100 Kids Experience Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship Program

Lives Changed During Overnight Summer Camp Experience

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Sep 01, 2016, 05:37 ET

ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 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, celebrated its first year of sending 100 underserved kids to overnight camp in five states through the Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Scholarship Program.

Aaron's, Inc., a leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, celebrated its first year of sending 100 underserved kids to overnight camp in five states through the Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Scholarship Program.

Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship recipient, Neville Williams, 13, of Charlotte, N.C. spoke about his overnight camp experience at Camp Harrison this summer. A hundred kids were able to go to overnight camp this summer because of Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship Program.

(Left to Right): Dave Purcell, Camp Harrison's Executive Director; Mark Rubright, Aaron's Regional Manager; Andrea Freeman, Aaron's Vice President of Marketing; and Gwen Tolman, YMCA of Charlotte's Financial Development Director of Camping Services stand with Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship recipients Neville Williams, Sabrina Blackburd, Imani Eason, Savannah Johnson and Elijah Alston.

YMCA Charlotte teens assemble care packages and backpacks to give to Camp Harrison scholarship campers to help celebrate 100 kids were able to go to overnight camp this summer because of Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship Program.

YMCA day campers celebrate the end of summer at the McCrorey Family YMCA in Charlotte, N.C. A hundred kids were able to go to overnight camp this summer because of Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship Program.

"Overnight camps provide such a wonderful and meaningful experience for kids whose families are able to afford camp, and we're proud to be able to bring this experience to these young leaders who wouldn't have this life-changing opportunity without a scholarship," said Andrea Freeman, Aaron's Vice President of Marketing. "We set a goal to impact 100 kids by providing them with an experience that would help them grow, and we were able to send them to five amazing camps that are shaping our future leaders."

At the overnight camps this summer, the scholarship recipients were able to try experiences that build character, leadership skills and confidence. The kids said they were able to participate in activities completely new to them like horseback riding, archery, fishing and building campfires. The kids also said they learned valuable life skills including how not to give up and how to tear down personal walls so that they could focus on building friendships.

"At camp, you have to practice a lot of leadership and learning to take charge of your own responsibilities; that's going to impact me for a while," said a Camp Grace scholarship recipient.

Overnight camps also create events that help the kids establish a sense of community. The Camp Grace hosts an annual food fight where campers get to truly enjoy being a kid and make great memories while building friendships that last for a lifetime.

Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship Program was designed to provide underserved kids with an opportunity to learn the life lessons of developing confidence, team work and decision-making skills that happen during overnight summer camp experiences. In its first year, Aaron's partnered with five camps in Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee to give $50,000 in scholarships to 100 underserved kids.

The five camps each received $10,000 to send between 10-35 kids to overnight camp: The Camp Grace (http://thecampgrace.com/), Camp Atwater (www.campatwater.org), YMCA Camp Harrison (www.campharrison.org), Girl Scouts Louisiana East Camps (www.gsle.org/camp) and YMCA Camp Widjiwagan (www.campwidji.org).

To learn more about Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Scholarship Program, visit www.AaronsGives.com and see Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Camp Scholarship video here.

About Aaron's, Inc.
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.

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SOURCE Aaron's, Inc.