 APRO: The Official Voice of the Rent to Own Industry
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 State RTO Assocation News
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State RTO Assocation News - Aaron's rent-to-own franchise replaces Santa Claus in ConnecticutBy Richard May Aaron's franchisee Charles Smithgall embraced the holiday spirit by donating a house full of home furnishings to the company's most deserving customer among its 61 SEI/Aaron's franchise stores. Aracelis Liciaga and her family of five were the lucky recipients after Aaron's poured through the many nominations for the charitable gift. Two other families were also recipients of Aaron's holiday spirit-one received a free computer and the other a sofa and love seat. But it was the Liciaga family of Hartford, Connecticut, who received the grand donation of a house full of furnishings. "It was the right thing to do," says SEI Operations Director Dave Edwards. "We wanted to help one of our customers who not only deserved it, but needed it." The Liciaga family was recently devastated by smoke damage from an electrical fire that destroyed all of their home furnishings. Until Christmas Eve, they had an empty house with a few donations of clothing and kitchen items donated by friends. But the empty house quickly filled when Aaron's delivered a holiday miracle that the Liciagas had no idea was coming. The story caught the attention of the Hartford Fox News affiliate, which featured the story on Christmas Eve, showing the family's excitement and gratitude for such a charitable gift. Edwards and Aaron's were featured prominently in the lengthy television news story. While Smithgall and Edwards plan on donating annually because "it's the right thing to do," they and many other RTO dealers like them may not know that such donations are also significant in improving the rent-to-own image. Studies show that 42 percent of potential rent-to-own customers are more likely to consider rent-to-own if they know the company is involved in a local charity or donates to a charitable cause.
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Get ready for the 2009 Convention!
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RTOHQ: The Magazine
RTOHQ: The Magazine is the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations' award-winning rent-to-own industry magazine, and it's available here. | ||
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Complete issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine | August - September 2008 | ||
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Association of Progressive Rental Organizations 1504 Robin Hood Trail Austin, Texas 78703 800/204-2776, ext. 103 Fax 512/794-0097 |