December 5, 2006 Hello, and thank you for your support of United Way of Greater Cleveland. Book your travel on unitedwaytravel.com and help our community through United Way United Way of Greater Cleveland and Options Travel have partnered to provide unitedwaytravel.com, an online service for all your business, personal and leisure travel planning. With a few clicks you can arrange flights, rental cars, hotel accommodations, vacation packages and cruises, and United Way of Greater Cleveland will benefit from a portion of the proceeds. Plus business travel specialists will provide ongoing comprehensive corporate travel management services for your organization that will also benefit United Way. To arrange for business travel services, please call 866-446-2172. Visit unitedwaytravel.com today, because when you book your next vacation package valued at more than $500 between December 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007, you will receive a "Get Up & Go" certificate redeemable for three days and two nights of standard hotel accommodations at one of 22 destinations throughout the country on your next trip. Learn more on unitedwaytravel.com. IN THIS ISSUE: A Season for Caring A "Real" Good Campaign Discounted Cavaliers Tickets Bid on an Autographed Grand Prix Helmet 6th Annual Auction on eBay January 19-29, 2007 Days of Caring Volunteers Make a Difference! New Home, New Direction Did You Know? December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month Make the Greatest Impact on our Community A Season for Caring As the holidays near, many of us look forward to gathering family and friends together to enjoy a time of spiritual renewal, celebration and gift giving. But it is also a time that many other people -- right here in our own community -- face the hardship of not even having their basic needs met. In the past year alone, nearly 17,000 people in Greater Cleveland reached out for emergency food from United Way-funded programs. And because of your generosity, their hunger was satisfied. If you haven't already, please make a holiday pledge to United Way's 2006/2007 campaign today, either through your workplace or securely online at uws.org. Giving to help others in our community is a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season! A "Real" Good Campaign Novelis Corporation, a global manufacturer of aluminum rolled products and beverage can recycling with North America corporate offices in Cleveland, brought the "reality show" theme to their company campaign for United Way of Greater Cleveland and produced some effective and entertaining ways to involve their employees, raising some "real" money for a "really" great cause. Read the whole story about Novelis' clever fund-raising activities. Cavs Discount Tickets Now: United Way Nights with the Cavaliers Cavaliers discount tickets are available for two games at The Q: January 22, when the Cavs take on the Orlando Magic; and March 5, against the Houston Rockets. Upper Baseline tickets are discounted from $35 to $27.50 and Upper Baseline Corner tickets are discounted from $25 to $23. The Cavs vs. Magic game also includes an exclusive after-game party on the court. A portion of each ticket sold through this promotion will benefit United Way. Download a mail-in order form or order online. Autographed Helmets Offer Fans a Piece of Grand Prix History Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes and the 2006 Grand Prix of Cleveland presented by U.S. Bank are giving fans a chance to bid on 14 one-of-a-kind custom-painted racing helmets autographed by top Champ Car drivers. The helmets were individually designed and painted with Sherwin-Williams automotive paint by thirteen Cleveland-area automotive shops and artists. Each helmet was autographed by the top three finishers at the 2006 Grand Prix of Cleveland -- A.J. Allmendinger, Bruno Junqueira and Oriol Servia -- as well as racing legend Bobby Rahal, winner of the inaugural Grand Prix of Cleveland in 1982. You can view and bid on this month's helmet at ebay.com/unitedwaycleveland. 6th Annual Auction on eBay Mark your calendar! Friday, January 19, 2007 marks the return of United Way's Annual Auction on eBay! Exciting and unique items available for bidders include Continental Airlines tickets, sporting event tickets, entertainment packages and priceless experiences! The auction begins Friday, January 19, and ends Monday, January 29, 2007. All proceeds benefit United Way of Greater Cleveland's funded programs that are making a difference in our community every day. If you have any questions about the auction, or if you would like to donate an item, please contact Jessica D. Snyder, Special Events Coordinator, United Way of Greater Cleveland, at 216-436-2123 or jdsnyder@uws.org. Days of Caring Volunteers Make a Difference! United Way of Greater Cleveland's Days of Caring program wrapped up a successful year with more than 2,000 volunteers and nearly 50 organizations completing much-needed projects at United Way partner agencies. Thank you to our generous Days of Caring sponsors as well as the organizations and individuals who donated their time and energy to volunteer! See photos of this year's Days of Caring highlights. To participate in Days of Caring, please contact Jessica Snyder at 216-436-2123 or jdsnyder@uws.org. New Home, New Direction Keeping a family together through hard times is important. Our community as a whole draws strength from it. When the Rodriguez family lost their home, caring people and organizations came together with a common goal: to help them get back on their feet and into a new home. Read the whole story about how the Spanish American Committee worked with other nonprofit organizations and government agencies to do wonders for a wonderful family. Did you know United Way of Greater Cleveland funded a program this year that provided 1,300 people with access to health information about cancer that helped them make informed decisions about prevention, detection and treatment. December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month Did you know that toy-related injuries sent more than 202,000 children to the hospital last year? And nearly 8,000 of those injuries were to the eyes. Before you begin your holiday gift shopping for the children in your life, make sure that the gifts you purchase will be safe ones. Toy-Buying Tips Toy Recalls Check Community-Wide Needs for the Greatest Impact on Our Community By designating Community-Wide Needs with your pledge, you authorize our trained volunteers to decide how your donations, and those of countless others, can target the greatest needs of our community. It might be to deliver meals to homebound seniors, train daycare providers to provide the best possible educational preparation for children or any of the nearly 180 programs provided by our community partners, or initiatives of the Community Vision Council. Here is how to pledge confidentially online. We publish What Matters to keep you informed about events, activities and developments affecting United Way and the Greater Cleveland community. To ensure that you continue to receive What Matters, please add us to your address book or trusted sender list or ask your IT administrator to whitelist us. We invite you to visit our Web site, after you've read this newsletter. You can view a PDF version of our most current print newsletter Doing What Matters or view the Community Vision Council print newsletter, Impact. United Way of Greater Cleveland 1331 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115 T: (216) 436-2100; F: (216) 436-2257 www.uws.org Email: marketing@uws.org