My Special Aflac Duck® Goes To Camp
Originally published on Aflac Newsroom
When you hear the phrase, “the joys of childhood,” it may evoke memories of chasing butterflies in the backyard, baking cookies with grandma or maybe a crafts table stacked high with items handmade with love.
Sadly, for the 10,000 kids diagnosed with cancer each year, childhood may also carry other memories — machines, medications and, in many cases, isolation become a part of their day-to-day lives.
That’s why Sunrise Association offers day camp programs throughout the country that give children with cancer and their siblings the opportunity to participate in a full-summer experience while continuing their treatments and enjoying the comfort and safety of their homes at night. And they provide this gift, free of charge.
With a shared mission, Aflac paired up with Sunrise Association this summer to deliver more than 75 My Special Aflac Ducks®, also free of charge, to children at Horizon Day Camp — Metro DC, a project between the Pozez JCC and the Sunrise Association. Campers were given a demonstration of the duck and an overview of their new companion's features that provide additional delight through innovative technology to help children prepare for medical procedures, communicate their feelings, practice distraction techniques and more. This is the third year the two organizations have worked together to deliver the cuddly companion to campers.
Watch this video to hear what Ann Marie Tilias, mother of three campers, has to say about her family’s experience.
In 2024, Aflac contributed $70,000 to Sunrise Associates to help support children with cancer and their siblings to go to camp which, like My Special Aflac Duck, is completely free of charge.To date, Aflac has given $190,000 to help support Sunrise Association, a part of Aflac's nearly 30-year and more than $184 million commitment to the pediatric cancer and blood disorder initiative.
Since 2018, Aflac has distributed more than 32,000 My Special Aflac Ducks to children ages 3 and up with a pediatric cancer or blood disorders like a sickle cell diagnosis. The robotic companion was designed in consult with more than 100 children, families and medical professionals in conjunction with Empath Labs to produce the comforting, lifelike movements, and many more features that bring cheer. My Special Aflac Duck was recently the focus of a three-year clinical study spearheaded by researchers at Emory University and conducted at eight hospitals across the country. The study, which included 160 patients, their families and health care professionals, was released in April, showing that My Special Aflac Duck helps pediatric patients with cancer cope with treatment-related distress and anxiety.
Health care providers, support organizations and families can order My Special Aflac Duck free of charge for children 3 years or older who have been diagnosed with cancer or sickle cell disease at myspecialaflacduck.com.
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