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STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Six Florida affiliates of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. have been selected to receive grants totaling $45,000 from Cingular Wireless through the 2005 Keep America Beautiful program. The nation's largest wireless carrier made the donation to Keep America Beautiful for use in Florida, which has been hit hard by hurricanes during the past two years. "Keep America Beautiful is extremely proud that Cingular Wireless is providing this critical support to our local affiliates in Florida, as they strive to improve the quality of life in their communities with these restoration projects," said G. Raymond Empson, president of Keep America Beautiful. More than a dozen Florida KAB affiliates applied for the grants, which were issued in amounts of $5,000 or $10,000. The six recipients were chosen based on the goals, reach and impact of their proposed projects, as well as community need and involvement. They are: * Keep Brevard Beautiful - $5,000 for a public land beautification project * Keep Charlotte County Beautiful - $10,000 for clean-up of illegal dump sites and other debris from the hurricanes, as well as tree planting at area schools * Keep Collier Beautiful - $5,000 for creation of a Clean Builder Program to improve waste handling and lessen the negative effects of unsecured construction debris * Keep Manatee Beautiful - $5,000 for the expansion of the Boaters & Anglers program designed to prevent marine debris * Keep Miami Gardens Beautiful - $10,000 for a beautification project in Brentwood Park, which includes the creation of a walking trail * Keep Putnam Beautiful - $10,000 for the restoration of a Palatka Heights park, which was hit hard by the 2004 hurricanes "Cingular recognizes the importance of protecting the environment, which impacts the quality of life for all," said Marsha Mock, senior director of Corporate Affairs. "That's why we support Keep America Beautiful, an organization that is making dramatic improvements in communities nationwide through its clean-up efforts and preservation programs. We are more than proud to lend a hand toward these efforts, and we look forward to the programs and initiatives that will result from the Keep America Beautiful/Cingular Grant Program." About Keep America Beautiful, Inc. Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit http://www.kab.org/. About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 51.6 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation -- the ALLOVER(SM) network -- and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(R), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/. Contact: Robert Wallace/Larry Kaufman Tel: 203.323.8987, ext. 811/817 Email: ; DATASOURCE: Keep America Beautiful, Inc. CONTACT: Robert Wallace, ext. 811, , or Larry Kaufman, ext., 817, , both of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., +1-203-323-8987 Web site: http://cingular.mediaroom.com/ Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ Web site: http://www.kab.org/

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