Rent-to-own News - RAC donates $4,500 to baseball program for children with disabilities

Rent-A-Center Officials dedicate $4,500 to the Miracle League of Muskingum Valley for a unique baseball facility.

Rent-A-Center’s eighth gift in its statewide community initiative – entitled Random Acts of Caring – will help the Miracle League of Muskingum Valley complete a unique project in Zanesville, Ohio.

The local Miracle League will provide the opportunity to more than 8,900 physically and mentally challenged children of the region under the age of 20, based on US Census data, to participate in America’s favorite sport - baseball.
 
Rent-A-Center is donating $4,500 - $3,000 to be used for the public address system and another $1,500 for concession stand furnishings. 

The Miracle League of Muskingum Valley is associated with the National Miracle League Association and was initiated by the Zanesville Daybreak Rotary Club. It serves nine counties of the Appalachian Region of Ohio. The baseball field site is on Muskingum County property adjacent to the county offices.

Much of the construction has already been completed. The program is open to children with any physical or mental challenge that excludes them from conventional youth baseball programs.  The Miracle League “buddy” system pairs each player with an able-bodied volunteer peer.

“This is a wonderful gift that will enhance our efforts to bring a baseball program to many deserving children and their families in our region who face special challenges” said Caribeth Legats, Miracle League Board President and Project Chairman.  “We’re very glad to be a part of the Rent-A-Center Random Acts of Caring initiative.”

Rent-A-Center’s Random Acts of Caring initiative is designed to help meet important community needs that pop up around the state.
 
“Companies, ours included, are tending to focus on one or two specific areas of giving so those dollars can be more impactful,” said Mike Kilbane, Rent-A-Center division vice president in Ohio. “Unfortunately, an unintended consequence can be a reduced pool of support to which worthy causes can turn for help. That means some outstanding organizations can find themselves with multiple needs but limited resources.
 
“We help customers in that very same situation every day so we wanted to find a way to steer a portion of our charitable giving toward filling these voids,” he continued. “Through Random Acts of Caring, we are able to help where help is needed when it’s needed. That’s what we’re all about.”

Rent-A-Center launched Random Acts of Caring in February. To date, merchandise donations have been made to:

•    A Friend’s House in London, Ohio … a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence. A Friend’s House received a washer/dryer combo, a bedroom set, an HDTV with stand and two computers.

•    Summit Academy in Warren, Ohio … a non-profit school for children with special learning needs. Summit Academy received six computers and two HDTVs.

•    Allen County Red Cross in Lima, Ohio … a non-profit organization providing comfort and assistance to victims of natural and man-made disasters. The Red Cross Chapter received four desktop computers and two laptops for field work.

•    Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center … a non-profit hospital and research center helping children and their families.  The hospital received 12 laptop computers to facilitate Internet access in its expanded Bone and Marrow Transplantation unit as well as two digital cameras and a new HDTV.

•    Cleveland Central Catholic High School … a non-profit school dedicated to providing young people with the opportunity to become educated and become respectful, responsible and compassionate people.  The school received two HDTVs, a washer/dryer combo and six portable air conditioner units.

•    Adelante, the Latino Resource Center in Toledo … a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower Latino individuals and families in northwest Ohio through education, health, economic and social services and programs.  The center received four desktop Compaq computers, one Toshiba laptop computer and five computer desks with chairs for their first computer lab.

•    Wilmington Ohio Benefit Bank  . . . a Web-based computer program to be housed at the Wilmington United Methodist Church designed to connect low and moderate-income individuals and families with access to work supports, including public benefits.  It is offered through a public-private partnership between the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and faith-based, non-profit, governmental and private-sector partners. 

Through its Random Acts of Caring initiative, Rent-A-Center will show up in communities around the state and donate needed merchandise – from appliances to home furnishings to electronics to computers – to organizations that make a difference in people’s lives. Where, when and how will remain a mystery until the day of the donation, according to Kilbane.

“It’s called Random Acts of Caring for a reason,” he said. “You’ll just never know when we’ll arrive to make some organization an even stronger component of the community.”

Community causes will be chosen at random. There is no application process and donation requests will not be accepted. Company representatives will simply keep their eyes and ears open to find worthy causes.

“This is an impactful way to say thank you to the many communities where we serve residential and business customers,” said Mark Speese, Rent-A-Center’s chairman and chief executive officer. “And for our coworkers who understand and champion the importance of a mutually beneficial relationship with these very same communities, this is a great opportunity to walk the talk.”

Beyond Random Acts of Caring, Rent-A-Center continues its annual nationwide financial support for fighting hunger, providing positive role models for youngsters, giving boys and girls productive places to spend their free time and supporting financial literacy education programs.  The company also has an annual program that awards $50,000 in scholarships to customers and coworkers.

In Ohio, Rent-A-Center operates 186 rent-to-own stores including two in Zanesville. RAC Financial Services, the company’s financial services business, operates 55 locations in the state. Rent-A-Center also operates a national product service center in Cincinnati, where a team of specially trained technicians services merchandise on rent.

Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII), headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates more than 3,000 stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada with a focus on home furnishings and financial services. The company employs more than 18,700.

mevans@rtohq.org