Alcoa Foundation, the second largest asset-based corporate foundation in the United States, was a key sponsor of the National Park Foundation Leadership Summit on Partnership and Philanthropy titled “The Next Century for Parks.” Held October 14-16 at the University of Texas at Austin, the forum brought together conservation leaders from across disciplines—business, philanthropy, academia, science, and the parks—to share ideas and explore strategies for supporting parks in the 21st century.
“This summit is a perfect example of how Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation can use our connections to raise public awareness and act as a catalyst for the continued private stewardship of parks,” said Meg McDonald, President of Alcoa Foundation. “We are very happy to partner with the National Park Foundation and extend the insights and benefits of this Summit to our park and conservation partners around the globe.”
Alcoa’s sponsorship brought stakeholders from around the world to the Summit. These include: Sopac McCarthy Mulholland, Executive Director, Sequoia Riverlands Trust, California, USA; Ken Voorhis, Executive Director, Great Smoky Mountains Institute, Tennessee, USA; Jim Hart, President of Friends of the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, USA; Sarah Weeks, Director of Development, Friends of the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, USA; Eirikur Bjorn Bjorgvinsson, Chairman of Vatnajökull National Park, Eastern Region, Iceland; and Runar Thorarinsson, Chairman of Vatnajökull National Park, Northern Region, Iceland.
Together with the National Power Company in Iceland, Landsvirkjun, Alcoa has expressed interest in supporting the establishment of Vatnajökull National Park, a 15,000-square-kilometer (just under 6,000 square miles) nature reserve that will include Europe’s biggest glacier, Vatnajökull.
Following the summit, which included an awards dinner with U.S. First Lady Laura Bush, Alcoa’s invitees toured the Rockdale, Texas, plant—Alcoa’s largest smelting plant in the U.S., which at full capacity can produce two million pounds of aluminum per day. A 35,000-acre site, Rockdale includes the Alcoa Sandow Mine, which received the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining 2006 National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining for its land reclamation accomplishments.
“A key area of focus for Alcoa Foundation is conservation and sustainability,” said McDonald. “By strengthening the network on park partnerships, we have the opportunity to make a real and lasting difference, both now and for the future.”
Go to www.nationalparksummit.org to view the summit agenda and list of speakers.
About Alcoa
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, structures and building systems. The company has 116,000 employees in 44 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.
About Alcoa Foundation
Alcoa Foundation is a separately constituted nonprofit U.S. corporate foundation with assets of approximately $534 million. Its mission is to actively invest in the quality of life in Alcoa communities worldwide. Throughout its history, the Foundation has been a source of positive community change and enhancement, with nearly $437 million invested since 1952.
The Foundation's grants address global and local needs in over 30 countries by partnering with Alcoa communities around the world to make a difference. Global and local grantmaking is responsive to the needs and aspirations of Alcoa communities and marshals the combined expertise, energies, and values of Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation to provide a world-class standard of excellence in corporate citizenship.
In 2006, Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation invested a combined total of $42.3 million in community programs in 32 countries, focusing on four areas of excellence: conservation and sustainability, global education and workplace skills, business and community partnerships, and safe and healthy children and families.
In addition to grantmaking, Alcoa Foundation offers two employee programs to encourage volunteerism. Bravo! recognizes individual employees who spend a minimum of 50 hours per calendar year doing volunteer work for an approved nonprofit/non-governmental organization; in recognition of the employee's effort, Alcoa contributes $250 to the nonprofit organization. ACTION (Alcoans Coming Together In Our Neighborhoods) recognizes the team efforts of at least five Alcoa employees who spend a minimum of four hours on a community service project for a local nonprofit/non-governmental organization; in recognition of the team's effort, Alcoa contributes either $1,500 or $3,000 to the nonprofit organization, depending on the size of the team.
For more information, visit www.alcoa.com, under Community.
Note to Editors: There should be an umlaut over the "o" in the word "Vatnajökull" above.
Contacts:
Kevin G. Lowery, 412-553-1424
