> US SAILING Media > Latest News > 2011 > The Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation Teams Up With US SAILING on "Don’t Fry Day"
The Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation Teams Up With US SAILING on "Don’t Fry Day"
CONTACT:
Mimi Svenning
Assistant Director, Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation
781.545.5903
mimi.svenning@gmail.com
or
Jake Fish
Communications Manager, US SAILING
401.683.0800 x614
jakefish@ussailing.org
BOSTON, Mass. (March 16, 2011) - The Children’s Melanoma Prevention Found ation and US SAILING have joined forces to teach sailors how to protect themselves from skin cancer risks while enjoying the sport.
The two organizations will launch the foundation’s SunAWARE at Sea educational program on national Don’t Fry Day (Friday, May 27, 2011). Foundation staff will be in the community teaching at local sailing centers, including Community Boating in Boston and Courageous Sailing in Charlestown, Mass. A special Don’t Fry Day information sheet will be disseminated through US SAILING and a new children’s book that teaches sun safety for adolescent boaters, Danger at Graves Light, will be released.
For the third straight year, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend has been designated Don’t Fry Day by the National Council for Skin Cancer Prevention, an organization composed of 45 groups that are dedicated to reducing skin cancer deaths in the United States. The Foundation chose to use Don’t Fry Day to introduce its skin cancer prevention program for junior sailors because it coincides with Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the sailing season.
“Every junior sailor knows that they have to be able to swim, wear a personal floatation device, and stay calm in an emergency,” said Susan Epstein, US SAILING board member and local sailor. “However, what they don’t know is how to prevent melanoma. I have been a life-long sailor and I have seen first-hand the impact of the sun, having lost two friends to the disease.”
The reflection of the sun off the water represents a significant skin cancer risk to sailors. One person dies every hour from skin cancer in the United States and melanoma is responsible for 90% of these deaths. In addition, melanoma rates are increasing in children with one study reporting a 3% increase annually from 1973 to 2001. This increase, combined with the fact that melanoma is associated with both childhood sunburns and recreational boating, underscores the need for children interested in sailing to be educated and vigilant about protecting their skin from the sun.
This is why Epstein invited Maryellen Maguire-Eisen (Registered Nurse, MSN) to address the general session of US SAILING’s National Sailing Program Symposium in January to raise awareness of the problem and to work with US SAILING in developing a skin cancer prevention education campaign. Maguire-Eisen is the founder and executive director of the Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation. In her speech, she reminded the program directors that sun safety is just as important as water safety for their junior sailors.
Maguire-Eisen is the author of Danger at Graves Light with Mary Mills Barrow, executive director of SunAWARE.org. “The book will empower adolescent sailors with current and reliable information about the dangers of overexposure to ultraviolet radiation on the water and will offer five easy action steps for sun protection,” says Barrow.
“Skin cancer is a deadly but preventable and easily recognizable disease,” said Maguire-Eisen. “I believe that we must do everything we can to educate and empower children to have fun outdoors while protecting themselves from the most common cancer of all. I believe that our SunAWARE Program saves lives.”
Barrow developed the SunAWARE acronym to provide a useful and memorable way to get across important information about sun safety. The acronym includes five easy action steps:
A - Avoid unprotected exposure to sunlight, seek shade, and never indoor tan.
W - Wear sun protective clothing, including a long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses year-round.
A - Apply recommended amounts of broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sunburn protection factor (SPF) greater than or equal to 30 to all exposed skin and reapply every two hours, or as needed.
R - Routinely examine your whole body for changes in your skin and report concerns to a parent or healthcare provider.
E - Educate your family and community about the need to be SunAWARE.
Spread the word about Don't Fry Day in your community:
Find out more details about Don’t Fry Day by clicking here.
Visit the Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation website at www.melanomaprevention.org.
To learn more about sunAWARE visit us at www.sunaware.org.
About Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation
The Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation, located in Hingham, Mass., is a non-profit educational foundation established in 2003 to teach children and their caretakers safe and proven methods of sun protection and skin cancer prevention. Its aim is to reduce the incidence and impact of melanoma on families and society. The foundation’s SunAWARE School Program is delivered to children, free of charge, in elementary and secondary schools. For more information visit: www.melanomaprevention.org.
About SunAWARE.org
SunAWARE.org is a non-profit, educational advocacy group located in Minnesota that seeks endorsement and collaboration from organizations and businesses to use “Be Safe. Be SunAWARE! as a single, unified message to educate the public on preventing and detecting skin cancer. SunAWARE was first introduced in Sun Protection For Life: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Healthy & Beautiful Skin (New Harbinger Publications, 2005.). It won the American Academy of Dermatology Gold Triangle for excellence in public education. SunAWARE information blogs and SunAWARE background materials are available for download at: www.sunaware.org
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
About Danger at Graves Light
Danger at Graves Light tells the story of five young sailors who don’t believe that bad things can happen on a calm, sunny day on the water. When their grandmother tells them the amazing story of a sunny day rescue at Graves Light, they finally understand that the sun can be just as dangerous as a storm at sea.
The Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation, located in Hingham, Mass., is a non-profit educational foundation established in 2003 to teach children and their caretakers safe and proven methods of sun protection and skin cancer prevention. Its aim is to reduce the incidence and impact of melanoma on families and society. The foundation’s SunAWARE School Program is delivered to children, free of charge, in elementary and secondary schools. For more information visit: www.melanomaprevention.org.
About SunAWARE.org
SunAWARE.org is a non-profit, educational advocacy group located in Minnesota that seeks endorsement and collaboration from organizations and businesses to use “Be Safe. Be SunAWARE! as a single, unified message to educate the public on preventing and detecting skin cancer. SunAWARE was first introduced in Sun Protection For Life: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Healthy & Beautiful Skin (New Harbinger Publications, 2005.). It won the American Academy of Dermatology Gold Triangle for excellence in public education. SunAWARE information blogs and SunAWARE background materials are available for download at: www.sunaware.org
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
About Danger at Graves Light
Danger at Graves Light tells the story of five young sailors who don’t believe that bad things can happen on a calm, sunny day on the water. When their grandmother tells them the amazing story of a sunny day rescue at Graves Light, they finally understand that the sun can be just as dangerous as a storm at sea.