Aaron's Donates Computers to Help Unique Charity for Medically Fragile Children

Nov 14, 2006
Program Provides Care for Seriously Ill Children Abandoned by Families; Sad Phenomenon Increasing Due to Medical Advancements

ATLANTA, Nov. 14, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Aaron Rents, Inc., the nation's leader in the rental, sales and lease ownership, specialty retailing and rental of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, today announced the donation of ten computers and printers to Dream House for Medically Fragile Children of Lilburn, Georgia. The donation was made with the assistance of Aaron's vendor New Age, a distributor of computer products and more.

According to Dream House Founder and CEO Laura Moore, the computers are a much-needed addition to the organization's offices.

"Our 11 staff members have been using systems that have been donated in bits and pieces and we sometimes have trouble communicating because not all programs run on all of our computers. We are so grateful for this donation from Aaron's because it will allow all the staff members to communicate quickly and effectively so that we can help our children and our families that much faster."

Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership President Ken Butler said Aaron's is humbled to assist such a worthy cause.

"It was frankly a shock to learn that there are seriously ill children who are abandoned in hospitals by their own families. The work that Dream House does to find these children foster or permanent adoptive homes with people who can care for the kids' unique medical needs is so important that I challenge other business leaders in Georgia and beyond to find ways to contribute desperately-needed resources to groups like Dream House."

Moore says most people are surprised to learn of the phenomenon, which she witnessed first-hand as a career nurse.

"I have seen parents walk out of the hospital and never come back. At one time, the hospital where I worked had 12 children who had been abandoned in the hospital for two, three or four years each. It seems like it couldn't happen, but it does. And new medical advancements extending the lives of premature babies and children with other illnesses are causing this situation to happen more frequently. Parents aren't always prepared to provide the amount of care a medically fragile child needs. That is why we have created the first-ever program to not only find permanent homes for these children, but to help families learn the skills they need to support their children."

Moore says the statistics on these abandoned children are not collected by the state of Georgia, but rough estimates run as high as 6,000 children in their home state alone.

"These children are truly lost. Their families don't want them and the state doesn't track them. They have no voice, no advocacy on their behalf. That is why the work we do is so desperately needed. We currently sponsor 200 children who are living in 150 foster or permanent adoptive homes. And we provide care at less than half the cost of hospitalizing or institutionalizing these children."

Dream House for Medically Fragile Children, Inc. provides education, skills training, and assistance with healthcare equipment acquisition and resource referrals, so that kinship, foster, and adoptive families can care for medically fragile children in their own 'dream home'. The Dream House 'Family for Keeps (c)' training program is the only one of its kind in the country and aims to dramatically reduce the number of medically fragile children in foster care, improve the quality of life for these children and their families, and save the State of Georgia, the tax payers, and healthcare institutions millions of dollars each year.

Aaron Rents, Inc. (NYSE:RNT) based in Atlanta, currently has more than 1,290 Company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada for the rental and sale of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics and household appliances and accessories. The Company also manufactures furniture, bedding and accessories at 12 facilities in five states.

Aaron's stores offer customers access to high quality furniture, appliances, electronics and computers for sale or on a lease-ownership arrangement. Customers have the option of buying their merchandise for an attractive cash price, or opting to lease their merchandise for even greater flexibility. With a lease option, customers make modest monthly payments and have the immediate use of the items they need without waiting for credit checks or other delays. Plus, Aaron's will take care of delivery, set-up, repairs and more for the duration of a customer's lease.

The Aaron Rents, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1554

CONTACT: Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership
Michele Vance
913-205-8958
www.shopaarons.com