FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Meredith J. Ching, 808-525-6669 or mching@abinc.com Kris Kobayashi, 808-525-6641 or kkobayashi@abinc.com

A&B FOUNDATION FUNDS ANOTHER KAUAI ‘PREPARE FAIR’ Third Homeowner Education Event April 29 at War Memorial Convention Hall

LIHUE – March 6, 2006 – The Alexander & Baldwin Foundation (A&B Foundation), funded by the business activities of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and its subsidiaries, has granted $15,000 for the production of a third “Kauai Prepare Fair”, a homebuyer community education effort initiated on this island by A&B last year. The 2006 Prepare Fair will be held on April 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall on Hardy Street, a central location that will attract and serve more of Kauai’s citizens.

With this latest grant, the A&B Foundation will have invested $45,000 over the last two years in helping Kauai residents to prepare for first-time homeownership. In 2005, hundreds of Kauai residents eager to learn about the process of buying a home attended the first Fair held at Kauai Community College and the second, held in Hanapepe.

A&B Foundation Hawaii Committee Chair Meredith Ching said, “Our hope is that the A&B Foundation’s support for these educational events, coupled with our funding company’s efforts to develop homes for the people of Kauai, will help to put more Kauai residents in homes of their own over the next several years.

Contractors Association of Kauai (CAK) is again coordinating the Fair, which will offer scheduled workshops in addition to five hours of exhibition by organizations that can assist in the homeownership process. For exhibitor information, contact Karen Taketa at 246-2662.

Employees Identify Priorities
“Two years ago, we asked employees to help identify priority causes within their communities, and home ownership was one of the top items on their lists,” added Ching. “So we looked for innovative and effective means of meeting community needs, and the first two ‘Prepare Fairs’ were successful in raising awareness of programs and opportunities that already were available. In the end, we want to better people’s lives.”

A&B’s Kauai subsidiaries are A&B Properties, Matson Navigation, Kauai Coffee Company, Kauai Commercial Company and Kukui`ula Development Company. The A&B Foundation granted more than $2 million to nearly 500 charities in Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and on the Mainland during 2005. For more information, visit website www.alexanderbaldwin.com and look for the A&B Foundation link.