DIVEHEART: MAKING POSSIBILITIES FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES
On Friday, June 29 the Park Ridge Rotary Club was pleased to welcome a fellow Rotarian from the Allendale/Saddle River Club as its guest speaker. Ms. June Stahl provided members with a fascinating talk on an incredibly inspirational program known as DIVEHEART. Illinois businessman Jim Elliot founded the non-profit in 2001 with the purpose of offering and supporting educational SCUBA diving and snorkeling programs to any child, adult or veteran with a disability. Since then, Diveheart has trained over 500 people around the world, including Ms. Stahl, with the skills necessary to become “dive buddies” to many people with disabilities that would have otherwise never allowed them to scuba dive.
Diveheart Northeast recently became one of several chapters of the Diveheart organization, partnering with Kessler Institute and the Livingston, NJ YMCA. Last year the first “diving buddy” training program in NJ was conducted in Caldwell. Training is arduous and requires a buddy to become aware of the basics of a variety of disabilities. Through role play scenarios, buddies have their sensitivity skills enhanced and they are taught to communicate with their diving partner with compassion and respect. Once trained, buddies are able to participate in the 8-12 dive trips that Diveheart organizes each year.
Ms. Stahl cited numerous instances of individuals with severe disabilities finding new hope and confidence through their experiences. People with disabilities, who are victimized by the natural effects of gravity on land, experience something different once they are submersed under water. The properties of water are magical to a scuba diver and it is best evidenced and understood with individuals who are paraplegic or quadriplegic. Since it has been discovered that scuba therapy is effective in helping reduce pain and in many cases increase mobility, much research has been devoted to the subject.
The impact of Diveheart was best expressed by one of its beneficiaries. “Diveheart doesn’t try to challenge a person with a disability for the sake of challenge. Rather, it gives that person the opportunity to experience some adventure in their life; adventure that can lift their spirit and elevate their soul; making them better at everything they do; that’s what Diveheart has done for me.”
To learn more about this remarkable organization, visit www.diveheart.org