LifeWaters Vision Statement
To inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing a supportive environment for fellowship through scuba diving for paralyzed veterans, first responders, and civilians.
LifeWaters Mission Statement
LifeWaters provides adaptive scuba diving training and camaraderie by bringing adventure and healing to Veterans, First Responders, and Civilians with disabilities. Their passion for the sport, pushing beyond disability, is a story to tell America.
LifeWaters Service Statement
LifeWaters Goal has always been to provide training and scuba opportunities while trying to decrease the cost of training and travel for people with disabilities. Life with a disability is expensive, no matter how great your insurance or VA coverage. LW understands that. We want to give people affordable opportunities to participate in LifeWaters’ experiences. LifeWaters isn't just about diving. The social return on investment reaches far beyond one individual, going into the family and community of the adaptive diver by providing hope and strength for a better tomorrow. It is about giving people with disabilities a chance to expand the possibilities of their life, creating moments of pain-free living, and long- term camaraderie with others.
I am Jill Knapp Campbell, Vice President and Director of Training for LifeWaters. I want to personally welcome you to our organization. I’m nearly always available to assist you or answer your questions so please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or by phone or text: 303 378 7164. Thank you very much for expressing interest in LifeWaters and WELCOME! You’ve apparently been referred or heard about us through the VA or PVA or FaceBook and are interested in either becoming a Certified SDI Scubility Diver or a Certified SDI Scubility Dive Buddy. Thank you!
We are a non-profit with a goal of supporting SCUBA diving for ALL disabled individuals, including veterans and civilians. LifeWaters intention is to serve the whole disabled community. We focus primarily on Veterans but will accept anyone as long as you can gain your physician’s release to dive and we can make you safe underwater! We welcome all disabled divers and we specialize in providing training to individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI).
We function solely on fundraising and grants. LifeWaters can provide this training free or at a low cost due to our donations and grants. We are also willing to train your friends and family members who may want to dive with you at a low cost but we currently cannot train them for free. For all divers we require a refundable $50 deposit that will only be kept if you fail to complete the course within the specified amount of time, which is generally a year.
All of our volunteers are 100% volunteers, volunteering their areas of expertise, diving as buddies, travel, hotel and vacation time. When we seek grants and donations we seek not only funding for training disabled divers but also the necessary volunteers. It may take up to 3 dive buddies to keep each adaptive diver safe underwater!
LifeWaters is primarily based in St. Louis, MO but we have affiliated facilities in Mesa, Az; Denver, CO; Houston, TX; Jupiter Beach, Fl; Mermet Springs, IL; and White Bear Lake, MN. We are also hoping to have new facilities in Milwaukee, WI and Miami, FL within the next year and will continue to add more as we find resources and instructors. Please don’t despair if you are not located in one of these areas or near your location. We are continually reaching out to other SDI Scubility Training Facilities and Instructors to enter into an agreement with to assist in getting classes completed. In the emails that I’ve read, I’ve already been able to round up a few more instructors and there will be a mass email in a few weeks to all who have requested information with additional follow up information. At this time (October, 2019) we are in the process of adding an additional 20 SDI Scubility Dive Instructors in order to bring this training closer to you.
One of the things that makes LifeWaters outstanding in this adaptive diver field is that we have a cadre of medical staff who assist us either as instructors or dive buddies and nearly all of our dive trips have either physicians, nurses, therapists or first responders attending to help meet any emergency or medical needs.
For ALL interested divers or potential divers:
Previously Certified Diver who may or may not need assistance or adaptations:
New Open Water Adaptive Diver:
1. If you are new to diving and love to be in the water, this may be the new sport for you!
Dive Buddy/ Volunteer: (We love our Volunteers and they are the core of our organization)
In order to enter into the SDI Scubiltiy Dive Buddy Certification Course:
Professional Diver: DiveMaster; Asst. Instructor or Instructor Certification Ratings:
Dive Trips:
Currently LifeWaters sponsors 2-3 dive trips per year to Cozumel, Bonaire, Cayman Brac, etc. We are also hoping for one to Jupiter, FL in 2020. These trips can accommodate up to 10 or so disabled divers but that number is based on the number of dive buddies each diver requires and the number of available accessible accommodation rooms. Please remember that iIt can take up to 3 buddies per diver to get divers in the water and that all of our dive buddies are volunteering their time, expenses, etc. We also have dives at the Georgia Aquarium at least three times a year.
