Changing Lives One Dive at a Time

Help Change the Lives of these AMAZING kids with disabilities, One Dive at a Time In Key Largo, FL!
 
The Cody Unser First Step Foundation Adaptive SCUBA Journey

Cody Unser, CUFSF founder began her journey living with Transverse Myelitis resulting in SCI at the age of 12, thrown into the spotlight with a famous last name; she embraced the opportunity to make a difference. In October 1999, the Cody Unser First Step Foundation was established in Albuquerque, NM. Cody evolved the foundation to include Quality of Life through an Adaptive SCUBA Program that developed into Cody’s Great Scuba Adventures (2002, 2004, 2007), which facilitates scuba diving trips to provide participants with disabilities from all over the country with scuba instruction, and open water certification.

CUFSF Adaptive SCUBA Program began with Cody and her family becoming certified divers in 2001 and the SCUBA program expanded in 2007 when CUFSF created “Operation Deep Down” the Dive Team for CUFSF. This “heart centered” volunteer Dive Team is staffed with PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) Master Instructors as well as two Handicapped SCUBA Association (HSA) Course Directors, whom have been designated as the New Mexico HSA Dive Center.

The Cody Unser First Step Foundation and Riley Children’s Foundation Relationship

After five seasons of SCUBA programming in partnership with the Riley Children’s Foundation in Indianapolis, CUFSF is expanding its Adaptive SCUBA Program services to include an Open Water Diver Certification in the ocean to continue our progress by providing these young adults the opportunity to achieve independence through a sporting activity.

For CUFSF participants who have demonstrated and achieved Aquarium Diver Certifications, the next step in programming includes the ultimate experience of a lifetime, diving in open water, experiencing the wonders of marine life in its natural habitat, and SCUBA Diving like everyone else.

Cody’s vision for CUFSF is to continue to serve the “Kids Camps”. This is the final step for Cody and the young adults she serves and will provide the participants with opportunity to learn how to budget for the trip, how to travel, navigate hotels and dive shops, become more independent and learn from each other how to address all the challenges associated with their disability. They are also taking on the personal responsibility in helping CUFSF Dive Team document and report changes in their health as they dive. This will reinforce and add to the first conventional SCUBA study CUFSF conducted in 2011 on Paralyzed Veterans.

A few of the kids in this program have gone on to college and are pursuing a future that they say is a result of their experiences accomplishing what no one else thought they could have done, leaving others to watch in amazement.

Knowing that Cody dove in the ocean and is an Advanced Open Water SCUBA certified Diver only inspires the individuals we serve to emulate her independence, courage, and accomplishments. The young adults are asking for an ocean experience and the opportunity to continue their SCUBA Training and become Open Water SCUBA certified Divers, just like Cody. This program is more than just a sporting activity, it is a life lesson that demonstrates accessibility, inclusion, independence, and shows our participants that there are no boundaries and no limits to what they can achieve in life.

Meet these kids here! Check out what they have said about the meaning of SCUBA and what this trip to Key Largo, FL would mean to them.


“Changing Lives One Dive At A Time” CUFSF Adaptive SCUBA Program Will Accomplish the Following:

For the Individual: this program will help them to further their independence, maneuver in the “real world”, show them possibilities in new environments, manage their own care, and train them to be Open Water SCUBA Divers where they can dive independently outside of our program and be active in a sport for a lifetime.

For the Dive Industry: this program will provide an example of individuals with disability participating in a sport that was once “off-limits” or thought to be “too risky”. It will demonstrate that individuals with disabilities are able to learn to SCUBA Dive and can participate in mainstream sports with little risk to the diver and those who dive with them. It removes apprehension from an industry that once served a specific population and will show that there are people with disabilities that want a new level of quality of life, beyond basic needs.

For the Medical Community: this program will provide doctors with a new environment for research and to consider new hypothesis based on participant experiences; physical therapists with a new modality and therapy tool to consider for mobility challenged patients; mental health professionals with feedback on sensory environments; and camp counselors with options for activity based sporting that promotes inclusion.

What We Are Asking For

CUFSF was awarded a seed Quality of Life grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for $10,000.00 towards making the final Open Water Dive Certification a reality. We have chosen Key Largo, Florida in the Spring of 2016 and need to reach our budget of $30,000.00 which will cover the travel for each participant, their chosen dive buddies, lodging, dive boats, scuba gear, accompanied by our highly qualified Dive Team, volunteers, and medical staff.

We are seeking sponsors to help match the grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation or donations from companies or individuals at any level until we achieve our budget. This wonderful group of families is also willing to help fundraise for the trip and have their own empowering stories of this journey we have all taken together.

Please donate what you can....anything helps to make what most people think isn't possible...SCUBA Diving with a disability!


Thank you for your time, Cody Unser