Award-Winning Screen Me™ Sun Aware™ Camp Program Teaches Sun Safety for Ontario Campers

TORONTO - July 19, 2017 - PRLog -- This summer over 75 camps across Ontario including Camp Ooch, Camp Robin Hood and Ronald McDonald House, are taking part in the Melanoma Network of Canada's award-winning Screen Me™ Sun Aware™ Camp Program in partnership with the Douglas Wright Foundation. This easy-to follow program is designed to help protect children and teens from skin cancer by supporting Ontario summer camp owners and directors to implement sun safety best practices for all staff and campers. This year, a NEW Sun Safety Sing a Long with The Fuddles was developed and is being used to encourage proper sunscreen use in the camps. For more information, please visit www.screenme.ca.

"With skin cancer, the number one cancer worldwide, the Melanoma Network of Canada believes that by implementing the Screen Me Sun Aware Camp Program to promote sun safety best practices, it will help reduce rates of melanoma in the future," states Annette Cyr, Founder, and Chair of the Board of the Melanoma Network of Canada. "Our goal is to grow this program and eventually add it into the school curriculum and have schools adopt the best sun safety practices for their students all year round."

The Screen Me Sun Aware Camp Program is the first of its kind in Canada, supported by the Ontario Camps Association, and was recently chosen by the Canadian Dermatology Association as the recipient of their 2017 Public Education Award in the Not-for-Profit category.  The Screen Me Sun Aware Camp Program is growing with more camps registering and becoming Sun Aware Certified every year. Camps receive their certification at the end of the season.

·         2014 – 9 Camps Sun Aware Certified

·         2015 – 19 Camps Sun Aware Certified

·         2016 – 47 Camps Sun Aware Certified

·         2017 – Over 75 camps are registered in the Screen Me Sun Aware Camp Program

"Through the hard work and dedication of the Melanoma Network of Canada thousands of campers and staff at Ontario Camp Association camps have had excellent sun education," says Bev Unger, Health Co-ordinator at Camp Robin Hood and Chair of the Ontario Camps Association Health Care Committee. "From the interactive and fun website, an educational sun safety on-line training program for staff, to sun bracelets that change colour when exposed to ultraviolet rays, this group has taken education on sun safety to a new level. As a result, lives will be saved as youth learn to protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays."

Sun Aware Camps practice and reinforce the following sun safe behaviours with all campers:

·         apply water resistant broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen frequently – especially when sweating or going in and out of water

·         cover up with hats, long sleeve shirts and pants

·         seek shade and avoid the sun when possible between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

·         wear wrap around sunglasses that are UV protective

"While all children are at risk from the dangers of UVR exposure with unprotected skin, there are added risks for youth who work in outdoor settings such as summer camps," states Dr. Miriam Weinstein, pediatric dermatologist, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). "This program provides staff with the knowledge about the risks of sun exposure and strategies to reduce the risks both for themselves and the campers they take care of."

NEW Screen Me Camp Sun Safety Sing-A- Long with The Fuddles

It can be challenging to get kids to be sun safe during the summer months. The Melanoma Network of Canada has created a fun and entertaining Sun Safety Sing-A-Long Video with The Fuddles to educate children and youth on being sun aware and sun safe. Campers are singing along in Screen Me Sun Aware Camps.

"We wanted to create a catchy jingle that would encourage proper sunscreen use for children and youth," adds Cyr. "When you hear the tune, you can't help but sing-a-long. We encourage everyone to grab their sunscreen and join in!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxN8Yyhau8M&feature=youtu.be



Melanoma Facts

Did you know?

·         Melanoma is a serious and potentially deadly form of skin cancer and a cancer that is seeing a dramatic increase in numbers worldwide.

·         Melanoma makes up only 5% of all skin cancers, but accounts for 75% of the deaths that occur.

·         Having one blistering sunburn when young can double an individual's chance of developing melanoma later in life.

·         Melanoma is one of the most common types of cancer for youth between the ages of 15–29, and is also one that is often preventable.

·         The primary cause of the most common form of melanoma is overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

About the Melanoma Network of Canada (MNC):

The Melanoma Network of Canada (MNC) provides support services, information and programs for individuals whose lives have been changed by melanoma. MNC provides the leading national voice for melanoma patients in Canada for better early detection and improved treatment access and works diligently to prevent more Canadians from developing melanoma through public awareness and youth and adult education on sun safety.  For more information, please visit www.melanomanetwork.ca. Charitable Registration number: 854913050RR0001