families though SCUBA diving as a means of recreational adaptive therapy.
Divers 4 Heroes offers monthly Discover Scuba Pool Dives. Those who want to continue on to become Open Water Certified can plug into our quarterly dive class, which include pool sessions, spring sessions and a trip to Key Largo. We also take advantage of the Living Seas at Epcot!!! Biannually we conduct overseas dive trips to top dive locations.
Experience the freedom of Diving with us!!!
Key Largo Slates Creature Feature Dive
Photo by Fraizer Nivens