SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES
Support the Dive Team through donations, sponsorships, or volunteering—your contribution helps us stay trained, equipped, and ready to serve.
The Portage County Water Rescue Team (PCWRT) has proudly served our community since 2001, answering the call when lives are on the line in floods, swiftwater, ice, and dive emergencies. What began as 30 members from 5 fire departments has grown into 90 dedicated volunteers from 19 public safety agencies, united by one mission: to save lives. Our divers, shore support crews, family liaisons, and drone pilots bring skill, compassion, and courage to every operation. As we approach our 25th year, we continue to rely on community support to equip our team with life-saving tools—like larger rescue boats, underwater drones, and advanced air systems—so we can serve with greater safety, speed, and strength.
Your gift powers rescue missions when every second counts.
Due to having a small budget that is mostly spent on training, we heavily rely on fundraising to be able to purchase larger items for the team, such as the drone this year. We are currently looking for funding to help us purchase 3 important pieces of equipment to help our team operate safer and more efficiently.
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First and most important is a large 18' inflatable boat, our current inflatables are 14' and this larger boat would give us safer capabilities and the ability to rescue more people in flood water situations. In 2024 145 people drowned in flooding in the US. The summer of 2025 has shown us that flooding can happen anywhere and that number will be much higher, we need to be prepared to handle these incidents if they occur in our region. The cost of this boat with trailer and motor is approximately $41,000.
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Underwater drone: This Underwater Remote Vehicle works off a tether and operator on the shore that directs it via remote control. The URV has a video camera, lights, sonar and a claw that when an object is located, it can attach itself to the object so that a diver can easily find it. In situations where an individual may have fallen through the ice, the URV can be dropped in the hole and start searching for the victim while the divers are getting ready, if it finds them, the claw is strong enough to bring them back to the surface, decreasing recovery time and increasing their chances of survival. These URVs range in cost from $20,000. to $40,000.
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Surface supplied air: A surface supplied air unit gives the diver more opportunity to work under the water for longer periods of time without the need to continually monitor the air that is in the single scuba tank on their backs. In 2024 when the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed in Baltimore, those rescue divers were able to operate longer and recover people quicker because they were not restricted on air supply, they did not have to continuously check their air level or come to the surface to exchange scuba bottles. In a surface supplied system, all of the diver's breathing air is supplied and maintained by this system and operator at the surface. This system will cost around $10,000.
