Peach Bowl, Inc. and Aflac teamed up as part of the Aflac Kickoff Game to raise $363,461 for their “Kickoff for a Cause” initiative to give back to the communities they serve. “Kickoff for a Cause” connects to the timeliness of September’s game, recognizing National Childhood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month, and unites their joint commitment to supporting patients and families before, during and after treatment.

As college football’s most charitable bowl organization, Peach Bowl, Inc. has strong ties in its involvement with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In 2019, Peach Bowl, Inc. announced a $20 million gift to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to establish the Peach Bowl LegACy Fund, which is hyper focused on funding clinical trials for the most promising new drugs and treatments for children facing a cancer diagnosis. Peach Bowl, Inc. also annually collaborates with the hospital to raise additional dollars through its Peach Bowl Touchdowns for Children’s campaign, where fans can pledge money for each touchdown their favorite team scores during the regular season. Peach Bowl, Inc. then matches that amount dollar for dollar. To date, Peach Bowl, Inc. has raised over $21.8 million for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. 

“Our new partnership with Aflac is changing lives through football,” said Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan. “It’s been an honor to partner with Aflac, another organization that also shares our mission of giving back to the community, particularly in our joint efforts to tackle childhood cancer. We’re looking forward to creating a new annual tradition of giving through ‘Kickoff for a Cause’ with future Aflac Kickoff Games in the years to come.”

Aflac’s commitment to supporting children with cancer and blood disorders spans nearly three decades. Since 1995, Aflac has given more than $168 million to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which annually cares for about 2,500 children with cancer and more than 6,500 children with blood disorders. 

“Helping hardworking Americans and their families close the gap between health insurance coverage and the accumulation of medical bills is at our core,” said Aflac U.S. President Virgil Miller. “Supporting the Aflac Kickoff Game and working alongside Peach Bowl, Inc. has yielded a far-reaching impact, transcending the boundaries of sports, while spotlighting the remarkable endeavors undertaken daily at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta—a cause Aflac has steadfastly championed for over 28 years."

Together, the two Georgia-based companies with aligned philanthropic purposes searched for avenues to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® in Atlanta and Louisville, Kentucky. Those efforts led to the creation of mutual corporate donations, a fan-centric fundraising event driven by Georgia Tech’s Buzz and the Aflac Kickoff Game mascot Huddles, an in-game 50/50 raffle for fan donations, support of college scholarships and unique experiences for hospital patients.

The charitable efforts during the 2023 Aflac Kickoff Game “Kickoff for a Cause” include:

• Partnership giving: Peach Bowl, Inc. and Aflac each pledged to donate $100,000 to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta totaling $200,000.

• Mascot challenge: The Yellow Jacket Buzz and Aflac Kickoff Game Huddles faced off in a competition to raise funds for two Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Although Buzz won bragging rights as the 2023 mascot challenge winner, each mascot was rewarded with a $25,000 check to be donated to the respective hospitals, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Norton Children’s Hospital, totaling $50,000.

• 50/50 raffle: During the 2023 Aflac Kickoff Game, fans in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium were able to make donations toward the 50/50 raffle. Fifty percent of the proceeds raised will go to a lucky fan with a winning raffle ticket, and the other 50 percent will benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta as part of the Peach Bowl Touchdowns for Children’s campaign. The split-the-pot raffle created an additional $13,461 for the hospital.

• Endowed scholarships: Peach Bowl, Inc.’s commitment to furthering Georgia students’ secondary education through tuition support included $50,000 donations to each school in this year’s game for a total of $100,000.

• Patient experiences: Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin “Megatron” Johnson Jr. and Aflac U.S. President Virgil Miller delivered free-of-charge resource, My Special Aflac Duck, to young patients at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Since 2018, Aflac has delivered more than 24,000 of these social robot ducks across the nation and in Japan and Northern Ireland to help comfort children ages 3 and up who have cancer or a sickle cell diagnosis. Patients and staff from the hospital were also given tickets to attend the game and tour the field pre-game before warmups alongside Mr. Johnson. 

Peach Bowl, Inc. and Aflac recently announced a three-year partnership making the Georgia-based supplemental health insurance provider the official title sponsor of the annual college football kickoff game in Atlanta. Future Aflac Kickoff Games will continue the “Kickoff for a Cause” mission as both organizations continue to find innovative ways to give back to their communities.