Mission Statement
Aflac is committed to supporting children with cancer, their families and the medical professionals who treat them through philanthropy and innovative programs like My Special Aflac Duck®.
History
Aflac was founded in 1955 with a first of its kind cancer care policy. Forty years later, CEO Dan Amos pledged $3 million to support what became the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. This gift laid the foundation for Aflac’s corporate giving focus and kicked off a 35 year (and counting) legacy of supporting pediatric cancer.
More than a quack
Since 1995, Aflac has supported pediatric cancer with $167+ million to date to its research and treatment. In 2018, Aflac’s outreach expanded to support children’s social and emotional needs through My Special Aflac Duck.
Impact
Since launching in 2018, Aflac has donated more than 23,000 My Special Aflac Ducks. Preliminary research shows that these ducks reduce distress for children and their parents!
A treasured extended Aflac family member since 1995, the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is home to one of the country’s leading children’s cancer programs.
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Since 2016, Aflac has partnered with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through programs like Radiothon and My Special Aflac Duck. Learn how you can help children with cancer across the country through CMN.
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Be The Match is a global leader working to save lives through cellular therapy. Aflac joins Be The Match with aims to ensure all patients have an equal chance of finding their lifesaving match regardless of ethnic background. Learn how you can make an impact.
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Sproutel uses a unique patient-centered process to research, design and launch products to create a positive health impact. Aflac partnered with Sproutel to create My Special Aflac Duck.
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Advisory Council
Peter C. Adamson, MD
Dr. Peter C. Adamson joined Sanofi in April 2020 as the Global Head of Oncology Development and Pediatric
Innovation. He is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania ...
and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which he served for 21 years. From January 2011 to
April 2020, Dr. Adamson served as chairman of Children's Oncology Group (COG), which includes more than 200
leading children's hospitals, universities and cancer centers and engages more than 9,000 international
experts in childhood cancer. He worked as an Investigator with the Pediatric Oncology branch of the National
Cancer Institute from 1987 to 1999.
Emily Belcher
Emily Belcher is a childhood cancer advocate and cancer mom. Since her daughter, Caroline, was diagnosed
with brain cancer at age 3, Emily has volunteered and worked in the childhood cancer community in an effort
to raise national ...
awareness and bring the community together. After being a key organizer of CureFest for
Childhood Cancer in Washington, DC, for several years, Emily is now focused on continuing the national
conversation about how to improve pediatric cancer treatments.
Talia Holden-Brooks, PSY.D
Talia Holden-Brooks is a Behavioral Medicine Consultant and Psychological Assistant at Kaiser Permanente,
where she provides psychology services for children and families. She is a pediatric cancer survivor of
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ...
and was treated at Children's Hospital Oakland, as the California hospital was
then known. Talia served as Patient Advocate for the Children's Oncology Group as she completed her
doctorate in clinical psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California.
Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD
Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD, is the director of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's
Healthcare of Atlanta, with an interest in basic science, translational and clinical oncology research for
the hospital. He is a National ...
Institutes of Health-funded investigator with an active laboratory focusing
on developing novel therapeutics for pediatric cancer, validating MerTK as a novel cancer agent in leukemia,
melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and glioblastoma.Previously, he served as professor of pediatrics and
immunology at the University of Colorado, with clinical practice at Children's Hospital Colorado.
Moira Gunn, PhD
Dr. Moira Gunn is both a journalist and an academic. She is best known as the host of Tech Nation, and its
segments Tech Nation Health and BioTech Nation, on various NPR venues, including the NPR channel on
SiriusXM. A former NASA ...
scientist and engineer, where she worked on global data analysis, Gunn is a
professor at the University of San Francisco, where she created bioentrepreneurship courses available
throughout the university and also teaches in the professional communication. The National Science Board
awarded Gunn its "Public Service Award to the Individual" for her contributions to increasing the Public
Understanding of Science and Engineering. Dr. Gunn was the first woman to receive a PhD in Mechanical
Engineering from Purdue, where she was also awarded an honorary doctorate in Science.
Eugene W. Johnson, MS, MA, RN, CCLS
Eugene W. Johnson is manager of the Arts in Medicine, Canines for Coping, Child Life, & Music
Therapy programs at Huntsville Hospital. An active member of the Association of Child Life ...
Professionals (ACLP), he has served as ACLP Chair of the Partnership Development Committee, charged with policy
development and investigating opportunities for potential partnerships. Prior to joining Huntsville
Hospital, Johnson worked as a Registered Nurse and Child Life Specialist at the Children's Medical Center,
an Adjunct Professor at Baylor University, and President of the Child Life Council.
Shop to support the cause
Shop Aflac merchandise and 100% of the net proceeds will go to The Aflac Childhood Cancer Foundation, Inc. to help children with cancer.
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