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 Program was 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:
1) The Camp Grace
(http://thecampgrace.com/): Located
outside of Macon, Georgia, Camp
Grace's 300-acre retreat has established an environment that
creates dreams, changes hearts and inspires life change. Camp
Grace and its partners are dedicated to transforming the lives of
urban youth in their communities by working with campers year-round
after attending summer camp.
2) Camp Atwater
(www.campatwater.org): Serving youth for
96 years, Camp Atwater is a residential summer camp for boys and
girls, ages 8-15 years, and located in North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Camp
Atwater's mission is to assist in the academic and social growth
and development of youth by offering a quality residential camp
experience within a safe, nurturing and Afrocentric
environment.
3) YMCA Camp Harrison
(www.campharrison.org): YMCA Camp Harrison
is a co-ed resident overnight camp for kids ages 6-16 and is
located in the lush, serene North
Carolina mountains, 90 miles from Charlotte. With 2,000
acres of woods, streams, and trails centered around a private lake,
Camp Harrison is the perfect retreat for youths to explore nature
and make new friends and in a fun, safe environment.
4) Girl Scouts Louisiana
East Camps (www.gsle.org/camp): Girl Scouts
Louisiana East owns and operates two summer resident camps in
southeast Louisiana. Camp Marydale and Camp Whispering Pines
provides adventure, self-esteem, leadership skills, friends and fun
for girls entering 1st through 12th grade with activities ranging
from canoeing, kayaking, swimming, horseback riding, high/low
ropes, building campfires, investigating a mystery and moonlit
scavenger hunts.
5) YMCA Camp Widjiwagan
(www.campwidji.org): Located on 320
beautiful acres on Percy Priest Lake just outside Nashville, YMCA Camp Widjiwagan is owned and
operated by the YMCA of Middle Tennessee. YMCA Camp Widjiwagan's
Overnight Camp is the heart and soul of the summer camp experience
where imagination comes alive. Campers participate in exciting
programs focused on developing various skills of their own
choosing.
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.
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.