In 1969, Chief Juvenile Court Judge in Fort Lauderdale, Judge Frank Orlando, was frustrated with seeing the same young men come before his court time and again. Judge Orlando saw an opportunity to send some of these boys to the Florida Atlantic Ocean Science Institute (FAOSI), where his childhood friend Bob Rosof was the Director. At FAOSI, the staff role modeled appropriate behavior. They provided the kids with an opportunity to work hard, have fun, develop meaningful relationships, and to get rewards for their progress. The results were overwhelmingly positive, and soon the Personal Growth Model (PGM) was developed. Additional programs in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Jacksonville, Panama City, and Dade County adopted the same revolutionary approach with very consistent results. As the organization grew, the multiple locations became a conglomerate of “Associated Marine Institutes” and the model for today’s centralized nonprofit organization helping at-risk youth was born. Subsequent schools replicated the PGM to target and reduce risk factors sustaining negative behavior, improve successful program completion rates, and promote academic achievement. The organization’s strong marine connection fostered the acceptance of ‘boat’ donations since the beginning. Initially, each program managed it’s own donations but inevitably, a ‘unified boat program’ was created, allowing more efficient operations,
Philanthropy and yacht donation operations are critical components of funding Marine Education, experiential challenge events, field trips, scholarships, and other vital elements of the Personal Growth Model.
specialized leadership, among other synergies. Although the bulk of AMIkids’ programs are funded through state and federal contracts, fundraising through yacht donation operations is still a critical component of the AMIkids economic model. AMIkids invests more dollars per kid than the general provision of most government contracts. Initiatives such as marine education, experiential challenge events, field trips, scholarships, and other vital elements of the Personal Growth Model are funded through philanthropic giving by individuals and corporations. In over 50 years of operation, AMIkids has earned a pristine reputation, in part because of the prestige associated with receiving multiple government contracts with federal, state and local governments. Today, AMIkids provides services to over 3,500 youths across nine states through a multitude of avenues, including marine education, alternative schools, family centered therapy, residential facilities, vocational training and job placements.
AMIkids Greater Fort Lauderdale As the original, founding program of AMIkids, AMIkids Greater Fort Lauderdale has been dedicated to helping kids discover the potential within them, transform their lives and strengthen our community.
Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AMIkids Greater Fort Lauderdale empowers our kids through care and guidance to reach that potential and, as a result, break the cycle of failure and poverty. Even kids with a troubled past have the potential to achieve a bright future, and AMIkids Greater Fort Lauderdale works every day to separate their troubled past from a bright future. With your support, we can change the lives of our community’s kids and impact generations to come.
Judge Franc Orlando (right) and Luis Ceruti, Regional Manager for AMIkids Greater Fort Lauderdale.
3,000+
Youth Served in 2018
140,000+ Our Impact Youth Served to date
3,000+
Youth Served in 2018
3,000
Youth Served since 1969
44+ 140,000
Youth Served to date
programs across ten Youth Served since 1969states
Youth Served in 2019
140,000
3,000
Youth Served in 2019
140,000+
44+
programs across ten states
44
Programs across 10 states
44
Programs across 10 states
7 out of 10 of AMIkids youth do not re-offend within one year of completion 6+ a verage number of prior adjudications for youth entering AMIkids non-residential programs 4+ a verage number of prior adjudications for youth entering AMIkids residential programs
Since 2015 15,000 youth served between 9-25 years old 97% of youth served gained at least one year’s worth of growth in math and reading in one academic year Nearly 18,000 Middle/High School and College credits earned
76% completion rate for youth served 19% absenteeism rate for youth served
AMIkids Career & Technical Education Programs Since 2015, AMIkids has operated a Career & Technical Education program across three states. This program is dedicated to helping at-risk youth learn marketable skills and gain employment in partnership with nationally recognized certifications such as NCCER and ServSafe. Our data shows that youth who participate in our program and are placed into a job have an exponentially lower rate of recidivism than their peers.
