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H2O 70

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
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5
Location
Baltimore, Maryland
# of dives
I'm a Fish!
Hey everybody!

I'd just like to take a moment for ask for the support of fellow ScubaBoarders and vote for us to receive a Pepsi Refresh grant of $25,000.

This money would be used to make capital investments in the organization. You can see the proposed budget on Pepsi's site.

Check us out at our website H2O 70.

Please post here if you have any questions, or PM me.

Thank you all for your support!

Click here to vote for us!
 
I signed up and voted, but I'd like to point out a few concerns.

The poll on your homepage only allows one option. If you're trying to actually gather usable data, it needs to be broadened or allow multiple choices.

Since the goal is to certify 15 low income kids in order to teach them conservation and help them connect with the environment, are they going to be presented with gear to help them continue to do so? Diving can be an expensive sport with training being only a small part of the cost. It may provide a great experience, but it they don't have the means to continue in the sport it will be difficult for them to become ambassadors for it. What is the long term goal in this regard?

Some of the reflected breakdown on the allocation of funds seems a bit excessive. Are these based on actual retail pricing? It just seems like the money should be able to go a bit further than what I'm seeing...
 
I signed up and voted, but I'd like to point out a few concerns.

The poll on your homepage only allows one option. If you're trying to actually gather usable data, it needs to be broadened or allow multiple choices.

Since the goal is to certify 15 low income kids in order to teach them conservation and help them connect with the environment, are they going to be presented with gear to help them continue to do so? Diving can be an expensive sport with training being only a small part of the cost. It may provide a great experience, but it they don't have the means to continue in the sport it will be difficult for them to become ambassadors for it. What is the long term goal in this regard?

Some of the reflected breakdown on the allocation of funds seems a bit excessive. Are these based on actual retail pricing? It just seems like the money should be able to go a bit further than what I'm seeing...

I'll follow up on the poll. Thank you for the feedback.

As for the rest of it. The way that they, Pepsi, structured the proposal was in chunks of money, $5000, $25000, $50000, & $250000. So we couldn't apply for $20000. Everything had to add up to $25000. So yes, some does seem inflated.

Let me address the long term goal with the students. Morgan State University has been doing a quasi similar program with their students. There is a professor there named Jon Parker. For years he has had a 'club'. The club is open to students of Morgan State. Jon is not an instructor. He is just finishing his DM through PADI. Jon has worked out a deal with one of our LDS and the National Association of Black SCUBA Divers. The LDS, Diver's Den, rents him their gear, complete with truck, for their pool sessions and checkouts. He also gets the course material through them. He has members of the NABSD who are instructors do the SCUBA teaching. We've met with him and his students and we're working on creating a partnership with him and his club. I believe he is also trying to get a 501(c) status for his club. We would like to connect our kids to his club once they are certified. If these kids are connected with a college and college students, their matriculation rates to college, namely Morgan, will likely increase. I'm still trying to find empirical proof of this. 'After school' programs are more focused on keeping them in High School. I've also contacted various commercial diving training centers. I'm getting a lot of promotional information from them. Again, we can present our students with opportunities using their skills.

On a very practical aspect, there are a variety of River Keeper Associations around here, the is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Academy of Natural Science Estuarine Research Center, the Maryland Historical Society, so on so forth, which have and do use SCUBA divers on a volunteer basis to help them out with their missions. These are opportunities for our kids to use their skills and get connected to the environment. We can 'broker' these opportunities for them.

Our goal is to work out a deal with our LDSs. A few weeks ago we talked to 8 different ones in the area. We want our kids to go there and 'buy' their personal gear (mask, snorkel, fins, and booties). Kids pick it out and the shop calls me and I pay for it. We've found that the shops are open to this. We want the kids to experience actually going to a dive shop.

As for owning their own BCDs, regs, tanks, computers, so on so forth. I don't think that is realistic for them. However this is where the $25,000 can make a huge impact. If we have our own 'rental fleet' we'll gladly loan it to them to use for service projects. Logistically if we have our own fleet of gear, 15 students in a year is an understated goal. If we have to rent the gear from LDSs, that is logistically hard. To answer your question, a lot the budget was based on MSRP of gear suitable for cold water environment.

Two weeks ago, I met with the Director of Aquatic Programs at Baltimore City Parks and Recreation. He has included us in his annual budget that goes before the Mayor on April 7th. If we can partner with them, they have a large group of our target kids that can already swim. He would very much like to figure out a formal partnership with us to get us to certify the kids in their Aquatics Program as divers.

We've got a few manufactures on board with us, and that will make our dollars go that much farther. Right now, that budget is for 6 sets of gear. If we can get 12, that would be amazing.

We're new. No one has done this. We are still hammering out detail and taking opportunities as they come and seeking opportunities.

I just want to clarify. We want our kids to become ambassadors of the environment. SCUBA is the vehicle. Hopefully they will become ambassadors of the sport as well.

Does this help answer your questions?
 
As for owning their own BCDs, regs, tanks, computers, so on so forth. I don't think that is realistic for them. However this is where the $25,000 can make a huge impact. If we have our own 'rental fleet' we'll gladly loan it to them to use for service projects. Logistically if we have our own fleet of gear, 15 students in a year is an understated goal. If we have to rent the gear from LDSs, that is logistically hard. To answer your question, a lot the budget was based on MSRP of gear suitable for cold water environment.

Does this help answer your questions?

Thanks. It makes a lot more sense to reach out to underprivileged kids if they'll have the opportunity to have gear loaned to them while participating in projects.
 
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