Partnerships

As part of a long-term strategy to make sun safety a sustainable and community-based effort, SunWise has expanded from a traditional K-8 classroom audience to include a number of informal education, sports, and non-profit sun protection organizations. By forming partnerships, we are able to pursue a more comprehensive approach to teaching children and caregivers about sun safety.

• Science Centers and Informal Education Organizations
• Meteorologists
• U.S. Soccer Foundation
• SHADE Foundation

Science Centers and Informal Education Organizations

Partnering with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (http://www.aaas.org ), SunWise is expanding to reach kids through science centers, parks, children's museums, aquaria, and other informal education organizations nationwide. The goal is to reinforce sun safety messages that students are receiving in school, during the summer months.

AAAS is hosting regional workshops in selected cities to provide free training and materials to science center staff for use in their programs. Through museum programming such as summer camp programs, planetarium shows, children's theater, and special events, kids learn about the importance of sun safe behaviors with an emphasis on science. SunWise is also used in teacher workshops at many science centers such as the McWane Center in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, Florida.

In 2004, regional SunWise workshops were held at MOSI in Tampa, at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago, and at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

In the Spring of 2005, AAAS will be holding workshops in Tennessee, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest. We are still in the planning stages of these workshops. If you would like to attend or request more information, please contact us.

To learn more about the SunWise program for Informal Education Institutions, download the brochure for Science Centers. (PDF, 2 p., 395 KB)

Meteorologists

SunWise, in partnership with the National Weather Service (NWS) and the American Meteorological Society (AMS), has developed a tool kit specifically designed for broadcast and operational meteorologists. The kit is intended to assist meteorologists in educating children about UV radiation and sun protection.

The meteorologist tool kit includes:

• Fun, educational and interactive activities for school group presentations. The activities are designed to take minimal time and be easily incorporated into weather presentations.
• A UV-sensitive frisbee. Several activities in the tool kit require the use of the Frisbee, which turns bright purple when exposed UV radiation. The Frisbee is also great for live shots on sun safety.
• SunWise Program business cards. We encourage you to hand out the business cards to teachers so that they can sign up and receive their own free SunWise Program Tool Kit, which is similar to the meteorologist kit, It contains expanded materials to meet the needs of all K-8 educators.
• A folder with brochures, booklets and fact sheets. These materials offer additional information on the SunWise Program, UV radiation, ozone depletion, and the UV index. See our publications page for further details.

To order a free kit, please contact Jason Samenow at (202) 343-9327 or samenow.jason@epa.gov.

US Soccer Foundation

As one of our long-term efforts to promote sun safety through athletics, SunWise partnered with the US Soccer Foundation (http://www.ussoccerfoundation.org ) on the "Make Sun Safety Your Goal" campaign. Through this partnership, we promoted sun safe behaviors by sponsoring game day events that included give-aways such as sun safety posters and bookmark, chap stick, visors, and posters. In Spring 2004, we expanded this outreach to include youth soccer leagues and coaches.

We also sponsored several public service campaigns that included placing sun safety messages in the public transportation systems of Chicago and Washington, DC.

If you would like more information about a public service announcement (print or radio) for your community, please contact us.

SHADE Foundation

The SHADE Foundation, created by Shonda Schilling, melanoma survivor and wife of Boston Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling, is a nonprofit dedicated to the education, prevention, and detection of skin cancer. EPA approached SHADE about using SunWise as the educational component of their program.

Shade embraced the SunWise tool kit and requires that schools who approach their foundation for resources implement SunWise in order to receive 100 hats, 100 pairs of UV-protective sunglasses, and a supply of SPF 30 sun block for the students. Upon "graduation", with demonstration of sustained teaching activities and the implementation of sun protection policies, SHADE arranges for the construction of a shade structure for the school. The cost for providing a school with hats, sunglasses, sun block, and the 24' x 35' shade structure is approximately $10,000, with the cost of the shade structure alone being between $4,000 and $6,000. The shade cloth provides approximately 98% protection from UV radiation. SHADE assumes all cost for the shade structures, with money raised through fund-raising events. SHADE hopes to supplement their fundraising efforts with grant money. (www.shadefoundation.org )

Please check back, as we will be updating this page with details and dates on specific partner sun safety events!