Every year, the Scuba Tank staff and our wonderful customers team up to raise money for children with hemophilia by spending a total of 48 hours underwater. Each summer, Hemophilia of Indiana sponsors a weeklong summer camp for children with Hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. Camp Brave Eagle, which is located at Camp Crosley, (a YMCA camp on little Lake Tippecanoe) encourages children with such disorders to become self-sufficient (learning to infuse themselves, etc.), to build self-esteem, and mostly to have fun. This camp allows these children to experience camp in a safe, medically supervised and equipped environment.

An average child with a bleeding disorder is not able to enjoy many of the activities a healthy child can, and financial burdens are often tremendous and placed on their families. The average cost of maintaining the health of a child with a bleeding disorder can total up to approximately $200,000 per year. Co-payments from insurance of 20% (if the family has not reached its maximum) could make the total rise to approximately $400,000 per year. These costs are for one, single child. Most families having more than one child may have additional costs since Hemophilia and most bleeding disorders are hereditary.

We at the Scuba Tank became aware of Camp Brave Eagle through friends and fellow divers who have a son, Drew, with a bleeding disorder. We have seen first hand some of the hardships these disorders can put on families and the children. Anytime Drew goes outside to play, he must first have a "boo boo shot". If he bumps his head, which an active child does frequently, he needs to be taken to the emergency room for a CAT scan. We truly feel that all children with bleeding disorders deserve an opportunity to attend a camp like this one, and we want to help to fund this worthwhile endeavor, but we need your help. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to meet and visit with many more children in our area for whom we raise money for to help them get to camp.

What we do in our "Dive-A-Thon" is to continuously keep scuba divers underwater for 48 hours. Our divers are independently soliciting donations or pledges for either the amount of time he/she is underwater or for a set amount. This year's "Dive-A-Thon" is taking place on Friday March 3, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. until Sunday March 5, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at the Valparaiso Family YMCA.

As a part of our program, we also solicit many food donations from local fast food and family owned restaurants. Some of the many sponsors in years past have been Taco Bell, Dottie's, White Castle, Tony's Pizza, Papa John's Pizza, Quiznos, and The Chocolate Café (South Bend Chocolate Company) all located here in Valparaiso. Other corporate sponsors include Bank One (now Chase), Cargill, WalMart, and many more.

As a special during the 48-hour period of time, we are offering to do a Discover Scuba Diving program with a $20.00 donation per person. We will start you off by watching a 15 minute video and filling out a medical statement and liability waiver, then heading into the pool for a 30-45 minute pool session in full scuba equipment, where you will learn a couple of skills just like you would if you were taking the regular course. If you are interested in doing a Discover Scuba Diving session, please contact us ahead of time if possible, so that we can arrange a time and have an instructor ready for you. Anyone ages 8 and older can do this program, so get your family and friends together and come visit us while we work toward our goal with this great endeavor.

Please contact the staff at the Scuba Tank, 219-477-4454, to further discuss this unique opportunity to help these children, or you can visit Hemophilia of Indiana's website at:

Scuba Tank Owner/Instructor Chuck Linder along with one of the many children in our area who have hemophilia, finishing a discover scuba diving program during our 2005 dive-a-thon!

Instructor Brandon Scott with Chris Anderson doing a discover scuba diving course while David Linder snorkels using a diver propulsion vehicle during our 2005 dive-a-thon!

Our table in the deep end of the Valparaiso Family YMCA where divers get to play cards, chess, among other games while they are underwater for their 3-hour session.