LifeWaters does NOT provide funding for any dive trips or diving, other than certification dives, from our fundraising or grants. Divers are encouraged to seek out funding from their local PVA chapters or other disabled veteran groups, etc.
Please see that there are forms here which need to be completed by everyone interested in diving with LifeWaters whether it’s as a SDI Scubility Open Water Diver or as a Volunteer Buddy or SDI Instructor:
To inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing a supportive environment for fellowship through scuba diving for paralyzed veterans, first responders, and civilians.
LifeWaters Mission Statement
LifeWaters provides adaptive scuba diving training and camaraderie by bringing adventure and healing to Veterans, First Responders, and Civilians with disabilities. Their passion for the sport, pushing beyond disability, is a story to tell America.
LifeWaters Service Statement
LifeWaters Goal has always been to provide training and scuba opportunities while trying to decrease the cost of training and travel for people with disabilities. Life with a disability is expensive, no matter how great your insurance or VA coverage. LW understands that. We want to give people affordable opportunities to participate in LifeWaters’ experiences. LifeWaters isn't just about diving. The social return on investment reaches far beyond one individual, going into the family and community of the adaptive diver by providing hope and strength for a better tomorrow. It is about giving people with disabilities a chance to expand the possibilities of their life, creating moments of pain-free living, and long- term camaraderie with others.
I am Jill Knapp Campbell, Vice President and Director of Training for LifeWaters. I want to personally welcome you to our organization. I’m nearly always available to assist you or answer your questions so please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or by phone or text: 303 378 7164. Thank you very much for expressing interest in LifeWaters and WELCOME! You’ve apparently been referred or heard about us through the VA or PVA or FaceBook and are interested in either becoming a Certified SDI Scubility Diver or a Certified SDI Scubility Dive Buddy. Thank you!
We are a non-profit with a goal of supporting SCUBA diving for ALL disabled individuals, including veterans and civilians. LifeWaters intention is to serve the whole disabled community. We focus primarily on Veterans but will accept anyone as long as you can gain your physician’s release to dive and we can make you safe underwater! We welcome all disabled divers and we specialize in providing training to individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI).
We function solely on fundraising and grants. LifeWaters can provide this training free or at a low cost due to our donations and grants. We are also willing to train your friends and family members who may want to dive with you at a low cost but we currently cannot train them for free. For all divers we require a refundable $50 deposit that will only be kept if you fail to complete the course within the specified amount of time, which is generally a year.
All of our volunteers are 100% volunteers, volunteering their areas of expertise, diving as buddies, travel, hotel and vacation time. When we seek grants and donations we seek not only funding for training disabled divers but also the necessary volunteers. It may take up to 3 dive buddies to keep each adaptive diver safe underwater!
LifeWaters is primarily based in St. Louis, MO but we have affiliated facilities in Mesa, Az; Denver, CO; Houston, TX; Jupiter Beach, Fl; Mermet Springs, IL; and White Bear Lake, MN. We are also hoping to have new facilities in Milwaukee, WI and Miami, FL within the next year and will continue to add more as we find resources and instructors. Please don’t despair if you are not located in one of these areas or near your location. We are continually reaching out to other SDI Scubility Training Facilities and Instructors to enter into an agreement with to assist in getting classes completed. In the emails that I’ve read, I’ve already been able to round up a few more instructors and there will be a mass email in a few weeks to all who have requested information with additional follow up information. At this time (October, 2019) we are in the process of adding an additional 20 SDI Scubility Dive Instructors in order to bring this training closer to you.
One of the things that makes LifeWaters outstanding in this adaptive diver field is that we have a cadre of medical staff who assist us either as instructors or dive buddies and nearly all of our dive trips have either physicians, nurses, therapists or first responders attending to help meet any emergency or medical needs.
For ALL interested divers or potential divers:
- This process always begins with the paperwork.
