Final Days to Nominate San Diego's 2011 Cox Conserves Hero

$35,000 in prize money to be awarded to local environmental nonprofits

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May 31, 2011, 01:00 ET

SAN DIEGO, May 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Communications, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land (TPL), is seeking nominations for San Diego's 2011 Cox Conserves Heroes program. Nominations are being accepted through 5 p.m. PT on June 6. A total of $35,000 will be donated to the winner and finalists' environmental nonprofits of choice.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070925/CLTU013LOGO-a )

Sponsored locally by Think Blue San Diego, the program seeks the public's help to nominate adults and youth who volunteer their time to create, preserve or enhance outdoor places for everyone to enjoy. These unsung heroes make our communities better places to live, work and play.

Cox Conserves Heroes Timeline:

May 6 – June 6: "Public Call for Nominations." Visit www.4sd.com to nominate an individual;

July 18 – August 5: "Public Casts Their Votes." View the videos of the finalists and cast your vote on www.4sd.com;

August 19: Winners will be recognized during an on-field ceremony at the San Diego Padres game at PETCO Park.

The $35,000 in award money will be provided by the James M. Cox Foundation and The Cox Kids Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Cox Communications. The Cox Kids Foundation is funded by Cox employees, who donate money directly from their paychecks. Their donations are then matched 100 percent by the company.

The Cox Conserves Heroes program was created through a partnership between TPL and Cox Enterprises, the parent company of Cox Communications, to honor everyday conservationists. The program also runs in Atlanta, San Francisco, Seattle and Virginia. Since the program launched in 2008, nearly $125,000 has been donated to local environmental nonprofits.

For more information, visit CoxConservesHeroes.com or find us on Facebook.

Social Media: #CoxConservesHeroes and #CoxConservesHero

About Cox Communications San Diego

Award-winning Cox Communications is a full-service telecommunications provider of voice, video and data services. Operating in San Diego County since 1961, Cox offers the latest in advanced digital TV and high definition cable television, high speed Internet, local and long distance telephone service, digital video recorder service and On Demand programming. Commercial voice and data services are offered via Cox Business; advertising and promotional opportunities are available through Cox Media; and Cox Communications San Diego owns and operates award-winning Channel 4 San Diego, television home of the San Diego Padres and local programming. For more information, visit www.cox.com and www.4sd.com.

About Think Blue San Diego

Think Blue is the City of San Diego's award winning Storm Water outreach program. Started in 1999 as part of the Clean Water Task Force, Think Blue provides education to residents, businesses and visitors about steps that they can take to prevent storm drain pollution, and protect our local waterways in San Diego. When it rains or when water flows out of yards, water that enters the storm drain system flows directly into our creeks, rivers, bays, beaches and ultimately the ocean. The water that enters the storm drain system is untreated because the City storm drain system and sewer system are NOT connected. Contaminants that flow into the storm drain, such as pesticides, pet waste, trash and automobile fluids, are harmful to our health and can impact local marine life. Think Blue encourages everyone to help prevent pollution by adopting a few simple practices. To learn how, please visit http://www.thinkblue.org/.

About The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, TPL has helped protect more than 2.8 million acres of land nationwide, and helped states and communities craft and pass over 382 ballot measures, generating $33 billion in new conservation funding. www.tpl.org.

SOURCE Cox Communications