Operation Donation

Operation Donation

Hostway Announces the Results of Holiplay, Its Online Charity Program: Junior Achievement Received $26,645, and NetDay Filled Its Piggy Bank With $23,355

CHICAGO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- What do you get when you mix one worldwide hosting company, two renowned charities, three dynamic online games, and 50,000 bucks?

Hostway's Holiplay, of course.

This name doesn't belong to a spiffy Christmas cookie or a fancy holiday drink. It's better: Holiplay is Hostway's online holiday charity program designed to benefit two organizations that are dedicated to promoting technology and education in youth - Junior Achievement and NetDay.

"The generosity of the Hostway Corporation in helping Junior Achievement reach out to more than 1,000 additional students - who would not have had the chance to participate in JA's programs that will help them reach their career dreams - is truly amazing," said Tom Dewar, senior vice president at Junior Achievement. "We tip our hats to the Hostway associates who have shown, in a most tangible way, that they care deeply about children and their futures."

Hostway Corporation ( http://www.hostway.com/ ), a global leader in Web hosting and managed services, launched its Holiplay charity campaign mid- November last year with the intention of donating $50,000 to the mentioned organizations. Since then, the campaign ( http://www.hostway.com/holiplay ) went viral and received 710,907 (as of noon CST, Thursday, January 6, 2005) visits to the site.

Why so many visits? Well, for one, the games, designed by Chicago's 15 Letters ( http://www.15letters.com/ ) are truly sensational. "Snow or Blow" and "Lick 'n Bowl" combine high-tech graphics, adorable characters, catchy holiday tunes, and funny effects for all of the office desk jockeys around the globe. Kids and adults alike can get a kick out of walking their kid characters through snow to gain points by catching tasty snowflakes with their tongues.

When visitors finished playing these games, they received the opportunity to vote how Hostway would donate its $50,000. 105,662 votes later, Junior Achievement triumphed with 54.7% (57,759) of the votes, and NetDay followed closely behind with a sizable 45.3% (47,903 votes). Don't bother with the math: Junior Achievement received $26,645, and NetDay filled its piggy bank with $23,355.

"NetDay would like to thank Hostway Corporation for sponsoring the Holiplay campaign and all of the thousands of people who voted for NetDay to receive a portion of this significant donation," says Julie Evans, NetDay's chief executive officer. "This donation to NetDay will have a tremendous impact on our abilities to help more K-12 schools and students all across the country in 2005."

"One hundred percent of the Hostway donation will be used to support NetDay's nationally heralded 'Speak Up Day' events, which over the past two years have provided online opportunities for over 377,000 K-12 students from all 50 states to share their ideas and aspirations on technology and education," adds Evans. "This donation means that more students and more schools in 2005 will be able to participate in the annual Speak Up Day online surveys than ever before."

Tomorrow, Hostway will launch Operation Donation on http://www.hostway.com/holiplay . Like the other Holiplay interactive adventures, Operation Donation is another cute game with a cute kid and a cute mission - to keep Freddie Flyer aloft on his propeller until he reaches a landing that announces the campaign's votes and donations.

"Hostway is truly excited to spread holiday cheer this year by entertaining our site's visitors with our Holiplay games, and by helping two exceptional charities, NetDay and Junior Achievement," said John Lee, Hostway's vice president of marketing.

NetDay ( http://www.netday.org/ ) is "a national, education technology nonprofit, whose mission is to connect every child to brighter future. ... To develop capacity for effective technology use in learning environments." Junior Achievement ( http://www.ja.org/ ) "inspires kids to achieve at the business of life through a community-based partnership of educators, volunteers and business professionals."

While Junior Achievement may have received more votes, there are only winners in this campaign - the kids who will benefit from Hostway's holiday donation by the charities they support.

Contact: Lauria Locsmondy, Hostway, 312/994-7720,
Lauria.Locsmondy@hostway.com
Tina Janczura, Slack Barshinger, 312/970-5841,
Tina.Janczura@slackbarshinger.com


Source: Hostway Corporation

CONTACT: Lauria Locsmondy of Hostway, +1-312-994-7720,
Lauria.Locsmondy@hostway.com ; Tina Janczura of Slack Barshinger,
+1-312-970-5841, Tina.Janczura@slackbarshinger.com

Web site: http://www.hostway.com/
http://www.hostway.com/holiplay
http://www.netday.org/
http://www.ja.org/


-------
Profile: intent