With success stories ranging from a graduate who’s been accepted at The Citadel to a record number of GEDs to community involvement, AMIkids Beaufort will be bending state lawmakers’ ears at a luncheon Oct. 19.
The annual Legislative Luncheon provide an opportunity to showcase what goes on at the residential education center that serves as an alternative to jail for non-violent offenders. The event will be held at AMIkids Beaufort’s facility in Dale and provides a starting point for any questions the Lowcountry legislators and educational leaders may have, said Mike Ingram, chairman of the AMIkids Beaufort Board of Directors.
Upon graduation from AMIkids, the goal is to have every student either re-enroll in school, gain employment or begin higher education course-work.
“We provide an exceptional service for exceptional young men,” Ingram said.
AMIkids Beaufort is a residential, non-prison culture facility that provides not only education but numerous experiential educational components, treatment and behavior modification. AMIkids also partners with eight community service projects throughout Beaufort County.  The program previously was known as Beaufort Marine Institute.
“We are proven to be successful in turning young men’s lives around, from one where society might be paying $30,000 a year to keep them in prison to where they are contributing, taxpaying members of society,” Ingram said. “That’s what we’re all about.”
The Legislative Luncheon will feature a brief tour of the property and its programs, including presentations made by students, followed by an informal lunch. Along with local legislators, Ingram and AMIkids Beaufort invited Beaufort County education leaders including School Board Chairman Fred Washington Jr. and Superintendent Valerie Truesdale.