WWF and Coinstar, Inc. Announce New Promotion to Save Big Cats: Beanie Baby(r) with $15 Donation

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 -- World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) today announced a two-month promotion to help save the world’s big cats. Through Sept. 30, individuals who donate $15 or more in coins through a participating Coinstar(r) Center will have the opportunity to receive Sundar(tm), a limited edition snow leopard Beanie Baby(r). Sundar is one in a series of Beanie Babies(r) developed by Ty Inc. to benefit WWF.

The new promotion supports WWF’s Pennies for the Planet, a program to get young people involved in conservation by educating them about the importance of biodiversity, encouraging them to learn more and teach others, and providing them an opportunity to take action to protect endangered animals and places.

This year, kids are learning about three highly endangered big cat species-snow leopards, Amur leopards, and Sumatran tigers-and their pennies are going directly to on-the-ground conservation efforts to protect them. Many adults are also regular Pennies for the Planet contributors. Since the launch of WWF’s partnership with Coinstar, more than $100,000 has been contributed to Pennies through Coinstar Centers.

A donation option available on approximately 11,000 Coinstar Centers in participating supermarkets in the U.S. allows participants to quickly and easily put their coins to work protecting big cats. Donors simply follow the on-screen prompts, select WWF and pour their loose change into the machine. The machine counts the coins and prints a tax-deductible receipt for the amount of the donation. Those who donate $15 or more in change through the program will receive a special mail-in offer for their Sundar Beanie Baby.

Many big cat species around the world are threatened with extinction. The Amur leopard is one of the most endangered species in the world: Only 20-30 are thought to be left in the wild. Although they used to be found throughout northeast China and the Korean peninsula, today they are confined to a single province of eastern Russia, largely due to heavy poaching. Money donated to Pennies for the Planet will be used to fund anti-poaching teams, as well as environmental education programs for Russian youth.

Preventing the extinction of the Sumatran tiger-which some experts think may be the first large mammal to go extinct in the 21st century-depends on a solid understanding of the tigers’ movements and habits. Money donated to Pennies for the Planet will help fund an Indonesian graduate student’s research on Sumatran tigers, allowing him to purchase radio collars and follow the tigers’ movements.

Money donated to Pennies for the Planet will also go towards two snow leopard conservation projects-helping a Bhutanese wildlife research team carry out a census of snow leopards in Bhutan and training park staff and local people to do research for snow leopard conservation in Nepal’s remote northern mountains.

To learn more about the World Wildlife Fund’s Pennies for the Planet program, visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/pennies. To locate a Coinstar Center near you, visit http://www.coinstar.com.

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Known in the United States as World Wildlife Fund and recognized worldwide by its panda logo, WWF leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats and to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. Now in its fifth decade, WWF, the global conservation organization, works in more than 100 countries around the world.

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Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is a multi-national company offering a range of products and services consisting of coin counting, electronic payment solutions and entertainment services. The company’s front-of-store offerings can be found at convenient retail locations including supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchants, convenience stores, and restaurants. American Coin Merchandising Inc., Cell Cards of Illinois, L.L.C., and Coinstar E-payment Services, Inc. are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Coinstar, Inc. For more information visit: http://www.coinstar.com.

Contact Information

Tom Lalley

Media Contact

World Wildlife Fund

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