Helping children with cancer and blood disorders is at the heart of the Aflac mission.

Child Life Month

March is known for college basketball, but it also happens to be Child Life Month. Aflac honors the incredibly important role that child life specialists, like Laurel, play in helping kids cope with uncertainty during a life-changing diagnosis. We are grateful to work with these health care professionals through the My Special Aflac Duck^® program and thankful for their important work supporting children facing pediatric cancer and sickle cell disease. Since 2019, the Aflac Childhood Cancer Foundation has given $105,000 for child life grant donations to specialists at hospitals across the nation.

Quack with impact

Last month marked the first anniversary of My Special Aflac Duck, originally created for pediatric cancer patients, becoming available for young sickle cell warriors. Over 4,000 robotic ducks were donated in 2022 to help provide comfort and joy for children with sickle cell disease at hospitals and organizations across the country. This free-of-charge resource is available for kids ages 3 and up, and it helps young patients prepare for medical procedures, communicate their feelings, practice distraction techniques and more.

Aflac CareGrants continue

Tipping off for the Final Four, Aflac continues helping fans close the gap created by non-covered medical expenses through the renewal of our Community CareGrants and Individual CareGrants programs.† This year, $1 million in funding will be donated to vulnerable communities and individuals to assist with costs incurred from an unexpected medical event. Starting April 1, share your medical debt experience for a chance to win $10,000 to help with expenses health insurance doesn’t cover.

Mementos of strength

When Aflac Regional Sales Coordinator Ashleigh George from Missoula, Montana, learned that the Beads of Courage program at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in Atlanta needed funding, her team used their 2023 kick-off meeting to step up and support the cause, raising nearly $27,000! The Beads of Courage program gives young patients facing serious illnesses a tangible memento of the journey they experience throughout treatment. For each needle poke, X-ray, procedure and more, they receive a bead to mark the occasion. The long strings of beads represent their strength and resilience, and they encourage patients to keep pushing forward.

Match in March

Aflac and Be The Match^® are making an incredible impact on the lives of countless patients and their families. Through an employee engagement initiative, a national donor recruitment campaign featuring Marcus Smart and the inclusion of My Special Aflac Duck in Packages of Hope, Aflac is ensuring more patients find donors and feel supported every step of their journey to transplant. Aflac Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility Buffy Swinehart shares more about the partnership, our social robotic duck and how it helps young patients understand their treatment and feel comforted along the way.