When Traveling this Memorial Day Weekend, Choose Your Gas Station Purposefully: From May 29-31, United Oil’s 140 Gas Stations in Southern California are Donating 2 Cents per Gallon to Operation Smile

When traveling through Southern California this Memorial Day weekend, make sure your gas dollars are going toward a good cause. United Oil is donating two cents ($.02) for every gallon of gas sold at its 140 gas stations in Southern California during this Memorial Day Weekend to Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity. United Oil selected Operation Smile as the charity recipient of its 2010 “I Got It!” Makes Cents fundraising campaign.

United Oil’s gas stations include the Chevron, 76, Shell and United brands from Simi Valley to San Diego. In addition to donating $.02 for every gallon of gas sold, the cashiers at each station will ask customers in their convenience stores if they would like to donate $1, or even any spare change, to Operation Smile.

A 40-second public service announcement (PSA) about Operation Smile will play at the United Oil gas pumps, for consumers who want to know more about the organization which their dollars will be supporting. The PSA can be viewed at www.operationsmile.org/united-oil.

“United Oil supports Operation Smile because it embodies our company’s “I Got It!” philosophy to treat everyone with Kindness, Courtesy and Respect,” said United Oil’s Jeff Appel. “Our employees are encouraged to work on improving themselves every day while helping those around them.”

Since 1982, Operation Smile – through the help of dedicated medical volunteers and generous donations – has provided free surgeries to children around the world who suffer from cleft lips and cleft palates. Each year, more than 200,000 children around the world are born with a severe cleft condition – often they are unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places, these children are shunned and rejected. In too many cases, their parents can't afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a normal life.

Those traveling this Memorial Day weekend can make a difference. And even more travelers are expected on the roads this year. During this Memorial Day holiday, Southern California is expected to see a 7.8 percent increase in the number of residents traveling, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s holiday travel projections. Among Southern California travelers, about 2.1 million, or 84 percent, will go by car to their destinations. That’s an increase of 8.3 percent from 2009. Statewide, nearly 4 million are expected to make Memorial Day getaways, also a 7.8 percent increase over last year. About 3.3 million will go by car, an 8.3 percent increase over last year.

United Oil attributes much of its continued success to the company’s “I Got It!” spirit demonstrated by its employees. What is the “I Got It!” spirit?! It’s a belief, an energy, which promotes kindness, courtesy and respect towards others, with a desire to continue working on improving ourselves each day, as individuals, but also as a team. United Oil has identified Operation Smile as an organization which reflects the “I Got It!” spirit and is proud to announce it has chosen Operation Smile as the recipient of United Oil’s Second Annual “I Got It!” Makes Cents fundraising campaign. United Oil looks forward to assisting Operation Smile with its drive to bring smiles to all children, everywhere.

For updates on Operation Smile’s global efforts, visit the daily blogs on www.operationsmile.org, follow @operationsmile on Twitter, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/operationsmile. To arrange an interview with someone from United Oil or Operation Smile, please use the contact information above.

About United Oil (http://www.unitedoilco.com/) United Oil is a family-owned business which operates a chain of over 140 gas stations and convenience stores throughout Southern California. The company has been in business for over 50 years.

About Operation Smile (http://www.operationsmile.org/) Founded in 1982 by Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults. Since its founding, Operation Smile has treated more than 145,000 children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities and the organization has a presence in more than 50 countries. In addition to contributing free medical treatment, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency.