From Stay-Focused

Stay-Focused offers a unique, transformational learning experience to teens and young adults with disabilities. Through a SCUBA certification program, participants gain confidence, develop leadership skills, become more independent, and join the Stay-Focused community. Participants learn to challenge themselves, set higher goals, and form long-term relationships.

Stay-Focused is further committed to supporting medical research that explores the beneficial aspects of diving on persons with mobility challenges.

Just recently two local students learnt how to scuba dive alongside a group of teens with disabilities, as part of Stay-Focused’s new initiative to raise awareness of teens and young adults with disabilities in the Cayman Islands.

The Organization

Roger Muller worked in both academia and the business world before committing to his passion of creating an organization that would provide teens with a unique learning experience. On a diving trip to Grand Cayman in 2000, Roger dived with his brother Bobby, a Marine Corps combat veteran and a paraplegic as a result of an injury sustained in Vietnam. Seeing how much Bobby enjoyed the freedom of diving, Roger decided Stay-Focused would be dedicated to offering teens with disabilities the same opportunity to enjoy the water that his brother had experienced. Stay-Focused, a 501(c)(3) public charity, was incorporated in January 2003.

Stay-Focused offers a unique, transformational learning experience to teens and young adults with disabilities. Through a SCUBA certification program, participants gain confidence, develop leadership skills, become more independent, and join the Stay-Focused community. Participants learn to challenge themselves, set higher goals, and form long-term relationships. Stay-Focused is committed to supporting medical research that explores the beneficial aspects of diving on persons with mobility challenges.

Programs

Stay-Focused programs are typically conducted during the summer months when participants are out of school and free to travel to the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman, the home of our diving programs, offers the ideal environment for new and returning divers. The water is warm year round, which is important for anyone with paralysis; the visibility is great; there is little if any current, which ensures safer dives; and the dive sites are close to shore, which makes for short travel times on the dive boat.

It is often said water is the great equalizer and that is particularly relevant for our diving population. With little or no adaptive equipment, our divers are free to enjoy diving in the same way as anyone else, which makes it different from most sports.

Our first-time diver program is a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) certification program, which introduce participants to SCUBA diving from both an academic and experiential perspective. Programs usually consist of six, first-time divers, several Stay-Focused mentors, an athletic coach, a medical doctor, and the founder of the organization. Stay-Focused relies on the support of diving instructors who volunteer their time to be involved with the programs.

Participants must complete their academic and diving training successfully to achieve their certification by the end of the week. Outside the classroom and diving environments, participants engage in a number of activities, including workshops on marine life and team-building, designed to enhance their experience.

All Stay-Focused divers are invited for a Reunion program one year after their first program. Reunion programs are more relaxed, enable participants to refresh their skills and do more diving, and focus on team-building and goal setting.

Mentor programs are designed to bring Stay-Focused mentors together, along with facilitators, coaches and the founder of the organization, to engage in team-building activities and focus on leadership development. Stay-Focused mentors are the emerging leaders in the organization and it is critical to the success of the organization to engage them in all aspects of running Stay-Focused, from their roles in guiding and mentoring divers, to supporting the organization’s fund-raising activities.

Campaigns

Fundraising is an ongoing activity for all nonprofits. Whether it’s an annual event or a capital campaign, plans are always being discussed and reviewed – and it’s no different for Stay-Focused. Push Across America was a significant event for Stay-Focused for multiple reasons. First, it was an ambitious event for a small nonprofit. What Ryan Chalmers and Roger Muller first discussed rather casually in 2009 became a huge undertaking – four vehicles, a crew of eight, 71 days, 3,321 miles. Second, it celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Stay-Focused, which, by itself, is an accomplishment. Third, it was designed to build awareness for the potential of all persons with disabilities, which it did. And a major part of Ryan’s motivation for doing the Push was to create an endowment for Stay-Focused, an organization that has changed his life. Ryan did an amazing job – never wavered in his commitment to doing what he needed to do, each and every day, and he pushed with determination, focus, and passion.

For the remainder of 2013, the focus will be on raising funds for the Stay-Focused endowment. While the Push itself was undeniably successful, the campaign continues with a goal of $5 million by the end of the year. Fund-raising events will take place in cities across America, in cities the team pushed through as well as others not along the route. And there will be a return to Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands) for Push Across Cayman on Sunday, November 17th, 2013. Ryan pushed his racing chair across Cayman last November for the first time to bring awareness to the Push Across America campaign. Based on the success of last year’s event, Stay-Focused was encouraged to make Push Across Cayman an annual event. This year Ryan will be joined by fellow Stay-Focused divers and Paralympians, Aaron Pike and Brian, for the 55-mile push.

Medical Research

An important part of our mission statement is the commitment to supporting medical research. To accomplish this goal, we have a team of medical doctors collaborating to develop research protocols.

The current objectives of our medical research program include establishing guidelines to optimize the safety of SCUBA diving for persons with disabilities, accurately describing the risks of SCUBA diving for persons with disabilities to ensure that they are not inappropriately restricted, and determining the physiologic and psychological benefits of SCUBA diving for persons with disabilities.

Using spirometers, we have investigated the effects of SCUBA diving on the pulmonary function of our divers. The dive profiles of all Stay-Focused participants are recorded using dive monitors. This information is being utilized to develop and refine dive protocols to maximize safety and enjoyment.

PHOTOS: Stay-Focused

For more on this story and how to donate go to: https://www.stay-focused.org/