Alpha has introduced recycling facilities for all office waste and implemented a process to monitor and track waste and recycling figures.

Alpha uses recycled paper for all internal printed materials and encourages staff to print double-sided in black & white ink whenever possible. We actively monitor our paper usage to ensure that wastage is kept to a minimum.

Alpha pay the carbon offsetting charges for work related flights and recommend staff use green taxi firms.

We encourage staff to save electricity by turning off air conditioning, equipment and lights when they are not in use.  We do not leave any lights on in the office out of hours.

Staff are encouraged to work from home when possible and Alpha will aim to accommodate flexible working arrangements for staff whenever possible. Staff are actively encouraged to be open about time constraints and workload, to ensure they feel able to voice concerns if the demands placed on them are too great.

Alpha promote the governments ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme to allow employees to set-up a salary sacrifice for bikes and commuting equipment completely tax free.

Alpha exercises a fair and flexible maternity and paternity leave policy.

We procure Fair Trade products wherever possible.

We provide the ability for staff to donate to charities on a regular or one-off basis using the give-as-you-earn scheme to allow charitable donations to be given directly from gross salary; Alpha also donates the National Insurance (12.8%) on any money donated.

Alpha provide an annual Christmas Card donation to AfriKids in place of giving clients physical cards.

Alpha has been working with AfriKids since 2003.  AfriKids works to empower isolated rural communities in northern Ghana to address the needs of vulnerable children and their families by working in a sustainable and holistic way to ensure that the root causes of child rights violations are tackled and lasting change is achieved.

The areas of northern Ghana in which AfriKids operates are extremely deprived; In the Upper East Region, where AfriKids started and many of their projects are based, 90% of people live below the extreme poverty line and there are very few infrastructural provisions. The charity work undertaken ranges from educational, medical and residential care provision and attempts, through micro-financing and vocational skills training, to tackle difficult global issues such as child trafficking and child labour.  AfriKids’ work currently benefits 90,000 people in Ghana, including women, children and local families.

Alpha has built a strong and lasting relationship with AfriKids and has always enabled management at AfriKids to dictate how contributions are spent. This has allowed AfriKids to invest money into vital areas, such as Ghana staff salaries or UK I.T. equipment, that are typically difficult to fund.

‘‘While the amount that Alpha gives to AfriKids is extremely generous, it is the way that they give which is truly extraordinary. Their decision to give AfriKids total autonomy over how the money is spent allows us to fund areas of our work that otherwise could have risked neglect. Over the years Alpha has made a sustained and meaningful contribution to AfriKids and its work’’

Sally Eastcott, AfriKids’ Fundraising Manager

Managers Nina Spencer and Duncan Spencer both took a 6 month sabbatical from Alpha to volunteer for AfriKids in Northern Ghana in Q1 and Q2 2008. Their work centred on distinct revenue generation projects in Bolgatanga, Northern Ghana the aims of which being greater local sustainability for projects managed by AfriKids and a subsequent reduction in the reliance on Western funding.  Further details of Duncan and Nina's sabbatical can be found in their volunteer's report.

Duncan

Duncan was responsible for developing financial management and administrative tools for a regional medical centre in Bolgatanga, which was recently acquired by AfriKids. Furthermore, Duncan analysed opportunities to extend the services offered by the medical centre and submit recommendations for future investment that aim to enhance the profitability of the medical centre while also improving the provision of medical care in the region.

In addition to these specific roles, Nina and Duncan undertook an extensive training programme with the Ghana office staff members to improve their skills in areas such as financial planning and forecasting and business plan assessments.

Nina

Nina was responsible for project managing the delivery of an AfriKids ‘Fairtrade’ clothing range, which were sold in London Topshop® stores in July 2008. This ‘Fairtrade’ initiative aimed to provide the cloth manufacturers and seamstresses in Northern Ghana with fair payment and conditions, it was a pilot project and is now likely to be the blueprint for similar larger scale projects in the future. The role involved managing the supply of materials, coordinating the timely production of the clothes by the seamstresses to Topshop’s® quality standards and ensuring delivery of the final product from and into Topshop’s® distribution system.

Additionally, since this is a pilot ‘Fairtrade’ project for AfriKids, Nina was responsible for developing a methodology for managing similar initiatives in the future.

Prior to this, Alpha's investments have also contributed towards:

• A ‘spirit child’ awareness-raising campaign to tackle culturally conditioned infanticide
• Construction of the Kandiga Mother and Babies Unit in one of the rural villages in the Upper East Region
• Local I.T. skills training
• Vocational skills training to women’s co-operative groups
• Dyslexia and epilepsy awareness raising workshops in schools in northern Ghana, where a severe lack of understanding leads to discrimination towards the children who suffer from these illnesses
• Renting space for the ‘School of Night Rabbits’ (formally known as the ‘School of Hard Knocks’) that provides an education for difficult-to-reach street children
• Sirigu Superstar’s football team sponsorship (under Alpha’s old name: Business Fidelity)
• Ghana staff costs, for example, a Finance Manager, who’s work is central to the organisation
• Increasing the capacity of the office by funding quality I.T. equipment
• Individual care for exceptional children in need, for example, a new roof for David Azagme Asanbene, one of AfriKids’ original beneficiaries, and his family.
• AfriKids’ Medical Fund, a pool of financial resources that can be tapped into whenever a child desperately needs medical attention