In 2006, employees of Aon Risk Services Inc. of Ohio, Cleveland Branch demonstrated their commitment to sustaining our community's critical health and human services safety net by increasing their campaign 20 percent over their 2005 campaign. The success of their campaign enhances Aon's role as an historic United Way partner and further illustrates its community leadership and corporate citizenship.

In 1982, Ryan Insurance merged with Combined Insurance Company of America to form Aon. Aon Corporation provides more insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage and risk management services than any other company in the world, and is a leader in human capital and management consulting and specialty underwriting. Aon has 43,000 employees in 500 offices in more than 120 countries.

Aon kicked off their 2006 United Way of Greater Cleveland campaign with breakfast for their staff on September 27, 2006 and a heartfelt message from CEO Jerome Kysela and two guest speakers, all of which reinforced the importance of giving back to the community. Aon's goal was to make their campaign an "office-wide" event. The 2006 campaign, led by veteran Employee Campaign Manager Stephanie Kapas and co-chair Judy Kruse, was a huge success, raising $22,395, which was comprised of employee and Aon Corporate donations.

Aon's campaign theme for 2006 was "I Wish." Throughout the campaign, "little wishes" were given to or earned by employees. Each person was encouraged to write their "wish" on a paper doll cutout and place them around the office. An example of a wish was "I wish no child would go hungry." Aon held various special events to increase their campaign donations such as a Halloween raffle, 50/50 raffles, "Wacky Wednesday" Raffles, Aon Marketplace (where employees donated books, CDs, DVDs), and a penny war contest between the men and women. A number of their vendors (Cavs, Ritz Carlton, Marigold Catering, The Nautica Queen and Longaberger) donated items to be used as prizes. Some of the items included a suite for the pre-season Cavs game, an autographed Cavs jersey and basketball, two tickets for a lunch cruise on the Nautica Queen and a candy dish.

It is no wonder that Aon ranks as one of the top 250 U.S.-based companies on the Fortune 500 list. The generosity of their employees is unmatched. Throughout the year, Aon also supports The Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland and Achievement Centers for Children, both United Way partner agencies. United Way volunteer leadership and staff concur that Aon and its employees help to improve our community. We applaud Aon and thank them for their dedication and support of the United Way mission. As we move into the 2007campaign, we look forward to continuing our partnership.