4th Annual Cox Charities Benefit Concert featuring Jason Mraz

Funds raised benefit local youth

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Aug 21, 2013, 11:07 ET

CHESAPEAKE, Va., Aug. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tickets for the 4^th Annual Cox Charities Benefit Concert featuring Grammy Award™ winner and Virginia native Jason Mraz will go on sale this Friday, August 23, 2013 at 10:00am. The concert will be held on Saturday, October 19^th at 8:00pm at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130821/PH67478 )

Cox Charities will use all proceeds from the concert to award grants to qualified non-profit organizations that provide educational programs focused on promoting youth education especially through science, technology, mentoring, and literacy. Past grant recipients have included: Arc of the Virginia Peninsula, The Up Center, YWCA of South Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Health Investment Program (CHIP), Young Audiences of Virginia, Children's Harbor and REACH.

"I consider my life a testament to the importance of investing in our youth. From an early age, youth organizations and caring mentors taught me the value of education. It has been the key to my personal success," said Gary McCollum, SVP and general manager for Cox Virginia. "I'm excited that an evening of fun and musical entertainment from Richmond native Jason Mraz will benefit the young people in Cox communities throughout Virginia and help them reach their highest potential. Cox Charities is thrilled to welcome the 2013 People's Choice Award winner for Pop Male Artist of the Year to Hampton Roads for this great event."

Since 2009, Cox has donated nearly $325,000 to 42 organizations serving children in Virginia through Cox Charities.

About the Artist
Born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia, Jason Mraz gained national recognition and major commercial success with the release of his album Mr. A-Z in 2005. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold over 100,000 copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The album featured the record breaking I'm Yours — a buoyant, reggae-flavored love song which captured the hearts of people across the globe, surpassing twenty-one million sales worldwide and setting a record for the longest-running song in the 51-year history of Billboard's Hot 100 chart with 76 weeks on the chart. The track earned Mraz a Grammy "Song of the Year" nomination, was ASCAP's 2010 "Song of the Year" and led to Mraz being given the Songwriters Hall of Fame's prestigious "Hal David Starlight Award," which is presented to songwriters who have made a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs. In 2010, Jason garnered two Grammy wins to add to his long list of accomplishments winning "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" for "Make It Mine" and "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" for "Lucky," his duet with Colbie Caillat, both from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

Most recently, I Won't Give Up was nominated for the 2012 Teen Choice Award for Best Love Song and Mraz took home the People's Choice Award for Pop Male Artist this year.

About Cox Charities
Cox Charities, the charitable giving and philanthropic arm of Cox Communications Virginia, proudly supports non-profit organizations in the Hampton Roads, Roanoke, Fairfax County and Fredericksburg communities of Virginia. Cox Charities provides financial support in the form of grants to qualified organizations that provide educational programs designed to further the academic achievement and development of young people through science and technology, mentoring, literacy, and other areas promoting youth and education.

More information about Cox Charities and the organizations it supports can be found at www.coxcharities.org.

About Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a broadband communications and entertainment company, providing advanced digital video, Internet and telephone services over its own nationwide IP network. The third-largest U.S. cable TV company, Cox serves approximately 6 million residences and businesses. Cox Business is a facilities-based provider of voice, video and data solutions for commercial customers, and Cox Media is a full-service provider of national and local cable spot and new media advertising.

Cox is known for its pioneering efforts in cable telephone and commercial services, industry-leading customer care and its outstanding workplaces. For seven years, Cox has been recognized as the top operator for women by Women in Cable Telecommunications; Cox has ranked among DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity eight times, including the last seven years. More information about Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com and www.coxmedia.com.

SOURCE Cox Communications