16 2019 Skin Cancer Prevention Progress Report Photo courtesy of Brenda Maxon. The Foundation’s efforts to provide sunscreen in outdoor community spaces have yielded some important insights regarding potential challenges and solutions which may be of practical value to similar initiatives in other communities. One challenge has been vandalism to some of the sunscreen dispensers. In light of this problem, the Foundation allocates funds for occasional replacement of dispensers or their parts and makes adjustments to the installation of new dispensers to provide more security. A second challenge has been extreme heat. In the summer of 2018, El Paso experienced 46 days of triple-digit temperatures. Although the sunscreen does not lose its chemical integrity at these higher temperatures, it will dispense in a more liquid form and, in some cases, ooze out of the dispenser when not in use.The Foundation will move some of the existing dispensers to more shaded areas or provide shade structures to cover them and plans to be more strategic with future installations. Efforts to provide sunscreen dispensers to local schools have introduced additional challenges. Although students are legally permitted to carry and self-apply sunscreen on school campuses in the state of Texas, public schools are hesitant to provide sunscreen to students. Furthermore, in neighboring New Mexico schools, students are required to provide a doctor’s note before using sunscreen on school campus.The Foundation supports sun-safety education through the provision of the Ray and the Sunbeatables®: A Sun Safety Curriculum to local preschools. However, additional efforts may be needed to facilitate access to sunscreen on school campuses. More information about the Rio Grande Cancer Foundation is available at https://rgcf.org/.
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