3600+ Participants
60%
Job Placement Rate for 16yrs and Older
1500+
Youth Hired
For more information, call (813) 887-3300 or go to www.amikids.org Copyright Š 2020 AMIkids, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3900+
Certificates Earned
THANK YOU AMIkids is a 501(c)3 charity helping at-risk youth and juvenile offenders. Since 1969, over 140,000 youth have received programming in multiple models, including marine education, alternative schools, family-centered therapy, residential facilities, vocational training, and job placements. We invest more dollars per kid than most federal, state, and local government contracts provision. That creates a funding gap. We supplement our budget through multiple philanthropy opportunities; one of them is Yacht Donations. By facilitating a vessel contribution, leasing a donated yacht or supporting the AMIkids Yacht Donation Program, you help fund 45 programs in 10 states serve close to 3,000 individuals every year.
THE ROLE OF PHILANTHROPY AMIkids invests more dollars per kid than the general provision of most of our contracts with federal, state and local governments. This creates a gap in funding. We rely on philanthropy to ‘bind the gap’ in providing key components of our educational and behavioral modification model. Some of the initiatives we fund through philanthropic giving include: Vocational Programming: AMIkids helps our youth explore and prepare for careers by teaching them workplace readiness skills, vocational certification and providing job placement.
Infrastructure:
Reach and Service Enhancements:
As our facilities and systems age, they need the same care and attention that we dedicate to the youth served within. The Infrastructure and IT Project Funds help ensure essential maintenance and upgrades are performed in our buildings, networks, and equipment.
AMIkids is continuously innovating to provide the best services possible to youth and families, whether or not it is paid for by a government contract. This funding helps ensure we can continue offering innovations in family services, education, mental health, and experiential learning to our kids and their families.
Teacher Recruitment and Retention: Contracts provision modest funding for talent acquisition, retention, and development; yet, our youth present unique challenges for teachers and direct care staff. AMIkids fundraises to provide professional development and training, recruit quality teachers, and increase education performance.
Scholarships: We continuously encourage our youth to think about what comes next and dream about who they want to be. Unfortunately, they don’t always have access to the resources and support network they need to make their desired outcome a reality. The Scholarship fund helps our kids offset costs to attend college or vocational training, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Girls Programming: More girls are becoming involved in the justice system than ever before, and their needs are different. Helps us develop programs for them. Experiential Education: Experiential Education and Challenge Events are funded through Philanthropic Giving.
65’ Silvership ‘Orlando’s Rose’ Donated by Bill & Carol Barrows
UNDERSTANDING
FUNDING
OPPOR TUNITIES GREATEST NEED Unrestricted gifts allow AMIkids the flexibility to direct resources to the areas of greatest need within the organization, providing continuing support for all programs.
VOCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AMIkids helps our youth explore and prepare for careers by teaching them workplace readiness skills, vocational certification and providing job placement. A gift in this area is an investment in their future and has a direct impact.
I.T. PROJECT AMIkids is in the process of implementing an innovative system that uses real-time data analytics to track, report, and improve outcomes. This fund supports the effort to bring the entire AMIkids family of programs up to speed utilizing the best software available.
INFRASTRUCTURE As our facilities age, they need the same care and attention that we dedicate to the youth served within those facilities. This fund helps to ensure that building maintenance and upgrades are completed so that we can continue to safely welcome youth into our family.
TEACHER RETENTION / RECRUITMENT A quality education for our kids is of the highest priority. Educational funding will allow us to provide professional development and training, recruit quality teachers, and increase education performance.
SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS AMIkids is constantly innovating to provide the best services possible to youth and families, whether or not it is paid for by a government contract. This funding helps ensure we can continue offering innovations in family services, education, mental health, and experiential learning to our kids and their families.
FAMILY OF PROGRAMS Funds are always needed to support start-up costs for new programs, sustain established programs, and engage in special projects at the local and national level.
SCHOLARSHIPS Helping our kids offset costs to attend college or vocational training can be a difference maker. This fund helps provide opportunities for our kids to further their education, regardless of their socioeconomic background.
