Rent-A-Center and Its Employees and Customers Donate $317,000 to Hunger Relief

October 19, 2012 at 12:54 PM EDT

Company also donates 132 refrigerators to food banks nationwide

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2012-- In support of Hunger Action Month, Rent-A-Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCII) donated more than $250,000 to food banks across the country in September. The donation was tied to Rent-A-Center’s national campaign, dubbed Soup to Nuts, and aimed at helping food banks meet increased demands of their services.

In addition to the monetary donations, each of 11 food banks received 12 new refrigerators. Food banks made these refrigerators available to their partner hunger-relief agencies.

The food banks in receipt of $20,000 contributions are located in the following cities: Atlanta; Lexington; Kansas City; Pittsburgh; Phoenix; Detroit; Los Angeles; New Orleans; Washington, D.C.; and Shoreline, Washington. The North Texas Food Bank, located near Rent-A-Center’s Plano, Texas headquarters, received $50,000.

These donations are in addition to the recent grassroots hunger-relief initiative staged across Rent-A-Center’s 3000-plus stores. During the Soup to Nuts campaign, stores distributed paper grocery-bag tags in exchange for hunger-relief donations. The stores raised over $67,000, all of which is earmarked for food banks across the country.

“In challenging times, it’s especially important that we support the communities we serve,” said Mitch Fadel, president and COO of Rent-A-Center and a board member of the North Texas Food bank. “Partnering with a variety of deserving food banks allows us to broaden our reach.”

Rent-A-Center’s support of hunger relief dates to 2002.

Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII), headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates more than 3,000 stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. The company employs over 18,900 coworkers. Learn more at www.rentacenter.com.

Source: Rent-A-Center, Inc.

Rent-A-Center, Inc.
Xavier Dominicis, 800-275-2696 x 1025
VP of Public Affairs
media@rentacenter.com