NEWS
AFL Volunteers Assemble Prosthetic Hands for Children
28/03/2016
Spartanburg, SC – AFL volunteers participated in a unique experience that will transform the lives of multiple children. During the annual sales meeting, 40 sales managers and sales support associates volunteered their time to assemble, adjust and fine-tune 10 3D-printed prosthetic hands to give to children with symbrachydactyly. Hosted by Venture Up, an organization that provides corporate team building events, the project will support Doctors Without Borders who will distribute them to children between seven to 12 years old.
“This volunteer project was unlike any other project we have undertaken in the past,” commented Steve Ferguson, vice president of sales and marketing for AFL. “Not only were we able to work as a team to enhance communication and collaboration, but we were also able to give back to our community in a very unique way. It’s exciting to know that 10 children from around the world will benefit from this project and have the ability to perform various tasks that we take for granted.”
Symbrachydactyly occurs during normal embryonic development. When a baby’s hands begin to form in utero, they are shaped like mittens or paddles. Then the fingers divide. In babies with symbrachydactyly, the fingers don’t fully form. This hand disorder is characterized by abnormally short fingers that are sometimes webbed or conjoined. In severe cases, all fingers are missing and small nubbins of skin and soft-tissue are located where the fingers would have developed. Symbrachydactyly occurs in every 250,000 which equals about 2 million cases around the world.
Venture Up works with biomedical engineers and funds 3D printing technology for the production of low-cost prosthetic hands to enable people with no prior hand function to change their lives forever. The Creative Hands 3D Project directly supported the production and distribution of these prosthetics at no charge to the recipients or their families.
To learn more about AFL and its community outreach, visit www.AFLglobal.com/community.
About AFL
AFL provides industry-leading products and services to the electric utility, broadband, communications, enterprise and OEM markets as well as the emerging markets of oil and gas, mining, nuclear, avionics, renewables and transportation. The company’s diverse product portfolio includes fiber optic cable, transmission and substation accessories, outside plant equipment, connectors, fusion splicers, test equipment and training. AFL’s service portfolio includes market-leading positions with the foremost communications companies supporting OEM, outside plant, enterprise and wireless areas.
Founded in 1984, AFL is proud to offer engineering expertise, exceptional products and reliable service that help our customers improve their critical and electrical infrastructure. AFL has operations in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company is headquartered in Spartanburg, SC and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan. For more information, visit www.AFLglobal.com.
Contact
Corie Culp
PR Manager
AFL
864.433.5409
Corie.Culp@AFLglobal.com
NEWS
AFL Volunteers Assemble Prosthetic Hands for Children
03/28/2016
Spartanburg, SC – AFL volunteers participated in a unique experience that will transform the lives of multiple children. During the annual sales meeting, 40 sales managers and sales support associates volunteered their time to assemble, adjust and fine-tune 10 3D-printed prosthetic hands to give to children with symbrachydactyly. Hosted by Venture Up, an organization that provides corporate team building events, the project will support Doctors Without Borders who will distribute them to children between seven to 12 years old.
“This volunteer project was unlike any other project we have undertaken in the past,” commented Steve Ferguson, vice president of sales and marketing for AFL. “Not only were we able to work as a team to enhance communication and collaboration, but we were also able to give back to our community in a very unique way. It’s exciting to know that 10 children from around the world will benefit from this project and have the ability to perform various tasks that we take for granted.”
Symbrachydactyly occurs during normal embryonic development. When a baby’s hands begin to form in utero, they are shaped like mittens or paddles. Then the fingers divide. In babies with symbrachydactyly, the fingers don’t fully form. This hand disorder is characterized by abnormally short fingers that are sometimes webbed or conjoined. In severe cases, all fingers are missing and small nubbins of skin and soft-tissue are located where the fingers would have developed. Symbrachydactyly occurs in every 250,000 which equals about 2 million cases around the world.
Venture Up works with biomedical engineers and funds 3D printing technology for the production of low-cost prosthetic hands to enable people with no prior hand function to change their lives forever. The Creative Hands 3D Project directly supported the production and distribution of these prosthetics at no charge to the recipients or their families.
To learn more about AFL and its community outreach, visit www.AFLglobal.com/community.
About AFL
AFL provides industry-leading products and services to the electric utility, broadband, communications, enterprise and OEM markets as well as the emerging markets of oil and gas, mining, nuclear, avionics, renewables and transportation. The company’s diverse product portfolio includes fiber optic cable, transmission and substation accessories, outside plant equipment, connectors, fusion splicers, test equipment and training. AFL’s service portfolio includes market-leading positions with the foremost communications companies supporting OEM, outside plant, enterprise and wireless areas.
Founded in 1984, AFL is proud to offer engineering expertise, exceptional products and reliable service that help our customers improve their critical and electrical infrastructure. AFL has operations in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company is headquartered in Spartanburg, SC and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan. For more information, visit www.AFLglobal.com.
Contact
Corie Culp
PR Manager
AFL
864.433.5409
Corie.Culp@AFLglobal.com