Month: September 2024

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

When your view of the world is through the lens of a disease that can often cause pain and require more frequent doctor visits, finding comfort is imperative. That is a reality for the approximately 100,000 Americans impacted by sickle cell disease,1 including more than 4,000 in South Carolina alone.2

That’s why, in July, three-time women’s national championship-winning University of South Carolina Head Basketball Coach and Olympic legendary Coach Dawn Staley joined Aflac to deliver a dose of comfort by giving 16 pediatric sickle cell patients at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital-Midlands their very own My Special Aflac Duck®. This cuddly, robotic companion is designed to give children a voice by helping them communicate their feelings, prepare for medical procedures, practice distraction techniques and more.

Pediatric sickle cell patients went on a scavenger hunt through the hospital before the children were surprised with their new, cuddly companions to keep, delivered by Staley. The sickle cell version of My Special Aflac Duck has a special cape designed to mimic a blanket, reflecting sickle cell patients who are often sensitive to changes in temperature. The cape doubles as art therapy to delight children serving as a water-activated, color-changing canvas.

The duck was designed in consult with more than 100 children, families and medical professionals in partnership with Empath Labs and uses medical play and lifelike movement to help children cope with their treatments. In 2022, Aflac expanded its My Special Aflac Duck program to serve pediatric patients with sickle cell with research-based updates like unique accessories designed to help reinforce care routines.

Since My Special Aflac Duck was first introduced in 2018, Aflac has delivered more than 31,000 ducks to children in the United States, Japan and Northern Ireland — nearly one-third of those have been given to children diagnosed with sickle cell disease.

Aflac’s commitment to pediatric cancer and blood disorders spans decades with Aflac employees, independent agents and The Aflac Foundation, Inc. contributing more than $184 million to childhood cancer and blood disorders treatment and research since 1995.

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.

1 CDC — Fact Sheet: Sickle Cell Disease — https://www.cdc.gov/sickle-cell/media/fact-sheets/basic-information/what-you-should-know-about-scd.pdf. Accessed Sept. 5, 2024.

2 Prisma Health. Comprehensive Sickle Cell Disease Program — Midlands. https://prismahealthchildrens.org/programs-and-services/hospital-services/comprehensive-sickle-cell-disease-program/sickle-cell-program-midlands. Accessed Sept. 5, 2024.

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Cisco Networking Academy continues to innovate across our platform and curriculum to ensure learners and instructors have access to best-in-class IT education content and experiences. We are proud to share we have launched a new web experience to bring together the strengths of our offerings into a single platform. Our offerings on NetAcad.com and SkillsForAll.com are now integrated into a unified teaching and learning experience on the new NetAcad.com platform.

In July 2021, we introduced Skills for All as a self-paced option to expand our reach and engage new learners, with a rich blend of innovative interactive activities, gamified challenges, and hands-on learning. In keeping with our continued innovation and commitment to empower educators, we have also been building a next-generation teaching experience, including professional development resources, class management features, and personalized assessment tools.

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Driving innovation in technology education

At Cisco Networking Academy, we are driven by our mission to power an inclusive future for all. This means continuing to innovate and lead through big transitions so learners around the world are prepared to take on technology work today and tomorrow. We continue to develop in new areas like AI, game and project-based learning, career resources, comprehensive teaching features, and more. Because when learners gain the skills they need to earn well-paying jobs in in-demand fields, we can lift families, communities, and society. It’s a win-win-win.

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