Aflac Group Awards $365,000 in Grants to South Carolina Nonprofits

Aflac Group Awards $365,000 in Grants to South Carolina Nonprofits

Columbia, S.C., December 13, 2021 — Aflac has awarded $365,000 in grants to 47 local nonprofits in its Spring and Fall 2021 grant cycles. Nonprofits receiving grants are working on projects that support health and well-being and education in communities throughout South Carolina. The selected organizations and their projects are:

Spring 2021 Grantees:

• Bridges of Hope, Stepping Stones Grief Support for Children, Teens & Families
• Camp Happy Days, Camp 2021
• Classy Smiles Inc., Classy Smiles Mobile Dental
• Federation Center of the Blind, Assistive Medical Devices for Blind South Carolinians
• Feeding Finlay, Operation Survival Kit
• Food for the Soul, Kershaw County Inc., Financial Stability/Job Readiness Program
• Fostering Great Ideas, Tutor Match: academic success for foster children
• Free Medical Clinic of Newberry County, Inc., Medical Home for Uninsured Adults
• Homeless No More, Homeless No More Children’s Program
• IT-oLogy, Certification Training Course
• Kershaw Area Community Resource Exchange, Hunger Relief 2021
• Logan Elementary Foundation, Logan Elementary Foundation Science and Math Support
• Mercy Medicine Free Clinic, Life-Sustaining Medication Support II
• Multiplying Good (formerly the Jefferson Awards Foundation), Students In Action
• Ronald McDonald House Charities Columbia SC, Pack-a-Smile
• Smart Box, The Village Experience "Impact 2021"
• South Carolina Aquarium, Distance Learning Program
• South Carolina Firefighters Foundation, SC Firefighter Cancer Coalition
• South Carolina Youth Advocate Program, Back to School Basics
• Special Olympics South Carolina, Health Fitness Kits
• The Big Red Barn Retreat, Art and Music Healing Therapy
• The Homeless Period Project, Inc., Period Packs for South Carolina
• Turn90 (formerly Turning Leaf), Expansion to Columbia
• United Way of the Midlands, WellPartners Adult Eye Health

Fall 2021 Grantees:

• ALS Association SC Chapter, Patient Assistance Program
• Calhoun Economic Development Corporation, Adult Health & Digital Literacy Program Design
• Camp Rise Above Inc, 2021 Camp Programs for Children and Young Adults
• Children's Cancer Partners of the Carolinas, Ending the Isolation of Childhood Cancer
• Columbia City Ballet, Educational Outreach & Engagement Series
• Communities in Schools of South Carolina, Providing Essential Wraparound Support at Schools for Low-Income Students
• Dyslexia Resource Center, Summer Tutoring Program
• EmmanuWheel, Meeting the Ongoing Need
• Healing Species, Healing Hearts and Creating Change
• Healthy Learners, Removing Health Barriers to Learning for Low-income Children in the Midlands
• Junior Achievement of Greater SC, Inspiring and preparing the future workforce in Richland and Lexington Counties
• Leeza's Care Connection, Dementia Virtual Tour & Sensitivity Training for LMC ER Staff & First Responders
• Lions Vision Services, Envision South Carolina
• Lowcountry Food Bank, Food for Health
• Make-A-Wish South Carolina, Wish Granting in the Midlands
• MedNeed of SC, Providing medical equipment to the uninsured and indigent of South Carolina
• Positively Influencing The Community with Heart (P.I.T.C.H.) Inc., Midlands Community Fridge and Pantry Program
• SC School for the Deaf and the Blind Foundation, Libraries for Literacy
• Sistercare, Inc., Battered Women’s Counseling Program
• Teach For America South Carolina, Improving Learning Outcomes for Children at Low-income Schools
• The Therapy Place, Special Kids / Special Skills
• The Unumb Center for Neurodevelopment, Pre-employment Training and Work-Based Learning Program
• United Way of Chesterfield County, Food Share, We Care-Feeding The Elderly, Young Children

“At Aflac, we understand the importance of giving back and supporting the communities where we work and live,” said Virgil Miller, executive vice president of Aflac US, and president of Aflac Group & Individual Benefits Division. “We are proud to support these organizations and their programs that improve communities across the entire state of South Carolina.”

In 2016, Aflac established its fund at Central Carolina Community Foundation to strengthen its philanthropic efforts. Since then, Aflac has awarded more than $1.5 million through 195 grants funding nonprofit programs across South Carolina. The Community Foundation acts as a centralized point of contact for all grant requests and manages the grants administration, evaluation, outreach and distribution. Aflac’s grants committee is comprised of a dedicated group of community-minded employee volunteers.

Applications for Aflac’s spring grant cycle will open March 1, 2022. For information about applying for an Aflac grant, visit www.yourfoundation.org/aflac or call 803.254.5601.

About Aflac Incorporated

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company, helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading supplemental insurer by paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated’s subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan where it insures 1 in 4 households. Through its trailblazing One Day Pay^SM initiative in the United States, for eligible claims, Aflac can process, approve and electronically send funds to claimants for quick access to cash in just one business day. For 12 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th consecutive year and in 2019 Fortune included Aflac on its list of World’s Most Admired Companies for the 18th time. To find out more about One Day Pay^SM and learn how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn’t cover, get to know us at aflac.com.  

About Central Carolina Community Foundation

Central Carolina Community Foundation, the Midlands' leader in collaborative philanthropy, is a nonprofit organization serving 11 counties in the Midlands of SC by distributing grants and scholarships and linking the resources of donors, nonprofits and area leaders to communities in need. Major initiatives include the online giving challenge Midlands Gives, On the Table, Connected Communities grants, the One SC Fund, and annual scholarships. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.yourfoundation.org or call 803.254.5601.

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