ATLANTA - June 22, 2016 // PRNewswire // - Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), a leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, announced the Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship Program today which will provide 100 underserved youths from Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee with scholarships to attend overnight summer camp. Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship Programwas designed to provide underserved youth with an opportunity to learn the life lessons of developing confidence, team work and decision-making skills that happen during overnight summer camp experiences.
"There are many benefits that overnight summer camps provide young people with including new opportunities to learn and grow while developing the leadership skills needed to become successful, community-building adults," said Andrea Freeman, Vice President of Marketing, Aaron's, Inc. "While attending overnight summer camp, these young people will learn to make choices without the aid of their parents, helping them build self-reliance, develop active lifestyle habits that promote good health and learn pro-social behaviors. They will develop friends for life and learn to how to live cooperatively with other youths. With this scholarship program, we're providing 100 youths with an opportunity to grow these needed life skills, offering them a better outlook on life."
Research conducted by the American Camp Association (www.acacamps.org) shows that summer camps build skills that prepare campers to develop roles as successful adults. Studies show that youths learn key developmental skills at summer camp including 1) leadership, communication and participation as social skills; 2) responsibility, resourcefulness and resilience as self-respect and character building skills; and 3) caring, fairness, citizenship and trustworthiness as community living and service skills.
The following camps located in five states will each receive approximately $10,000 from Aaron's Foundation, Inc. providing 100 underserved youths an experience away from home with their peers to focus on building lifetime friendships and unplugged learning through exploring nature:
Aaron's has a long legacy of giving back, a commitment that was started by founder Charlie Loudermilk and continues today through Aaron's Gives (www.AaronsGives.com) philanthropic efforts including Aaron's Foundation, Inc. and the Aaron's Community Outreach Program (ACORP). The Aaron's Foundation, Inc. mission is to commit to strengthening the communities in which Aaron's operates, with a focus on improving the life prospects of at-risk youth. Aaron's provides at-risk youth with the tools, resources and skills to achieve their goals and to become productive, contributing members of their communities.
Visit Aaron's on Facebook (www.facebook.com/aaronsinc) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/AaronsInc) for more information.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN) is a leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, and currently has more than 1,940 Company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada. Progressive Leasing, a leading virtual lease-to-own company, provides lease-purchase solutions through approximately 16,000 retail locations in 46 states. Dent-A-Med, Inc., d/b/a the HELPcard®, provides a variety of second-look credit products that are originated through a federally insured bank. Aaron's was founded in 1955, has been publicly traded since 1982 and owns the Aarons.com, ProgLeasing.com, and HELPcard.com brands. For more information, visit www.aarons.com.
SOURCE Aaron's, Inc.
Garet Hayes
garet.hayes@aarons.com
678-402-3863
Headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's, Inc. is the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories.