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Boys & Girls Clubs Of America And Aaron's Present 51st Annual Keystone Conference

News Provided by PR Newswire2018-06-26

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Boys & Girls Clubs Of America And Aaron's Present 51st Annual Keystone Conference

Josh Norman helped inspire Teens to Ignite Their Passion, Be the Voice and Take Action

[26-June-2018]

ATLANTA, June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 2,000 teen leaders from around the world gathered in Atlanta this past weekend for Boys & Girls Clubs of America's 51st annual Keystone Conference presented by Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN) a leading omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions, and its divisions Aaron's and Progressive Leasing. On Friday, nearly 100 teens participated in the "United We Stand" panel along with Washington Redskins cornerback and Dancing with the Stars finalist Josh Norman. The panel focused on social issues teens are facing in their local communities such as breaking-down stereotypes, LGBTQ equality, race and ethnicity.

The theme of this year's conference is "What's the Move? Ignite Change." Teens had the opportunity to discover their passion, let their voice be heard and take action through various breakout sessions over the past weekend. The National Keystone Conference is led by an all-teen steering committee representing communities from across the country and on U.S. military installations worldwide.

"Every day, more than 600,000 teens walk through the door at a Boys & Girls Club to get inspired and elevate their voice to create change in their communities," said Jim Clark, President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Thanks to Aaron's, thousands of teens had the opportunity to find their purpose, be a voice among their peers and take key learnings from the conference back to their Clubs and communities."

"Aaron's is proud of our national multi-year partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and we're so pleased that this year's national Keystone Conference was held in our hometown of Atlanta," said John Robinson, CEO of Aaron's, Inc. "The Keystone Conference brought together 2,000 teens from Boys & Girls Clubs around the world for teens to build leadership skills, increase their awareness and appreciation of diversity and to establish positive relationships with their peers from around the globe. These teens are making an amazing impact through their community projects that advocate change. We're so honored to support and help them achieve their personal goals and their Keystone Club outreach projects to ignite change in their communities."

In 2015, the Aaron's Foundation, Inc. announced a three-year, $5 million national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Keystone Program, helping teens develop their character and leadership skills in hopes of helping them reach their potential and creating positive change in the community. Keystone Club teen centers provide members ages 14-18 an environment to plan and participate in activities that focus on community service, academic success, career preparation and teen outreach.

Aaron's partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Keystone Program inspires teens to "Own It" by taking ownership of their choices to build the lives they deserve. The Aaron's and Keystone Club "Own Your Future" campaign supports three principles:

Own Your Path: No matter where you come from, the future is yours to decide.
Own Your Decisions: Making good choices opens more doors for your future.
Own Your Community: Use your talents to make an impact in your community.

To see photos of the 51st Keystone Conference, visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/bgca.clubs) or Aaron's on Facebook (www.facebook.com/aaronsinc), on Twitter (www.twitter.com/AaronsInc) and at www.aarons.com/aarons-gives.

About Aaron's, Inc.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), is a leading omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions. The Aaron's Business engages in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories through its 1,719 Company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as its e-commerce platform, Aarons.com. In addition, Progressive Leasing, a virtual lease-to-own company, provides lease-purchase solutions through approximately 27,000 retail locations in 46 states. Dent-A-Med, Inc., d/b/a the HELPcard®, provides a variety of second-look credit products that are originated through federally insured banks. For more information, visit investor.aarons.com, Aarons.com, ProgLeasing.com, and HELPcard.com.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,400 Clubs serve 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at on Facebook and Twitter.