AIMS Seattle Begins 7th year in Pacific NW
For Release 9 a.m. PST                      May 24, 2002

Seattle, WA - May 24, 2002 - Since its Seattle office opened  in February of 1996, the American Institute of Marine Studies (AIMS) has steadily developed their educational programs to meet the diverse needs of the public.  Outings vary immensely depending on the age and academic level of students, however, all have the same goal: to provide marine education and offer boating experiences at no cost to social service organizations, clubs, and educational institutions seeking non traditional teaching.  AIMS offers hands-on learning, an exciting opportunity to get students into the field.   

Because group needs are diverse,  AIMS remains flexible, so each trip varies from one organization to the next.  Many youths participate in day trips on local waters -- a trip on Lake Washington or through the Hiram Chittenden Locks -- where curriculum might include boating safety,  knot tying and , of course, a chance at the helm of AIMS’ 65’ tug, the Mary L.  Another trips expands to overnight camping on Blake Island and includes ecology lessons taught by an island naturalist.  The Institute has tents,  sleeping bags, gear bags, and rain suits for use on its trips.    

Numbers served are in the hundreds since January of this year, with groups such as Big Brothers-Big Sisters, the African American Academy , Langley Middle School, State Street High School, and The Attic Learning Community all enjoying days, or weeks, at sea.  This spring, AIMS hosted a class from Laurelhurst Elementary on a special Ride the Duck trip which added more water time-- the Duck put in near the Ballard Bridge, toured Fisherman’s Terminal, navigated the Ship Canal and exited from Lake Union.  AIMS has also provided  outings  for  local nonprofits such as the Washington Water Trails Association and People for Puget Sound.  For several years The UW Ocean Inquiry Project (OIP), which instructs students from local community colleges has been using AIMS vessels and equipment for short research cruises in both the South Sound and Seattle waters. 

If you’re a group looking for more adventure, the Mary L  serves as the gear transport and a marine science vessel for week long adventure education trips in the San Juan Islands.  Students camp on one of several State Park islands and rotate through lessons on both land and sea.  Often, the excursion includes the opportunity to team build through sail training. The owners of  the Sophia Christina, the Cutty Sark,  and most recently, the Lavengro, have all reduced their charter fees and provided captain, crew and curriculum aboard their vessels.  Aboard the Mary L students learn first hand how to test water conditions such as  turbidity, dissolved oxygen and salinity,  as well as how to use a bottom grab, plankton tow nets and microscopes to view collected sea life.  Using an underwater camera, a SCUBA diver shows, via a monitor on the surface, marine flora and fauna in natural habitats.  Introductory lessons in chart navigation  are a standard aboard all vessels.

The Institute just completed its eighth Adventure Education Program, a six week program for at-risk high school youth.  Since 2000, AIMS has qualified for financial assistance for these programs from the U.S. Dept of Labor’s Youth Opportunity Grant.  Among the many community partners AIMS collaborates with on the project are the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council, the YWCA, Seattle Public Schools, Seattle Interagency Academy, King County Metro, and the UW Pipeline Project.  Students enrolled in the program earn up to 2 units of academic credit,  as well as receive a financial stipend.    Participants are involved in classroom study, field trips, and camping adventure expeditions around  Puget Sound.  They not only learn marine science, but  they get the opportunity to work side by side with park rangers, and marine biologists on environmental restoration projects.  During the program, students create job readiness portfolios which reflect the different work sites and occupational skills gained, and they exit the program with a final resume for prospective employers.

This Spring session’s students have been kayaking in Lake Union, completed a ROPES course, been CPR and First AID certified, and visited the Seattle Sea Aquarium.  They removed  scotch broom (an invasive, non-native plant) during a 2-day camping project at Fay Bainbridge State Park, and while in the San Juans sailing and boating, they  restored a trail on James Island which entailed splitting wood, trail widening , and fence building.  They’ve met with Naturalist , Dave Henry, at  Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve where they learned explored and identified marine life.   A field trip to Luther Burbank Park offered wetland study and a restoration project; a trip to Thornton Creek Park served as the field site for studying a local watershed.  The itinerary goes on...   ecology projects at Seward Park, Discovery Park and Blake Island, a visit to the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center... The program culminated in May with students hosting a community presentation of their  individual projects.  It was truly an educational adventure!

All Institute programs are offered on a first-come, first served basis. Because of the exceptional opportunity that the curriculum provides to participants,  requests for service steadily outnumber funds available. Consequently, groups are wait listed.  AIMS ,a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is qualified to receive charitable contributions and is supported through public philanthropy and donated gifts. It actively seeks voluntary contributions of monies, stock, real estate, autos, art, airplanes, and naturally, vessels.  Due to the scope of their programs, vessels remain AIMS’ largest source of funding.

Locally AIMS works with brokers and private owners educating both about the opportunity that exists to donate boats. Often times a donor may make what’s termed a Bargain Sale, where he gets part cash then takes the balance of his item’s appraised value as a tax deduction. For example, if you sell your boat with a fair market value of $50,000 to a charity for $20,000 and you’re allowed a deduction for all or part of the $30,000 gift, you have made a bargain sale.   In an article published in the Tax Reduction Journal, author Patrick M. Brody writes “the legal right of a taxpayer to decrease the amount of what otherwise would be his taxes, or to altogether avoid them, by means which the law permits, cannot be doubted....every citizen has the right to organize his or her business or life in such a way that his or her  tax liabilities are reduced to the lowest amount possible.  Corporate America figured this out long ago.”  The federal government encourages charitable giving.

AIMS offers a win-win situation, not only for students involved, but also for boat owners and brokers.  With nearly 30 years of experience and over 10,000 donations,  AIMS is the premier company to maximize benefits for program participants and streamline the process for the boat owners.    Please call AIMS as 954-772-5773 or toll free at 800-826-6840 for more information.

For More Information, press only:
Tedi Conway  thconway@qwest.net

For More Information On AIMS Programs:
http://www.aimsamerica.com