Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation Partners With Boston Harbor Now To Protect Tourists Through SunAWARE Education

The Children's Melanoma Prevention Foundation (CMPF), headquartered in Norwell, has been working this summer with the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and Boston Harbor Now to educate tourists, residents and Island staff about the importance of proper sun protection. The goal of the partner organizations is to promote a lifelong habit of being SunAWARE.

As part of the program, summer interns from Perkins School For the Blind were trained by CMPF staff to provide tips on sun awareness, distribute complimentary sunscreen and share the daily UV Index with guests visiting Spectacle Island. The students’ participation was part of their in-service program.

The partner organizations recently gathered at the Boston Harbor Islands Welcome Center on Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway to distribute complimentary sunscreen (courtesy of Neutrogena), demonstrate the Foundation's UV camera system, offer sun protection and skin cancer awareness materials and more

Shown at the Welcome Center are (above, left to right): Rebecca Smerling, Director of Programming, Boston Harbor Now; Hingham's Maryellen Maguire-Eisen, CMPF, Executive Director; Beth Jackendoff, Lead Ranger, Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park; Elisabeth Colby, Youth Engagement Specialist, National Park Service / Boston Harbor Now; and Gabi Leyton-Nolan, Visitors Services Supervisor, Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Earlier this season, the Foundation provided two training sessions, reaching more than 50 Island staff members, focusing on proper sun protection including the importance of checking the UV Index, applying sunscreen properly and often, as well as utilizing sun protective clothing.

Maguire-Eisen said, “Having the opportunity to work with the National Park Service to train their staff and to promote proper sun awareness for tourists is an extremely important part of our mission. We teach
sun protection because we know that an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.”

Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation is a non-profit, educational foundation established in 2003 by Hingham resident Maryellen Maguire-Eisen to teach sun safety and melanoma awareness, free of charge, to children and the people who care for them. The organization’s motto is “preventing skin cancer, one child at a time through education and advocacy.”

Each year, more than 100,000 children and adults actively participate in CMPF’s SunAWARE Program provided by trained foundation staff at local schools, sailing clubs, recreation centers, day care centers and nationally at health care conventions.

Maryellen Maguire-Eisen is an oncology and dermatology nurse with more than 30 years of experience. She’s also an Adjunct Clinical Instructor at Boston University, an American Cancer Society Scholar and the winner of multiple service and research awards.

For information on the Foundation’s ongoing work, visit www.melanomaprevention.org

Photo: Scott Eisen