Rent-A-Center Starts Something™ for Children, One Paper Egg at a Time

PHILADELPHIA, March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- From March 25 to April 23 Rent-A-Center customers get the chance to support children facing adversity in their local communities by taking part in the Rent-A-Center Spring Egg Fundraiser.  Employees are encouraging customers to donate a dollar in exchange for a colorful paper egg to display in the store to recognize their donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

"For nine years, our customers and employees have joined together to support Big Brothers Big Sisters' mentoring programs," said Mark Speese, Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board for Rent-A-Center.  "Last year we hit a milestone, exceeding the $2 million mark and we look forward to continuing to raise that total on behalf of the kids and the communities where we do business."  

The annual egg event has raised more than $2.2 million dollars in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters' quality mentoring programs.  Funds from the campaign allow the donor-supported mentoring network to carefully match children with volunteer mentors, provide ongoing assistance for mentors, mentees and families and create long-term successful mentoring relationships. Rent-A-Center will match individual donations dollar for dollar up to $100,000, and guarantee a minimum donation of $250 to each of Big Brothers Big Sisters' 370 local agencies.

"The ongoing commitment of Rent-A-Center employees and customers, through their donations, enables Big Brothers Big Sisters to provide quality mentoring services for children facing adversity.  Their support provides funding for the professionally supported, safe, strong and enduring mentor-mentee matches with support for volunteers, youth and their families.  Our matches lead to measurable outcomes – educational success, risky behavior avoidance, higher aspirations, confidence and improved relationships," said Karen J. Mathis, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

The Rent-A-Center Spring Egg Fundraiser comes as Big Brothers Big Sisters launches Start Something™, a national campaign that invites all people, not just volunteers, to get involved with the organization.

To locate your nearest Rent-A-Center and start something for Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit www.rentacenter.com. You can also donate online at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

About Rent-A-Center

Rent-A-Center (Nasdaq: RCII), headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates more than 3,000 stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico with a focus on home furnishings.  The company employs approximately 18,514 co-workers.  For more information about Rent-A-Center and its RACommunity programs, visit www.rentacenter.com.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. As the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers ("Bigs") and children ("Littles").

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing evaluation and support, which is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that "Littles" will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others. Headquartered in Philadelphia with a network of about 370 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 250,000 children. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life, donate, or volunteer at BigBrothersBigSisters.org.

SOURCE Big Brothers Big Sisters

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