Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Aaron’s Donates $50K in Laptops and COVID Relief to Boys & Girls Club Members Entering College
September 16,
2020 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
Rent-to-own major Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN) and its divisions, the Aaron's Business and Progressive Leasing, collaborated with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to gift new laptops and accessories to nearly 50 graduating members of three Boys & Girls Clubs in Oklahoma and Connecticut.
In addition to the computers, Aaron's contribution of nearly $50,000 also includes COVID-19 relief funding for each of the three clubs.
The computer donation is part of the three-year, $5 million national partnership between Aaron's and Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Keystone Program, helping teens develop their character and leadership skills to help them reach their potential and create positive change in the community. The laptops are intended to provide a critical tool to these students as they navigate the start of their college experiences, which are expected to be at least partially, if not fully, virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our team takes a tremendous amount of pride in the various ways we are supporting our communities during this challenging time, with this latest initiative helping some of our best and brightest students as they further their academic careers," said John Robinson, CEO of Aaron's, Inc. "We are grateful for our continued partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, as they share our commitment to youth development and allow us to reach future leaders across the country."
Designed with social distancing and safety measures in place, the computers were awarded to the teens during car parades for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County, and The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oklahoma.
"We were delighted when Aaron's came to us with this idea, as it's an essential way to support the members of our Keystone program as they move on to the next phase of their lives and academic careers," said Jim Clark, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "No matter the road ahead, we are confident these deserving graduates have the tools to succeed thanks to Aaron's."
Aaron's, Inc. previously donated over 100 laptop computers to teen members from Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City in April, which supported virtual learning during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.