COLUMBUS, Ga., March 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the leader
in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the United States and a committed corporate
ally for families facing childhood cancer, today announced an
agreement with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals® (CMN
Hospitals) to sponsor several key CMN Hospitals events throughout
the year, including the second annual #ChildrensHospitalsWeek,
which is this week. Aflac will also sponsor the CMN Dance Marathon
Leadership Conference in July and five select Miracle Network Dance
Marathon events held at universities across the country. The
Georgia-based insurance company,
with its Aflac Childhood Cancer Campaign, has a long-standing
commitment to children and families facing childhood cancer,
including its ongoing 22-year relationship with the Aflac Cancer
and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a nationally recognized hospital that
treats an average of 400 new child patients every year.
"For more than two decades, Aflac, our employees, and
independent sales agents have supported children and families
facing pediatric cancer, contributing more than $122 million for the treatment and research of
childhood cancer," Aflac Senior Vice
President, Chief Brand and Communications Officer Catherine Hernandez-Blades said. "CMN Hospitals
is closely aligned with Aflac's goal to help eradicate childhood
cancer once and for all. This partnership will go a long way toward
presenting a united front against childhood cancer as Aflac and CMN
Hospitals combine resources on behalf of children and their
families."
#ChildrensHospitalsWeek, held March 5-11,
2018, provides an opportunity to spotlight the importance of
local children's hospitals across the country and for hospital
leaders, families, corporate partners, and key supporters to
strengthen and coordinate efforts to help kids get the best
possible care in their time of need. During this year's event,
Aflac will introduce to CMN Hospitals its award-winning My
Special Aflac Duck, a robotic caring companion designed to help
children cope with cancer.
The robotic duck, created on behalf of Aflac by Sproutel, a
patient-centered research and development company headquartered in
Rhode Island, is designed to help
children and parents cope with the treatments often associated with
cancer. The duck uses sensors and special emoji cards to interact
with children, sharing their emotions, providing comfort through
empathy and serving as a special friend to combat the feeling of
loneliness that children with cancer often experience. Aflac
intends to provide My Special Aflac Duck, winner of three
major awards at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, including Best
of Show, to all children newly diagnosed with cancer in
the United States, free of
charge.
Everyone is encouraged to show support for children's hospitals
during the weeklong initiative March
5-11 through the following activities:
- Wear a bandage: Show your support for children's hospitals by
wearing a bandage of your choice, taking a photo and sharing it on
social media with the #ChildrensHospitalsWeek hashtag.
- Tune in to the Facebook Live event Wednesday, March 7, at
7:30 p.m. EST: The exciting, live
event will feature appearances by various celebrities and the
champions, 23 kids who represent the 10 million kids treated
annually at CMN Hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada. To watch, go to
Facebook.com/CMNHospitals.
- Join a gathering of charity gamers at Extra Life United from
Wednesday, March 7, to Saturday, March 10: Charity gamers from all over
the world join together at Extra Life United to learn how to make a
big impact on children's hospitals through gaming. Participants
attend panels and workshops and game in a tournament to unlock
donations for local CMN Hospitals. The event will be broadcast live
on Twitch. The Extra Life program has raised more than $40 million for CMN Hospitals since 2008.
"We are grateful for Aflac's sponsorship of
#ChildrensHospitalsWeek and their efforts to raise awareness that
children's hospitals need donations," said John Lauck, president and CEO of CMN Hospitals.
"Aflac's efforts to provide comfort to the thousands of kids newly
diagnosed with pediatric cancer each year truly makes a difference
at our local hospitals."
CMN has created a national movement with one young generation
helping an even younger generation of kids through Miracle Network
Dance Marathon programs with more than 300 participating schools
across the country. The program is run entirely by students, with
all proceeds donated to the CMN Hospital in their community. Each
event features an eight- to 40-hour fundraising marathon. This
year, Aflac will sponsor five select Miracle Network Dance Marathon
events, which will feature an Aflac Power Hour, with funds raised
during that hour earmarked specifically for childhood cancer care
and treatment at local CMN Hospitals.
Additionally, Aflac will sponsor the Dance Marathon Leadership
Conference, an annual event attended by hundreds of college and
university students who are leaders in their schools' Dance
Marathon programs.
To learn how you can support your local children's hospital and
help make miracles happen for children facing cancer, visit
aflac.com/cmn.
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt,
Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac
insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to
focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in
voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing
One Day PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive,
process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one
business day. In Japan, Aflac is
the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1
in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection
to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 12 consecutive years,
Ethisphere has recognized Aflac as one of the World's Most Ethical
Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the
100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th consecutive
year and included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for
the 17th time. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed
on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out
more about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or
aflac.com/espanol.
About Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
Children's
Miracle Network Hospitals® raises funds and awareness for 170
member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to
kids across the U.S. and Canada.
Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and health care
services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since
1983, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than
$5 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity's Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising
partners and programs support the nonprofit's mission to save and
improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why
children's hospitals need community support, identify your member
hospital and learn how you can Put Your Money Where the Miracles
Are at CMNHospitals.org and facebook.com/CMNHospitals.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of
Columbus and American Family Life
Assurance Company of New York.
Media contact – Jon
Sullivan, 706.763.4813 or jsullivan@aflac.com
Aflac analyst and investor contact – David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667,
FAX 706.324.6330, or dyoung@aflac.com
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