CHESAPEAKE REGION ACCESSIBLE BOATING
Our Foundation continues its significant support to CRAB, who continue making enormous advances in meeting their mission
Most recently, after overcoming innumerable legal, financial, logistical, and other obstacles, they have launched an Adaptive Boating Center in Annapolis. This is a much-needed expansion due to ever increasing demand for their services. The Adaptive Boating Center is open year-round, with a 16-slip floating dock marina and increased adaptive boarding equipment. Certification courses, sailing and boating training courses, and therapy courses for people with disabilities will be incorporated into CRAB’s existing sailing programs and will continue to be offered free of charge.
The Don Backe Learning Center is at the heart of the Adaptive Boating Center facility. This universally accessible learning environment allows guests to participate year-round in CRAB educational and training programs.
Check out the videos below for more information:
The New Adaptive Boating Center
DIVEHEART
JKF Support for Diveheart continues to make a difference.
“Adapting to Dive” by Los Angeles filmmaker David Marsh won its 10th international film festival award.
The Julien Dubuque International Film Festival has made Adapting to Dive an Official Selection of its 2023 Festival. The filmmaker as well as Diveheart’s Founder and Executive Director encourage everyone in the dive community and the community of individuals with disabilities to watch and share the documentary.
Since its premiere in May, the documentary has received honors from ten film festivals including the Orlando International Film Festival, Cine Paris, Marina del Rey Film Festival, and Impact Doc awards. The film is now available on the popular streaming service Amazon Video, tubiTV, Roku and other streaming services. You can see it here: Adapting To Dive
More Award-Winning Educational Video Productions
Diveheart’s video series, “Divers with Heart,” along with the videos “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Adaptive Dive Buddy & Advocate” and “Diving on the Autism Spectrum,” have been named finalists in the prestigious 2023 Sharecare Awards.
The “Divers with Heart” video series showcases the incredible journeys of adaptive scuba divers with various disabilities. These videos celebrate the power of determination, resilience, and the transformative impact of scuba diving on individuals’ lives. You can view these and many more amazing videos here: https://www.youtube.com/user/DiveheartFoundation/videos.
More than Veterans
17-year-old Claire Christofori took her first underwater breaths in the swimming pool at Arlington Park & Aquatic Complex on June 17, and said she was looking forward to something even bigger: a body of water like Sarasota Bay where she might encounter marine life — maybe even a sea turtle. The Diveheart Scuba Experience had left her feeling “confident,” she said.
Her mother, Dawn Callahan, said that while Christofori, who has cerebral palsy, is unable to walk, she can enjoy freedom of movement and weightlessness in the water. As a result, Callahan began searching for a way Christofori could learn to scuba dive, eventually discovering Diveheart and its programs.
Read the full article here.
NEW MEXICO CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
Neglected/Abused Children Find Advocacy for Court Appearances
Court-appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteers make a life-changing difference for children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Each volunteer is appointed by a judge to advocate for a child’s best interest in court. Our volunteers help judges develop a fuller picture of each child’s life. Their advocacy enables judges to make the most well-informed decision for each child.
NMCF has supported over 120000 children this year, with priorities on emotional security safety and shelter.
ASSISTANCE DOGS OF THE WEST
ADW is now offering Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) classes, which utilize the Mission Based Trauma Recovery training model, in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
WCC teaches warriors how to train service dogs for other veterans with disabilities. The dogs are trained to provide mobility support and to offer constant, non-judgmental, healing companionship to minds and bodies ravaged by war.
ADW is the first service dog agency in the United States to be partnered with the national Warrior Canine Connection, a nonprofit whose mission revolves around dog training. The organization is unique in that it enlists Warriors recovering from post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries to help train service dogs for their fellow veterans. By doing so, these service members re-learn valuable life skills.
CENTRAL FLORIDA DREAMPLEX
CFD held a volleyball sports clinic in August.
Participants learned about serving, setting, hitting and playing non-competitive games in this sports clinic in partnership with the Montverde Academy ladies volleyball team! Open to children and adults with physical disabilities and/or special needs, ages 7 and up.
