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Students from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska to Compete in ‘SunWise with SHADE’ Sun Safety Poster Contest

Release Date: 04/27/2010
Contact Information: EPA Region 7 - David Bryan, 913-551-7433, bryan.david@epa.gov; Springfield (Mo.) Public Schools - Teresa Bledsoe, 417-523-0117; Millard Public Schools - Amy Friedman, 402-714-8209; Unified School District 389 (Eureka, Kan.) - Kim Ring, 620-583-7428


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., April 27, 2010) - Three students from EPA Region 7 are among 44 state winners to compete in the 2010 “SunWise with SHADE” national sun safety poster contest, co-sponsored by the EPA SunWise Program, the SHADE Foundation of America and WeatherBug Schools.

The contest, open for public voting at www.shadefoundation.org , encourages children to create catchy messages to educate the public about sun safety. Striking more than one million Americans every year, skin cancer affects more Americans than breast, colon, prostate, and lung cancers combined.

Three students from Region 7 have been selected as state winners:

• Lexi Herb, seventh grade, Eureka Junior/Senior High School, Eureka, Kan.
• Courtney Burlison, third grade, McBride Elementary, Springfield, Mo.
• Kaitlin Milan, eighth grade, Millard North Middle School, Omaha, Neb.

Each state winner is entered into the online voting competition to select the national winner. Online voting is open until May 5, 2010.

"We are encouraging children to be creative while boosting efforts to educate communities about the need for sun protection," said Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator. “You can do your part to educate yourself and your family about skin cancer by voting for your favorite poster.”

Each state’s winning student will receive a digital camera and a certificate of achievement. Classrooms of winning students will receive a UV Index Sun Station, UV color change beads, a UV color change Frisbee and a gallon of Blue Lizard Suncream. The winner of the online voting for the 2010 SunWise with SHADE National Poster Contest will receive a family trip to Walt Disney World. The school will win a WeatherBug Weather Station and software. The classroom will receive a smart-board.

As summer approaches, the poster contest entrants help remind families and schools that simple steps like wearing hats, sunglasses and shirts, using sunscreen, and staying in the shade can greatly reduce their risk of getting a sunburn, or worse, skin cancer.

“Each year, I’m more and more amazed by the creativity in the posters we receive,” said Shonda Schilling, Founder and President of the SHADE Foundation. “Because one in five children grows up to develop skin cancer, it’s more important than ever to teach our kids how to be safe in the sun.”

The winner will be announced on May 19 at “Pitchin’ Posters,” an event in Washington, D.C. The announcement is leading up to the second annual Don’t Fry Day, a national sun safety day on May 28 – the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. For more information on Don’t Fry Day, visit www.epa.gov/sunwise/dfd.html.

The national winners from the kindergarten through third grade contest are being featured on both the EPA and SHADE Foundation Web sites: www.epa.gov/sunwise and www.shadefoundation.org .