Alpha Boys' Home is a residential vocational school in Kingston, Jamaica serving at-risk boys aged 9-18 years old. The boys are provided with a home, an education and vocational programming in music, agriculture, woodworking, tailoring and now screen printing. 

The institution has greatly contributed to the island's popular music over the years, serving as a cradle for several iconic Jamaican musicians whose skills were honed during their study there.  Tenor saxophonist Tommy McCook, trombonist Don Drummond and trumpeter Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore, who went on to form the Skatalites, as well as the trombonist Rico Rodriguez are all instrumental figures to the ska movement in the 1960s who hail from the Home. Yellow Man, identified as the very first dancehall artiste to be signed to a major American label, was a past ward of the institution along with renowned reggae singer Leroy Smart and saxophonist Dean Fraser, to name a few. The legacy of the Home is indelibly imprinted in the annals of Jamaican music history having played a significant role in crafting Jamaica's musical revolutions from ska to reggae and dancehall.

Today the school is still in operation as it continues to facilitate the development of male orphans and wayward young men  by using the arts to provide a vocational outlet for them. In an effort to broaden their scope and  equip their students with the proper tools to further foster their training particularly the boys who are more visually creative, the school is seeking the public's help.

Through the aid of 'I Support Jamaica', a platform that makes it easy for people around the world to support organisations and small businesses in Jamaica, Alpha Boys' Home has started an online campaign to raise USD $4,700. This project will enable Alpha to purchase two Macbook Pro 13.3 computers and two copies of the Adobe Creative Suite. Alpha boys will be trained to use the computers and software with the goal of supporting the various graphic design needs of Alpha's vocational and educational programs.

As it stands the school's current PC computers cannot support any graphic design program that is considered industry standard.The project will treat graphic design as an entrepreneurial exercise and thereby develop the capacity of Alpha boys in a vocation that is in-demand in the market place.    Music projects that require album covers, vocational sales that require marketing materials and fundraising initiatives that benefit from multimedia presentations are the kinds of outcomes for which this project will have immediate impact. 

To exercise your generosity and donate to Alpha Boys' Home's project visit here. 
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