A Beaverton School District 6th grader from Cedar Park Middle School is the Oregon state winner of the Sunwise with Shade Poster Contest!
Please vote for Catherine and the state of Oregon in this national competition to raise awareness about sun safety. The winning student will win a trip for her and her teacher to Washington D.C. and a sun shelter for her school. Visit this site to cast your vote. Use School code: vote14. Voting is open until 11:59 p.m. EST on May 8. Vote for Oregon!
Students in grades K-8 are helping raise awareness about sun safety by drawing posters for the 2014 SunWise with SHADE Poster Contest, organized by the SHADE Foundation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SunWise Program. One in five children will grow up to develop skin cancer. It is important for children to learn about sun safety to protect their health.
Some facts about skin cancer:
- Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancer cases are diagnosed annually.
- Each year, there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancers.
- Melanoma is the second most common form of cancer for young people 15–29 years old.
- May is Skin Cancer Prevention Awareness Month and May 23 is Don’t Fry Day.
Ways people can protect themselves in the sun (SunWise Action Steps):
- Do not burn
- Avoid sun tanning and tanning beds
- Generously apply sunscreen (SPF 30+)
- Wear protective clothing
- Seek shade
- Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand
- Check the UV Index
- Get vitamin D safely
