Programs: The Spirit of Sankofa
Assisting Communities Through Leadership, Scholarship, and Service

National Programs/Special Projects:
The fraternity's National Programs and their areas of focus are presented in this section. National Programs are programs/projects which have been adopted by the General Convention and mandated for implementation by all chapters. Our National Programs are:

1. Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College,
2. Project Alpha, and
3. A Voteless People is a Hopeless People

A Male Enhancement Mentoring Implementation Model
The Male Enhancement Mentoring Implementation Model refines our National Programs by specifying developmental areas that should be focused on as programs are being planned and implemented. The areas identified take into consideration the socioeconomic and political changes that have occurred in the world since the inception of our programmatic focus during the 1920's-30's. The areas of development and their elements are:

The "Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College" program, established in 1922, concentrates on the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education as a road to advancement. Statistics prove the value of this extra impetus in making the difference in the success of young African-American men, given that school completion is the single best predictor of future economic success. Through the Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College educational initiative, young men receive information and learn strategies that facilitate success. Alpha men provide youth participants with excellent role models to emulate.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation began collaboratively implementing Project Alpha in 1980. This collaborative project is designed to provide education, motivation and skill-building on issues of responsibility, relationships, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases for young males ages 12-15 years. Designed to provide young men with current and accurate information about teen pregnancy prevention, Project Alpha consists of a series of workshops and informational sessions conducted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity brothers. The three goals of Project Alpha programs are:

• Sharing Knowledge by combating ignorance and fear with factual information.
• Changing Attitudes by providing motivation toward positive changes in sexual behavior.
• Providing Skills by creating a sense of empowerment and self-esteem.

"A Voteless People is a Hopeless People" was initiated as a National Program of Alpha during the 1930's when many African-Americans had the right to vote but were prevented from voting because of poll taxes, threats of reprisal, and lack of education about the voting process. Voter education and registration has remained a dominant focus of this outreach activity for over 65 years. In the 1990's, the focus has shifted to include political awareness and empowerment, delivered most frequently through town meetings and candidate forums.

Source: For more information, please visit our National Homepage