On Sunday, Oct. 10, Roush Fenway’s Carl Edwards and his crew will be sporting the Aflac Duck Wingman Bead of Courage during the Sprint Cup event at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. in honor of children with serious illnesses.
The new bead is part of the Aflac Duck’s 10th birthday celebration, where he will share his birthday wish for people across the nation to give children with cancer a reason to smile with renewed strength.
Edwards will be joined by the Aflac Duck and Nolan Blake, a seven-year-old cancer survivor and avid NASCAR fan on Friday, Oct. 8, for a press conference at Auto Club Speedway. Nolan will be accompanied by his mother Brittany, and Jean Baruch, the Founder of Beads of Courage, which is an international nonprofit organization that strives to offer support to children with serious illnesses. Nolan himself has accumulated hundreds of courage beads.
"When I visit the Aflac Cancer Center I am moved by the courage of these heroic children," Edwards said. "My personal experience with Beads of Courage inspired me, so I am proud to be a part of this program."
"That loveable Aflac Duck inspires smiles in children," said Baruch. "Our long-standing relationship with the Aflac Cancer Center, the immense strength of the Aflac Duck’s image, and Aflac’s commitment to pediatric cancer treatment and research gives me great confidence that this program will be a tremendous success in helping more kids cope with serious illnesses."
The Aflac Duck urges NASCAR fans to visit Aflacracing.com, where you can click the Beads of Courage logo to purchase an Aflac Duck Wingman bead for a child with cancer for $5. For $25, the donor will be able to send beads to five different children and they will also receive an extra bead to remember the children they made stronger.
The donor will also have the opportunity to pick the region of the country where they want their beads to be sent, with a portion of the donation going to Beads of Courage to help the program continue to grow in hospitals throughout the country.
Beads of Courage is affiliated with over 70 hospitals across the United States including Aflac Cancer Center in Atlanta, Ga.
