AFL Presents $5,000 Grant to Boston Children’s Hospital

Lowell, MA and Spartanburg, SC – AFL presented a $5,000 grant to Boston Children’s Hospital in support of the Yawkey Family Inn, a patient family housing program. The Yawkey Family Inn provides affordable housing to patient families, lessening the burden of travel expenses and allowing families to stay close to their loved ones.

“Last year, with over 1,900 reservations and 87 percent utilization rate, more than 1500 families were able to take advantage of our Patient Family Housing Program. Having somewhere for the family to stay nearby is a critical piece of their child’s hospital stay, and an additional cost for families,” said Elisabeth Harding, Director, Family and Volunteer Services, Boston Children’s Hospital. “With support from AFL, we will be able to continue to support these families, many who travel a long way from home for their child to be treated here at Boston Children’s.”

Since 2010, there has been a 15 percent increase in reservations for families through the Family Housing Program with an average length of stay of eight nights per visit. The Patient Family Housing Program provides affordable accommodations in a home-like environment for families traveling more than 50 miles from Boston Children’s. Families pay only $30 for one room per night.

“It’s impossible to understand what these families are going through or what sacrifices they have to make when their children are sick,” said George Rose, director of AFL’s NOYES division. “We want to help reduce the amount of strain on these families, and we whole-heartedly support Boston Children’s Hospital and the Yawkey Family Inn and their endeavors.”

The AFL NOYES Test and Inspection Division, located in Lowell, MA and Belmont, NH, designs and develops high performance fiber optic test equipment such as OTDRs, laser sources and power meters for worldwide telecommunication companies and private network groups. The division employs more than 55 people in their MA and NH facilities.

For more information about AFL and its Community Outreach Program, visit www.AFLglobal.com/Company/Community.aspx.

For more information about Boston Children’s Hospital, visit www.childrenshospital.org.

About AFL
AFL provides industry-leading products and services to the electric utility, broadband, communications, OEM, enterprise, wireless and transit rail markets as well as the emerging markets of oil and gas, mining, nuclear, avionics, medical, renewable and intelligent grid. 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 inside plant central office, EF&I, 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, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. The company is headquartered in Spartanburg, S.C., and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan. For more information, visit www.AFLglobal.com.

About Boston Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children’s Hospital has been ranked as one of the nation’s best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for the past 21 years. Boston Children’s is the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest provider of health care to Massachusetts children. www.childrenshospital.org.