6,000 Alcoa Volunteers in 27 Countries Work to Promote Safe and Healthy Children October 15-22, 2005; Alcoa's Worldwide Week of Service--Recognizes and Engages Thousands of Employee Volunteers at Events in More Than 185 Locations Worldwide.

PITTSBURGH -- This week, more than 6,000 thousand Alcoa (NYSE:AA) employees in more than 185 communities around the world will volunteer their time as part of the second annual Alcoa Worldwide Week of Service, a volunteer event focusing on safe and healthy children and families. Employees from 27 countries will volunteer for projects such as:

E[acute accent]--Providing at-risk children with breakfast, homework help and mentoring to ensure they are ready to learn at East Geelong Public School in Point Henry, Australia;

E[acute accent]--Repairing playground equipment to make them safer in the Krasnaya Presnya district in Samara, Russia;

E[acute accent]--Constructing a laundry facility for the residents at Husnul Khotima Elderly Home and painting the Mytyl School Foundation for children with disabilities in Paranam, Suriname;

E[acute accent]--Repairing and restoring Byhalia Middle School, in Byhalia, Mississippi, USA, which was identified by the State as being in critical need of repair. Despite its physical condition, the school welcomed evacuees from Hurricane Katrina.

E[acute accent]--Helping young students with face-to-face communication, computer skills, and learning to speak another language, at Lu Jia Zui Special Education School in Shanghai, China;

E[acute accent]--Putting Alcoa's environmental principles to work with the Green Sparrows, a young children's environmental group in Worms, Germany. Alcoans are planting saplings, clearing waterway banks and cleaning a courtyard with the children.

E[acute accent]In addition to the hands-on activities of thousands of volunteers, Alcoa will recognize nonprofits/non-government organizations (NGOs) for their service to communities. E[acute accent]"Investing in Alcoa's communities extends beyond employment and financial considerations to the health and safety of children and families who live and work there," said Alain Belda, chairman and chief executive officer of Alcoa. "Our Worldwide Week of Service focuses our efforts globally and draws public awareness to the critical needs in each community, and to the people who make a difference." E[acute accent]While Alcoa employees have been volunteering in their communities for decades, Alcoa's programs that began in the past three years--ACTION (Alcoans Coming Together In Our Neighborhoods) and Bravo!--formally recognize and encourage teams and individual employees with grants to the organizations they serve. In 2004, Alcoa employees volunteered nearly 300,000 hours in the Bravo! program and provided more than 20,000 hours of community service in the ACTION program. Alcoa matched these efforts with grants of $2 million to the local NGOs employees served, representing a 39% increase over 2003 grants for employee engagement programs. E[acute accent]Taking Action is an annual weeklong event that unites Alcoa's employee engagement efforts around the world and focuses attention on critical issues such as education, the environment, health, and safety. For more information on Taking Action events around the globe, visit the Community section of www.alcoa.com under Employee Volunteerism.

E[acute accent]Alcoa 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, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap(R) foils and plastic wraps, Alcoa(R) wheels, and Baco(R) household wraps. Among its other businesses are vinyl siding, closures, fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 131,000 employees in 43 countries and has been named one of the top three most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com

E[acute accent]About Alcoa Foundation

E[acute accent]Established in 1952, Alcoa Foundation is a global resource that actively invests in improving the quality of life in more than 29 countries around the world where Alcoa operates. The Foundation's grants address global and local need in Areas of Excellence that include: Conservation and Sustainability, Global Education and Workplace Skills, Business and Community Partnerships and Safe and Healthy Children and Families. Alcoa Foundation manages the ACTION and Bravo! programs. For more information about Alcoa Foundation, visit www.alcoa.com, under Community.