[StBernard] New Release (Region 6): Poster contest sheds light on sun safety

[Westley Annis]

Poster contest sheds light on sun safety 
Annual competition gives students chance to raise awareness, win prizes;
deadline is April 1   

(Dallas, Texas - February 1, 2008)  Students can help raise awareness about
sun safety and win prizes by entering the 2008 SHADE poster contest
<http://www.shadefoundation.org/postercontest/> .  The annual contest is a
joint effort by the SHADE Foundation of America and the Environmental
Protection Agency to teach children ways to protect skin from excessive sun
exposure. 

Too much sun can lead to skin cancer, cataracts and immune suppression.  Sun
protection education is especially important for children because
unprotected exposure in childhood puts them at an increased lifetime risk
for skin cancer. 

"Limit the Sun, Not the Fun" is the theme of this year's poster contest,
which runs until April 1, 2008.  Students in grades K-8 can submit
hand-drawn posters on an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper.  Entries should be
original, creative and suggest ways to prevent skin cancer and raise sun
safety awareness.   

Winning posters will receive state and national prizes, with the overall
national winner receiving a trip for four to Disney World.  WeatherBug
Schools is also providing a scientific-grade weather tracking station as a
national prize. 

EPA is co-sponsoring this year's contest through its SunWise Program.  The
SunWise Program is an environmental and health education program that uses
classroom and community tools to teach the public how to protect themselves
from overexposure to the sun.  

Most of the more than one million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer
diagnosed yearly in the United States are considered to be sun-related,
according to the American Cancer Society.  The best ways to lower the risk
of non-melanoma skin cancer are to avoid intense sunlight for long periods
of time and to practice sun safety. 

More than 50,000 students have helped spread the message of sun safety by
participating in the annual contest since its creation in 2003.  Additional
information on SunWise and the 2008 SHADE poster contest is available at
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/ <http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/> . 

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit
http://www.epa.gov/region6 <http://www.epa.gov/region6> . 

EPA audio file is available at
http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio020108_sun_safety
<http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio020108_sun_safety> . 

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