The Challenges Foundation teaches physically challenged people to skin dive, scuba dive and sail.
In July of 2008, we taught our first Challenges Veterans Project class. This class was dedicated to teaching wounded and disabled veterans how to swim, skin and scuba dive. The program was in participation with the Veteran's Administration and was funded with a generous grant from The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. This was the first of its kind project for Los Angeles area Wounded and Disabled Veterans. There is growing evidence of the therapeutic value of these activities for persons with disabilities including the most common wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). The class was taught by Chief Instructor Nicolas Coster and co-instructor Bryan Troxler who are both Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA), and NAUI certified dive instructors. They were assisted by Lt. Col. Mel Pasley USAR (retired), and a decorated Iraq War Veteran. He was trained as a "certified buddy" by the HSA. Mel is now a fully certified NAUI and HSA Instructor. We were also assisted by Cindy Rhode, who is also now a fully certified LA County, NAUI and HSA Instuctor. She also served as an intern for Nicolas Coster. All instructors and assistants donate their time and effort. LTC Pasley has now formed with our encouragement, The Disabled Veterans Scuba Project. The Challenges Foundation is partnering with DVSP by supplying equipment and funding.
A sailing program is now a direct focus for the foundation. Coster feels after teaching scuba since 1974 and physically challenged divers since 1982, that teaching a heavy schedule of scuba diving can and will be picked up by younger women and men. The "baton" is being passed to Mel and the other instructors. Many of our Wounded Veterans are unable for medical reasons to scuba dive but enjoy and find much value in sailing. The Challenges Veterans Sailing Project is simply a way for Coster and others to "give back" to those Americans who have sacrificed so much.
DONATIONS-We would gratefully appreciate any assistance the public could provide to transition these pilot projects to a recurring class for our returning veterans. See the Donate page for how you can help.
