Bubbles for Vets, a veteran-founded nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans, first responders, and their families reconnect through scuba diving, will join the global diving community at DEMA Show 2026, November 3–6, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Visitors can find Bubbles for Vets at Booth #434.
Founded by veterans and first responders, Bubbles for Vets uses scuba diving as a shared experience that encourages connection, confidence, and healing for individuals and families navigating the challenges that can follow military service and emergency response work.
More Than a Dive: An Opportunity to Reconnect
Invisible wounds can affect an entire family. Post-traumatic stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and social isolation can place strain on relationships long after a service member or first responder has returned home.
Bubbles for Vets addresses these challenges by bringing families together in a supportive, trauma-informed environment where they can learn new skills, overcome challenges, and experience the underwater world as a team.
The nonprofit offers multi-day scuba retreats in West Central Florida for veterans, first responders, and their families. Depending on the program, support can include travel, lodging, meals, certified scuba instruction, pool and open-water dives, adaptive equipment, and access to follow-up counseling for up to one year.
The goal extends beyond earning a scuba certification. Participants have the opportunity to rebuild trust, strengthen family relationships, develop confidence, and establish connections with others who understand their experiences.
Building Partnerships That Make a Difference
At DEMA Show 2026, Bubbles for Vets will have the opportunity to connect with dive industry professionals, training organizations, equipment manufacturers, dive resorts, travel partners, and potential sponsors who share a commitment to making scuba diving accessible and meaningful.
These relationships are essential to expanding the nonprofit’s reach and helping more families participate in experiences that might otherwise be financially or physically out of reach.
The organization welcomes conversations with individuals and businesses interested in sponsoring family retreats, donating equipment or services, providing travel and lodging support, or collaborating on future programs.
As DEMA Show celebrates its 50th anniversary, the event brings together hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of diving professionals from around the world—creating an important opportunity for mission-driven organizations like Bubbles for Vets to build relationships and develop new ways to serve their communities.
A Mission Rooted in Shared Experience
Bubbles for Vets was founded by Tony Joyce, a veteran Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician and dive instructor, alongside Melisa Joyce. Drawing on military diving experience and a commitment to supporting those who have served, the organization combines certified scuba training with personalized, adaptive, and trauma-informed support.
Its programs are designed to accommodate different abilities and individual needs, helping participants experience the water in an environment focused on safety, encouragement, and connection.
The organization believes that healing does not have to happen in isolation. Sometimes, it begins with learning something new together, trusting a teammate, or sharing a moment of peace beneath the surface.
Join Bubbles for Vets in New Orleans
DEMA Show attendees are invited to visit Bubbles for Vets at Booth #434, November 3–6, to learn about its programs, explore partnership opportunities, and discover how the diving community can help make a lasting difference in the lives of veterans, first responders, and their families.
Whether through sponsorship, equipment donations, dive experiences, or simply helping spread the word, every connection has the potential to help another family take its next step toward healing.
To learn more about the organization’s mission, programs, and opportunities to support its work, visit bubblesforvets.org.