Community Improvement

Making a Difference in Schools Oakland, California

APL is committed to making positive contributions to improve the communities in which it operates throughout the world.

Because the company has a major presence in Oakland, California, this city is the focus of a particularly strong community involvement effort - especially with regard to the needs of youth and education in the inner city.

Here are just a few examples of how the company’s philanthropic resources are being directed in this area:

Investing in the City of Oakland
As a major local employer, APL is committed to investing in the future of Oakland. The company’s involvement in two key educational programs is helping to shape the future of the community where it is based.

Adopt-A-School Program
Launched in the spring of 2000, APL’s Adopt-A-School Program is a hands-on effort that combines periodic monetary support with ongoing employee volunteerism at Marcus Foster Elementary School.

The company has donated surplus computers and learning materials, helped plant trees and landscape grounds, and coordinated the donation of office furniture by Installers Group, Inc. to improve the physical environment at the school.

At the same time, employee volunteers are working with students, teachers, and parents to improve test scores in key areas like reading and math.

Recently, APL partnered with the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park Association to take two fifth-grade classes at the school on an afternoon sailing excursion. While aboard the historic schooner Gaslight, children learned about the rich maritime heritage of the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the important role of international trade to the City of Oakland.

Incentive Awards Program
APL’s involvement in the Incentive Awards Program means that high-achieving high school students from Oakland can qualify for scholarships and other assistance to attend the prestigious University of California, Berkeley.

APL also supports the following local organizations:

• The Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland, an organization that provides educational, recreational, and leadership opportunities to young people, especially in less-advantaged neighborhoods.
  
• The Lincoln Child Center, which works with abused children who have severe emotional problems; the center's counseling staff provides therapy and education to the children and their families.
  
• The Next Step Learning Center, a community-based adult and family literacy program serving the residents of Oakland since 1994. The center addresses the critical problem of illiteracy by providing basic adult literacy, pre-GED, and GED preparation programs.
  
  
• Oakland Sharing the Vision, a community-wide initiative to develop a strategic plan to increase the city's health and economy.
  
• The H.O.P.E. Institute of Oakland, a non-profit organization that helps people learn to use all of their resources - intellectual, spiritual and economic - to realize their personal potential.

Global Giving
Whether helping to fund important medical research that benefits children on a small Indonesian island or working closely with an organization devoted to raising traffic safety awareness among Vietnam's young people, APL is part of the social fabric of many communities around the world.

Learn more about what APL is doing in this area.