Cox Conserves Heroes Seeks Nominations for San Diego Environmental Heroes

SAN DIEGO, May 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Communications, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land (TPL), today launched San Diego's third annual Cox Conserves Heroes program.

(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 places for everyone to enjoy. Whether picking up litter, starting a recycling program or helping to protect a special piece of land, these unsung heroes make our communities better places to live, work and play.

By showcasing unsung heroes, Cox Communications and TPL hope to inspire more people to take an active role in neighborhood conservation, while also providing financial support to local environmental nonprofits. Cox Conserves Heroes will award a total of $35,000 to the winner and finalists' environmental nonprofits of choice.  

Nominations for Cox Conserves Heroes will be accepted today through May 30 in two categories: "Under 18" and "18 and Over." A total of six finalists will be selected (three from each category), and the public will vote online for the winners.  

Cox Conserves Heroes timeline:

• May 6 – May 30:  "Public Call for Nominations." Visit www.4sd.com to nominate an individual;

• July 18 – Aug. 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.

Last year, three adult and three youth finalists were honored for their work including:

• Creating an environmental camp for underserved fifth-grade students;
• Using monies received from home recycling to create dolls that hold messages from children affected by AIDS;
• Creating and maintaining a tropical urban oasis in a local canyon;
• Motivating San Diego's Latino youth to get involved with conservation in their own neighborhoods;
• Advocating for public transit;
• Protecting and caring for a local wetland habitat.  

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% by the company.

The finalists will be selected by the Cox Conserves Judging Circle, made up of last year's first place Cox Conserves Heroes and local environmental leaders. The finalists will then be profiled on a special 30-minute "San Diego Insider" show on Channel 4 San Diego, and their stories will be posted on www.4sd.com so the public can learn more about the finalists' efforts before voting.

The Cox Conserves Heroes program was created through a partnership between The Trust for Public Land 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.

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