Rent-A-Center donates merchandise to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Rent-A-Center’s fourth gift in its statewide community initiative – Random Acts of Caring – will brighten the lives of patients at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
The company is donating 12 Sony laptops to ensure patients in the expanded Blood and Marrow Transplantation unit and their families can access the Internet or watch DVDs. The children can use the laptops to connect with their schools and keep up with school work as well.
The company is also providing two digital cameras that will be used throughout the medical center by child life specialists to create educational photo books for various procedures, scrapbooks with patients about their stay, and legacy materials as part of the grief and bereavement process. Additionally they will be used to assist patients with photos to enhance their “care pages” and capture precious moments for families.
A 42” inch HDTV will be used at the medical center’s College Hill campus common area to help increase child life activities. It will also be used to support movie nights for patients and their families.
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| Cincinnati Children’s Hospital staff with local area Rent-A-Center co-workers. |
"These are outstanding gifts that will make life at the hospital more comfortable for children and their families. We are very grateful for Rent-A-Center’s Random Acts of Caring program and that the Division of Child Life at Cincinnati Children’s was selected as the May recipient," said Sharon McLeod, Child Life Director.
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 senior 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.
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 will also continue its annual nationwide financial support of America’s Second Harvest, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs and Junior Achievement. The company also has an annual program that awards $50,000 in scholarships for customers and coworkers.
In Ohio, Rent-A-Center operates 186 rent-to-own stores including eight in Cincinnati. Cash AdvantEdge, the company’s financial services business, operates 53 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.