GIRLS PROGRAMMING More girls are becoming involved in the justice system than ever before, and the needs of girls are very different than those of boys. Funding for Girls Programming will help AMIkids to develop programs that are the most effective for girls, based on the best research available.
EXPERIENTIAL
EDUCATION Our organization started as a conglomerate of “Associated Marine Institutes (AMI)” and focused heavily on marine, experiential and vocational education. A lot has changed since 1969 but we continue to use it today for many reasons:
RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT
It helps youth form stronger bonds with their teachers, therapists, and other staff. Those bonds help us to serve them better.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
ACADEMIC GAINS
Experiential Education opportunities are used to motivate youth towards achieving academic and behavioral goals, and set an example for their peers.
Experiential Education provides a ‘real-world’ context for a more profound synthesis and application of material learned in a classroom setting.
MARINE PROGRAMMING A lot has changed since 1969 but we remain committed to providing marine education as an opportunity for supporting behavior modification, incentivizing healthy hobbies, and vocational discovery. Floating Classroom: Our students and team members embark on Orlando’s Rose, a donated marine research vessel We take a day trip to a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. Onboard, educators teach a marine biology lesson, integrating core STEM subjects. They also have the opportunity to learn hands-on about the ecosystem by wading in the water, collecting samples, using an ROV, and inspecting creatures under a microscope.
Presidential Dive Challenge:
The curriculum is based on selected lessons from the EEC modules in Biodiversity & Watersheds, hands on educational lessons are delivered by Educators from MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.
Every July, more than 50 youth and 40 staff spend three days becoming familiar with coral reefs and their conservation. Held in the Florida Keys, participants get to apply everything they learned in the classroom over months of preparation and behavioral goals.
Mangrove Kayaking Experience:
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving:
An outdoor curriculum designed to provide hands-on experience in Sea Kayaking in the Mangroves of Tampa bay’s estuaries.
Every month, youth in our programs have the opportunity to try scuba in a confined water environment. Lifeguarding:
Partnerships with MOTE Marine Laboratory & Aquarium and The Florida Aquarium support the Marine Education Program.
Youth with watermanship skills, attitude and energy can qualify as lifeguards through the AMIkids Marine Education Program.
Small Boating and Fishing Experience: The Fishing Experience is an outdoor curriculum designed to provide our youth with hands-on experience about local species of fish, how to handle fishing equipment, and necessary small boat handling skills. At the end of this experience, each participant gets to take home a basic rod and reel combo. The fishing skills taught are transferable to a bridge or shore providing a fun, affordable outdoor activity to develop new positive recreational habits.
AQUATICS MATTERS HERE Since 1969, AMIkids has been providing essential services and vocational training in marine-related fields to at-risk youth in Broward County and across the country. These services provide a positive, nurturing and family-centered environment helping our youth separate a troubled past from a bright future for decades. To continue to do so, we need your help.
AMIkids Greater Fort Lauderdale is currently embarking on an ambitious expansion of our Marine Education Program. The objective is to rebuild necessary infrastructure and enhance essential water-based experiences to improve the physical, spiritual, and mental wellbeing of our kids, while helping them to connect to the water and the natural environment.
A 3-PHASED APPROACH This expansion consists of a 3-phased approach: Phase 1 - Infrastructure repair/improvement and partnership development. Phase 2 - A quatics curriculum development in line with Florida Common Core Standards to include: water safety and rescue, seamanship, and SCUBA diving.
Phase 3 - E nhance and offer additional curriculum to include staffing a licensed teacher / SCUBA instructor to offer high school credits and industry level certifications such as: CPR/First Aid, PADI Open Water Diving, American Red Cross Life Guard Certification and the NASBLA-approved Boating Safety Course Certification.
We are seeking individuals to be champions for our mission and our youth in the community. To get involved, take a tour, or learn more contact: Felix Collazo, Executive Director • (954) 203-7393 • GFL-ED@AMIkids.org To support our mission and our kids today, go to:
give.AMIkids.org/GFL
Copyright © 2020 AMIkids, Inc. All Rights Reserved.