PHILADELPHIA, July 9 // -- High temperatures, massive crowds and an indefatigable corps of Philadelphia volunteers representing the Women's Dermatologic Society (WDS) factored in to the record-breaking distribution of 37,000 broad-spectrum sunscreen samples at the recent Manayunk Arts Festival. The popular Festival's estimated 350,000 visitors gratefully accepted sunscreen, free skin cancer screenings, sun safety educational materials and children's activities provided by the team of WDS volunteers serving the public in the Families Play Safe in the Sun exhibition booth, hosted by WDS member Barbara Mathes, MD, a Doylestown dermatologist. The local WDS outreach, the 11th stop of the acclaimed 15-city, 3-year tour, promoted family sun safety and good skin health habits for people of all skin types and ages.
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Highlights from the Families Play Safe in the Sun outreach included:
-- 130 skin cancer screenings conducted by Board-certified, WDS member
dermatologists from Philadelphia with a record-setting 48% of people
screened referred to dermatologists for further diagnosis/biopsy.
-- 37,000 sunscreen samples distributed to the public
-- 23 parents and educators signed up to receive the SunWise Sun Safety
educational kit provided by the Environmental Protection Agency
-- Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street declared the weekend as "Families
Play Safe in the Sun Days" in recognition of the WDS volunteer outreach
Philadelphia volunteers who conducted free skin cancer screenings included Board-certified dermatologists and WDS members William James, MD, Barbara Mathes, MD, Abby Van Voorhees, MD, and Victoria Werth, MD. Sarah Asch and Leslie Castelo, MD, provided additional support, along with Joan Giombetti of the Melanoma International Foundation, Eben Alguire Patrick Alguire, Adrienne Werth and Benjamin Werth. Corporate representatives who assisted with the outreach included Michelle Antonelli, Keith Greathouse and Kathleen Suggs, all from Dermavance; Marisa Desideri, Stanley Dillard, David Hoey, Mark Jones, Cosmo Pagano and Mara Warriner, all from Graceway.
Families Play Safe in the Sun is made possible through a generous donation from the 3M Foundation. Product donations were provided by Cabana Life, Coolibar; Del-Ray Dermatologicals; Johnson& Johnson; Ortho Neutrogena; Procter & Gamble; Skyrad; and Starberry, Ltd.
The WDS campaign draws from its 1,300 members nationally to provide volunteer support in local communities to reach out to families to increase sun safety awareness and healthy skin practices among family members of all ages. The next stop of the campaign will take place at the Cleveland, Ohio Ingenuity Festival on July 21-22, 2007. For further information, please visit: http://www.playsafeinthesun.org or http://www.womensderm.org.
The Women's Dermatologic Society supports the careers and professional development of women dermatologists. The mission of the Women's Dermatologic Society is to help women in dermatology achieve their greatest personal and professional potential by striving to: foster, promote, and support women's issues in dermatology; identify, train, and recognize women leaders in dermatology; and provide a forum for developing relationships.
