SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 12, 2007) — For the seventh consecutive year, Aflac and participating Macy’s stores have teamed up to help holiday shoppers find the perfect stocking stuffer — the 2007 Aflac Holiday Duck. Available in stores today, these collectible plush ducks have been flying off department store shelves since 2001 and have raised more than $1.6 million for pediatric cancer treatment and research centers across the country.
The 2007 limited edition of the talking duck arrives in stores dressed in holiday-themed attire, complete with a night shirt, night cap, fuzzy slippers and holding a candle. When squeezed, the candle lights up and the duck quacks its famous “Aflac, Aflac, Aflaaaac!” The cost is $10 for a six-inch plush duck and $15 for the 10-inch version.
Last holiday season, $19,350 was raised for the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, as well as 34 children’s hospitals nationwide, will benefit from sales this holiday season.
“Pediatric cancer affects not only patients but also their families and the community,” said Al Johnson, second vice president of Marketing Services at Aflac. “With the help of consumers around the country, this special program will give back to those patients, families and the communities who have been impacted by this disease.”
Shoppers can also visit Aflac.com or Macys.com to purchase an Aflac Holiday Duck. The ducks can also be ordered through Macy’s shop by phone option at 1-800-456-2297. All of the proceeds from in-store and online sales will benefit the children’s medical institutions nearest to where the purchase is made.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.