From the Kitchen to the Community: How Canteen Partners with AMIkids to Help At-Risk Youth

Tired of seeing the same kids repeatedly walk into his courtroom, Judge Frank Orlando decided enough was enough. From his experience as a camp counselor and teacher, he knew sending these children to a reform school wasn’t the right solution. With the help of his friend, Bob Rosof, Judge Orlando began sending re-offenders to the Florida Atlantic Ocean Institute (FAOSI) where they worked and were rewarded for good behavior. That was 50 years ago. Today, the program Judge Orlando started has since grown from the Associated Marine Institute (AMI) to AMIkids.

Reaching over 150,000 youth and family members, AMIKids is a non-profit whose goal is to help youth develop into responsible and productive citizens.

“[Our] services range from prevention to day treatment to residential programming. Each year around 5,000 youth who have been involved with or are at risk of entering the justice system are provided educational and behavioral services through our evidence-based, AMIkids Personal Growth Model® or service coordination to meet their individualized needs and goals.”

Canteen works with AMIkids each year with the help of our associates Beth Rainey and Sandy Goodson who both sit on the AMIkids White Pines board. With their support and others across Canteen, we’ve been able to do some amazing things like:

  • Teaching culinary skills through Chef mentorships
  • Mentoring on interview and resume skills
  • Sponsoring a Stir-Fry Challenge twice a year at AMIkids bi-annual challenge event
  • Partnering with the White Pines location food trailer to cater events, fundraisers, and festivals
  • Providing field trips to sports games and NASCAR races
  • Developing Made with Love – The AMIkids Cookbook

Yes, a cookbook! Every year, Canteen and AMIkids create a cookbook full of recipes by our chefs, team members, and the AMIkids team. Canteen has raised over $56,000 for AMIkids White Pines.

AMIkids Cookbook Canteen

The best part? All proceeds go directly towards AMIkids. It truly makes the perfect holiday gift. You can purchase it from snackbox.canteen.com.

By staying true to the three guiding principles, Kids First, Family, and Safety, AMIkids is dedicated to using their research-driven approach to help kids find their natural born potential. We are grateful to have amazing associates and chefs to work with the kids in the program to help strengthen our communities.

 

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