2011 Results
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Grants and Programs
Alcoa Canada Global Primary Products
Grants and Programs
Alcoa Canada in 2011
ACTION programs in Canada
Bravo! programs in Canada
Worldwide Month of Service
Alcoa Canada team key to the success of the 6th Worldwide Month of Service
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Alcoa Green Works
More than 3,000 Alcoa Canada employees participate in Alcoa Green Works this Spring (in French only)
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Fondation Keranna receives an important grant from Alcoa Foundation, thanks to an Institut Secondaire Keranna student (in French only)
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Tireless generosity
2011 Leucan Shaved Head Challenge – “Alcoa Style”: Get one step a-head of your boss!
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Alcoa team participates in Operation Red Nose in three Québec regions simultaneously!
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The tangible results of these actions, not to mention a record 58% level of participation during Alcoa’s 6th annual Worldwide Month of Service last October, speak volumes of our team’s commitment to volunteerism. For years, they have been willing participants in our three main employee volunteer initiatives: ACTION, Bravo!, and the Worldwide Month of Service. Two additional programs focus on the environment: Earthwatch and Alcoa Green Works.
ACTION
The name of this program is an acronym for Alcoans Coming Together In Our Neighborhoods. ACTION projects involve a group of Alcoa employees helping out a non-profit or non-governmental organization by volunteering their time. To support them, Alcoa gives the chosen organization an amount equivalent to between US$1,500 and US$3,000, depending on the number of employees participating in the project.
In 2011, more than 300 Alcoa Canada Global Primary Products employees in Québec took part in a record 35 ACTION projects, for a total of 1,540 hours of volunteer time and a financial contribution of US$105,000 from Alcoa Foundation. A total of 45 projects were carried out across Canada.
Because of the central role they play in the community, schools are a favorite place for our employees to “go into ACTION”. Our team has also helped improve municipal and collective infrastructures, and assisted organizations in the areas of social services, health, sports, culture...
Because safety is just as important in ACTION projects as “elbow grease”, we developed tools in 2011 to increase our volunteers’ awareness of the proper protective equipment needed for given tasks. This new practice mirrors one of Alcoa’s most important values: the safety of people.
Bravo!
Alcoa also encourages its employees to get involved as individuals. With its Bravo! program, Alcoa recognizes the work of every employee who volunteers at least 50 hours a year to a non-profit or non-governmental organization, by giving the organization the equivalent of US$250 for every participating employee.
The range of activities is as diverse as the interests of our employees. The only requirement is that the organization meet the program's admission criteria, and this flexibility has helped maintain a high level of participation. No fewer than 460 Alcoa Canada Global Primary Products employees submitted 506 applications for Bravo! support in 2011. That translated into more than 41,000 hours of volunteer time and an Alcoa Foundation contribution of more than US$126,000.
In 2012, Alcoa is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Bravo! program by allowing employees to submit up to three applications for support for different organizations – just as long as they volunteered 50 hours to each during the year. We hope to use this anniversary as a catalyst for beating our current rate of employee participation of 15%.
6th Worldwide Month of Service
Alcoa's annual Worldwide Month of Service (WMS) program in October each year is the centerpiece of Alcoa's Volunteer Program. Alcoa Foundation took the 6th annual Worldwide Month of Service as the ideal opportunity to underscore the commitment of Alcoa and its people to their host communities. Here are some of the highlights from 2011:
- Over 2,200 employees took part in the WMS, for a record 58% rate of participation.
- Our people completed 13 ACTION volunteer projects in October 2011, including six during the same weekend that involved 140 volunteers.
- 29 community initiatives were carried out in 31 days, including a blood drive, a recognition activity in Portneuf, food drives, United Way/Centraide fundraising campaigns and a surprise grant to Pro-Vert for a tree planting project in Montreal.
Earthwatch
In 2003, Alcoa Inc. established a partnership with the Earthwatch Institute to lend the volunteer support of Alcoa employees to the organization’s scientific teams. The employees enjoy a priceless experience while contributing to field research that helps address today’s most pressing environmental issues. In 2011, Alcoa Foundation chose 25 of its employees from 11 countries to participate in these expeditions. That is how Manon Tisseur from Alcoa’s Point-Claire subsidiary, found herself working with researchers at a natural nature preserve in China. Marco Bouchard from our Baie-Comeau Smelter took part in an expedition to a nature preserve in Brazil. To learn more, consult the expedition blog.
Alcoa Green Works
Launched in 2011, Alcoa Green Works is a new initiative that aims to engage Alcoa employees and our host communities around the world in reducing, recycling and renewing for a greener planet.
Over a two-month period, from April 21 to June 21, more than 3,000 Alcoa Canada employees or 77% of our workforce, took concrete action for the environment as part of the Alcoa Green Works program. We distributed some 5,000 seedlings, served 1,274 vegetarian meals and carried out five green clean-ups. In addition, the daughter of one of our employees took home one of eight prizes in the international drawing contest, which translated into a US$5,000 grant to her school, money that was used to acquire new equipment for the science lab.
Signature event
On occasion, several plants simultaneously carry out an ACTION initiative during the same weekend. In 2011, such an activity took place during the first weekend of October to mark the launch of the 6th annual Worldwide Month of Service.
In December, for the third consecutive year, Operation Red Nose benefitted from the help of 215 volunteers, including 86 employees from our Baie-Comeau, Deschambault and Bécancour smelters, which drove home 216 cars during a single weekend.
Pedalling for a good cause...
Our people combine their passion for cycling and a commitment to their communities during five annual cycling events:
- Randonnée Vélo Santé Alcoa, the brainchild of our Baie-Comeau employees
- Randonnée de l’Espoir ABI, created by our people in Bécancour
- Raid Extrême Alcoa Bras du Nord, supported by our team at the Deschambault Smelter
- UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships, of which the Baie-Comeau Smelter and the Alcoa Foundation are the main partners
- And, new in 2011, Randonnée Vélo Énergie Alcoa that gathered 15 cycling enthusiasts from Alcoa Canada Global Primary Products and its host communities, who biked 260 km in a single day.
These activities all share a common goal of promoting healthy living. Three of them are also opportunities to raise funds for not-for-profit organizations. As evidence of their success, all of these events have already been confirmed for 2012.
New in 2012!
Alcoa Foundation launched the new Alcoa on the Move program in 2012 to support employees who run, walk, bike or participate in a group fitness activity to benefit a not-for-profit organization. Teams of five employees or more will receive US$2,500 for their good cause.
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