History - The Aflac Cancer Center
Pulling together patients, parents, nurses, doctors and psychosocial services, Aflac led a team of architects to design an award-winning pediatric cancer center. Egleston and Scottish Rite Children's hospitals merged in February 1998 to become Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, with an Aflac Cancer Center at both campuses.
In December 2001, Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos announced a gift of $10 million to the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The gift is the largest in Aflac’s history and is the largest corporate gift ever made to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is one of the largest pediatric cancer centers in the United States and treats more than 300 newly diagnosed cancer patients and over 1,000 sickle cell patients each year. No relationship has been more meaningful to Aflac than the one with the Aflac Cancer Center.
Time and Money
To date, Aflac has contributed over $40 million to the Aflac Cancer Center, but the relationship goes far beyond financial support—Aflac's executive management is a strong ally in the achievement of the Aflac Cancer Center's long-term strategic vision under the leadership of Dr. William Woods, recipient of the Daniel P. Amos Chair endowed by Aflac in 2000.
In addition, nearly 12,000 independent Aflac national sales agents contribute more than $275,000 from their commission checks each month to support the Aflac Cancer Center. Since 1995, Aflac sales agents have contributed in excess of $20 million toward the cause. The agents also regularly engage in friendly competition between territories by holding special events and auctions to raise money for the Aflac Cancer Center.
In 2007, Aflac sales agents funded a $1.5 Aflac Field Force Children’s Chair for Sickle Cell Disease, which was presented to Dr. Peter Lane of the Aflac Cancer Center, and, in 2006, funded Dr. Donald Durden’s Chair for Experimental Therapy.
Aflac employees have rallied around the Aflac Cancer Center in many ways. Every month, Aflac employee volunteers visit the Aflac Cancer Center, play Bingo with the patients and distribute prizes supplied by Aflac. Throughout the year, employees also hold toy drives, organize sports tournaments, sell ice cream and direct other fundraisers to generate thousands of dollars to help support the Aflac Cancer Center.
Additional Involvement
Aflac funded the outpatient clinic at Scottish Rite and gave support in the construction of the Aflac Cancer Center research facility.
Families battling cancer face many challenges, so in addition to cancer treatments, Aflac guarantees at least 10 positions for social workers, chaplains, schoolteachers and child life specialists, who are critical in providing complete and comprehensive care.
Aflac knows that care does not stop with the cure. To provide ongoing care to children cured of cancer but who are facing issues such as learning disabilities or reproductive challenges, Aflac funded the Cancer Survivor Clinic in 2001. Today, it is one of the nation's leading programs focusing solely on post-therapy issues of cancer survivors. In 2007, Aflac presented a $1.5M Kathelen V. Amos Children’s Chair for Cancer Survivorship to Dr. Lillian R. Meacham of the Aflac Cancer Center.
As a sponsor of Reach the Day: Conquer Childhood Cancer, Aflac has again stepped up to support the efforts of CureSearch/National Foundation for Childhood Cancer to bring awareness to the critical issues facing childhood cancer research and the significance of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007.
In 2004, Aflac extended its cancer support to adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer, an age group that has been overshadowed by national and local efforts over the past half century to assist children and older adults with cancer. Aflac is supporting a national initiative to investigate why this age group has not fared as well as younger and older patients in improving the cure rate and quality of survival. In three years, Aflac has contributed more than $600,000 to CureSearch/National Childhood Cancer Foundation and the Children’s Oncology Group for its AYA research program. Four young oncologists from Atlanta, Irvine (California), Portland and Toronto, have been awarded two years of support for their training and research in AYA oncology. As a result of Aflac support of AYA cancer research, a greater national awareness of the needs of this age group has occurred, and other organizations, including the federal government and comprehensive cancer centers, are joining the cause.
Also in 2004, Aflac committed $45,000 to the Child Life Therapy Program at the Morrell Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders housed in the Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center and has pledged another $45,000 through 2008.
In 2003, Aflac committed $45,000 to the University of Nebraska Medical Center to establish the Aflac Fund for Childhood Cancer Patients and Families, and has pledged another $45,000 through 2007. This fund supports the pediatric hematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation multidisciplinary team, a vital component of the transplantation experience for patients and their families.
In 1999, Aflac became a founding sponsor of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) and committed $1 million over 10 years to the AACR to continue and expand the travel awards program and other initiatives designed to meet the needs of early career cancer investigators. Aflac has pledged an additional $940,000 through 2010.
In 1997, Aflac committed $1.5 million to establish the Aflac Chair for Cancer Research at USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles.
The Duck as Aflac's Philanthropic Symbol
In addition to its role as our brand icon, the Aflac Duck has come to symbolize Aflac's national philanthropic focus of pediatric cancer treatment and research. Over 73,000 plush Aflac Ducks have been sold on the Aflac Web site, with proceeds benefiting the Aflac Cancer Center.
During the 2007 holiday season, Aflac again partnered with Macy’s to sell special limited edition Aflac Holiday Ducks. Nearly $2 million has been raised to fight pediatric cancer since the sales began in 2001. Funds were donated to children's hospitals across the country.
Other Fundraising Activities
Aflac also uses its advertising sponsorships to spotlight pediatric cancer. Every year Aflac sponsors several trips to Major League baseball parks and the Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic to give pediatric cancer patients a chance to get away from the hospital and out to a ballgame. Proceeds from the Aflac All-American have benefited pediatric cancer centers, including Children’s Hospital at Southwest Florida, Kimmel Cancer Center Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, as well as Coaches Curing Kids’ Cancer, an organization dedicated to pediatric cancer treatment and research.
For information about Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, please visit http://www.choa.org/default.aspx?id=244.
