PADI® Members around the world continue to take action for the ocean, their businesses, the dive industry and their local communities – hope is certainly rising.

Despite the challenges that PADI Dive Centers, Resorts and Professionals have faced, they continue to give back to their local communities as part of our global effort to create balance between humanity and the ocean.

From turning their dive centers into vaccine centers to partnering with non-profit organizations, PADI Members in every corner of the globe continue to support their local communities and lead the way as PADI Torchbearers.

1. Creating Their Own Vaccination Center: Indian Valley Scuba

Wanting to help their state of Pennsylvania out with the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, this PADI Five Star Career Development (CDC) Center turned their dive shop into a vaccination center! Indian Valley Scuba organized an entire vaccination program roll-out with a qualified pharmacist on-site to administer shots to over 100 members of their local community. 

2. Training Up Locals in First Aid: NYC Department of Corrections Training Academy

Commissioner Dale and over 8700 uniformed officers of the NYC Department of Corrections Training Academy are taking part in the PADI Emergency First Response program. After becoming certified as emergency first responders themselves, these heroes in blue plan to pay it forward to their local communities by running outreach programs that will then teach neighborhood kids and church groups these same lifesaving skills.

3.  Coming Together to Support One of Their Own: Peter Rombaut

When Peter Rombout, a Course Director at PADI Five Star Dive Center Bubble and Dive in Belgium, found out that fellow PADI Professional Akram Hussien Mahmoud wasn’t going to be able to afford his PADI renewal fees, he dove straight in to help! Peter rallied other PADI Divers and Instructors together to collectively raise the money for Akram’s fees so he could continue to work as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor—a true PADI community effort to help one of their own stay afloat.

4. Making Kids Ocean Heroes: Algeria Dive Resort

This PADI Dive Center in the Philippines is teaching children there is no age limit when it comes to being a hero for the ocean! Algeria Dive Resort is working with their local communities to organize beach clean-ups for the youth that live there. The goal of these beach clean-ups is to inspire the children to be PADI Torchbearers for their community and show them how small actions can have a larger positive global impact.

5. Choosing Morale Over Money: Divers Den

Since last year, this PADI Five Star Dive Center in Queensland has felt the emotional and financial effects of not having any international tourists—specifically their team members. So Divers Den decided to shift their focus completely and start a youth diving program for local kids. The goal of the program was to engage with children in the community through PADI Bubblemaker and Seal Team training while also offering a way for staff to feel inspired again through teaching diving, with the financial gains being secondary. The program has now become a Con Ed opportunity, with many in the program progressing to the PADI Scuba Diver Training and the staff forming unbreakable bonds with their students.

6. Stepping into a New Role: Shamaa (Anna) Hameed

When the Maldives began to see another surge of Covid-19 cases throughout their island nation, PADI Platinum Course Director Anna Hameed swapped her wetsuit for a white lab coat without hesitation. Anna is also a trained medical doctor and offered to assist the Hulhumale Medical Centre to support other physicians during their medical professional shortage in the community and help those impacted by the pandemic.

7. Collaborating to Create Job Opportunities: Waterworld and Kerry College

Kerry College in conduction with PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center (IDC) Waterworld  have developed a course for employment, training college students from PADI Open Water to PADI Instructor over a 41 week period.  The course also includes a six-week work placement program, where each student will work with other dive centers in Ireland getting practical experience by shadowing PADI Instructors.  This is the first course of its type in Ireland and unique to Kerry College.  Sandra Fitzgibbon, the PADI Course Director leading the program, says it is “the first step in developing Ireland as a world class diving destination with PADI Instructors leading the way!” 

8. Creating Pathways for Diversity in Diving: DiverSeaFy

This Los Angeles non-profit organization is working to create a world where the ocean is accessible to everyone in the community, regardless of race of socioeconomic status. DiverSeaFy was founded by PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Max Bracey, who has a vision to engage with youth of color aged 14-18 years old and support their journey towards becoming PADI Open Water Divers by lowering the financial burdens often associated with certification. The long-term vision is to then forge a community focused on conservation and use the lessons that the ocean offers to create a better environment to live in.

Share Your Hope Rising Stories with #PADIPeople

There is hope rising everywhere. PADI will continue to amplify stories like these with fellow PADI Members and divers to inspire, excite and accelerate recovery by demonstrating the spirit of #PADIPeople around the world.

Share your own stories about how you are making a difference, and the better days that are possible right now through diving. Simply post descriptions, photos or videos to your social media channels, tagging PADI and #PADIPeople.

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