- Complete the online LifeWaters Application and return it to me [email protected] if it doesn’t automatically send it to me
- Complete the attached Medical Questionnaire and return it to me using complete words, “yes” or “no” for your response to each question.
- Take the second page of the Medical Questionnaire, which is the physician’s statement to your primary care physician or the physician that sees you the most and ask them to sign the release giving you permission to SCUBA dive. Return it to me at [email protected] This release is good for one year unless your medical status changes for any reason.
- Complete the attached SDI Liability release and return it to [email protected]
- You may leave the information you do not have blank.
Previously Certified Diver who may or may not need assistance or adaptations:
- Are you a previously certified diver who hasn’t been underwater since your illness and/or injury?
- LifeWaters needs a copy of your certification card (no matter how old it is) or you can contact that agency (PADI, NAUI, SSI…) and get a replacement card with your registration number.
- Complete the same forms for all applicants: LifeWaters Application, Liability Release, Medical Questionnaire including the signed Physician’s statement.
- Upon receipt of these completed forms you will be connected with a SDI Scubility Dive Instructor to complete a full SCUBA Open Water Diver Refresher with a SDI Instructor and that Instructor will also evaluate you for any necessary safety adaptations. This may mean a recertification with a need for additional buddy support to keep you and your dive buddies safe underwater.
New Open Water Adaptive Diver:
1. If you are new to diving and love to be in the water, this may be the new sport for you!
- Once I’ve received the paperwork, we would arrange for you to participate in a SDI SCUBA Discovery Program. This ensures that before we issue you an “elearning” code that you think it’s a good fit and doable!
- The online course requires about 10-12 hours of your time to go through the academic portion of the course. We would provide you this code for free.
- The next step is confined water learning to determine what your abilities in the water are! You will be required to complete as many of the 38 in water safety skills as you are capable of. This will also help determine how many SDI Certified Scubility Dive Buddies (1-3) you will require underwater to keep both you and your dive buddies safe!
- Then you will complete your 4 Open Water Dives in an open water dive locations
Dive Buddy/ Volunteer: (We love our Volunteers and they are the core of our organization)
In order to enter into the SDI Scubiltiy Dive Buddy Certification Course:
- Dive Buddies must hold the following certifications from any recognized dive certification agency:
- Along with their Open Water Diver certification they must also hold
- SDI First Responder Training or equal to First Aid training
- SDI First Responder Oxygen Provider Training or equal to
- Advanced Diver and have 40 additional dives logged in their dive log
- OR hold Rescue Diver Certification or Above (DiveMaster, Asst. Instructor, Instructor…)
- Along with their Open Water Diver certification they must also hold
Professional Diver: DiveMaster; Asst. Instructor or Instructor Certification Ratings:
- If you hold a Divemaster, Asst. Instructor or Instructor rating from any other recognized dive organization crossing over to SDI. We are always looking for new instructors!
- Please contact me for further information. We may be able to do this for free depending on our funding at the time. Instructor Cross-overs are an easy way to enter this program and give us a hand.
Dive Trips:
Currently LifeWaters sponsors 2-3 dive trips per year to Cozumel, Bonaire, Cayman Brac, etc. We are also hoping for one to Jupiter, FL in 2020. These trips can accommodate up to 10 or so disabled divers but that number is based on the number of dive buddies each diver requires and the number of available accessible accommodation rooms. Please remember that iIt can take up to 3 buddies per diver to get divers in the water and that all of our dive buddies are volunteering their time, expenses, etc. We also have dives at the Georgia Aquarium at least three times a year.
LifeWaters does NOT provide funding for any dive trips or diving, other than certification dives, from our fundraising or grants. Divers are encouraged to seek out funding from their local PVA chapters or other disabled veteran groups, etc.
Please see that there are forms here which need to be completed by everyone interested in diving with LifeWaters whether it’s as a SDI Scubility Open Water Diver or as a Volunteer Buddy or SDI Instructor:
- LifeWaters Application form
- SDI Liability Release
- SDI Medical Questionnaire including the second page which is the Physician’s statement that you are medically released to scuba dive
