2012
Annual Report to the Community
and Report on Philanthropy
2012
Annual Report to the Community
and Report on Philanthropy
60,000 Donors Stand Up for University Hospitals
When Discover the Difference: The Campaign for University Hospitals achieved its $1 billion fundraising goal in 2012, all of Northeast Ohio had cause to celebrate.
After all, the milestone achievement represented the generosity – and the votes of confidence – of more than 60,000 individuals, corporations and foundations.
Propelled by that momentous support, and by the continually growing demand for advanced medical service, UH is now aiming even higher. We have expanded the campaign goal to $1.5 billion – a goal we intend to reach by UH’s 150th birthday in 2016.
“This campaign is one of the most ambitious in the nation by a health system,” says UH Chief Executive Officer Thomas F. Zenty III. “We’re committing to it on behalf of our patients, their families, and the communities that UH is so proud to serve.”
The thousands who have supported Discover the Difference represent people from every income level and every walk of life. We’re profoundly grateful to them all for stepping forward and contributing to our success.
UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital has been vital to the Potter family since 2007, when Erin Potter, then 3, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “We have been so supported, cared for, and loved that we wanted to give back,” says Erin’s mother, Jeni.
With Erin’s help, Mrs. Potter created the Champions for Hope fundraiser at Severance Hall on Nov. 17, 2012. It raised $125,000 toward creating two special inpatient rooms at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital with extra comforts for children undergoing the rigors of a bone-marrow transplant.
Erin has undergone two of those difficult and dangerous procedures and is finally cancer-free.
“Champions for Hope will give families like ours hope for the future,” said Mrs. Potter.
Dolores “Dee” Kleinman of Pepper Pike thought she would spend her 80th birthday the way she has spent most other days since 1979 – volunteering at UH Case Medical Center.
On this special day, her daughter and son-in-law, Shelly and Mark Saltzman, shook up the routine. They surprised Mrs. Kleinman with an impromptu birthday party with a special guest – UH CEO Thomas F. Zenty III – and a special gift: a sizeable donation to the Harrington Discovery Institute at UH Case Medical Center from her family in her honor.
“It was such a wonderful day,” Mrs. Kleinman recalls.
The family gift in Mrs. Kleinman’s honor will help the institute provide two years of support to a physician-scientist’s work in developing a promising idea for a new drug therapy.
“UH is my home away from home,” said Mrs. Kleinman.
The 10th Annual Rainbow Radiothon attracted a new one-day record of nearly 1,000 donors. UH employee Cathy Battle was one of them – and one of thousands of UH physicians, employees and volunteers who have collectively given more than $10 million to UH’s Discover the Difference campaign.
Ms. Battle spent her first Mother’s Day in a pediatric intensive care unit. Her daughter, now 24 years old, was hospitalized seven times before her first birthday.
The Rainbow Radiothon raised more than $335,000 for UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in 2012, and $3.3 million to date.
“I lived what parents of Rainbow patients experience each day,” said Mrs. Battle. “I understand what they are going through. That is why I gave back.”
Linda Fried has never gotten used to the anxiety of waiting for her mammogram results, even after decades of good news. So when her clean bill of health arrived again in 2012, she celebrated as she has for many years – by giving to University Hospitals. Each year, her gift to UH Seidman Cancer Center grows larger.
“I pay it forward for those who are battling the disease, and in hopes that one day there will be a cure,” said Ms. Fried.
