$10,000 Raised at Skin Cancer Awareness Day on the Farm

The inaugural Skin Cancer Awareness Day on the Farm, May 21 at Bill and Rocky’s Bella Vista Farm in Minden, raised $10,000 to benefit the Sun Smart Schools program in Douglas County schools. The event combined the farm’s season opening and farmer’s market with a raffle, sun safety and skin cancer prevention information and activities, and live music from All Hat No Cattle.

Nevada Cancer Coalition, the nonprofit behind Sun Smart Schools, would like to thank raffle donors including: Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino, Sorensen’s All Season Resort, Bill and Rocky Barth, Fresh Ideas Fine Gifts, Fair Flower Art, Carson Valley Swim Center, Penny Lane Consignment, Accolades Trophy, Mountain View Tree Farm and Rice Landscape, Déjà Vu Full Service Salon, Eagle Valley Golf, Pat Brown, Linda Smiley and Lou Thaler, and Cari Herington.

Additional thanks go to Sun Smart Schools sponsors including: The Heath Foundation, Carson Tahoe Health, Bill and Rocky’s Bella Vista Farm, LLC, Saint Mary’s Health Network, The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, and Robert R. Banks Foundation, and Genoa Tree and Landscape Materials and Mountain View Tree Farm as shade tree donors.

Schools in Douglas County are adopting the Sun Smart Schools program at all grade levels for the 2016-2017 school year. The program promotes a culture of sun safety among youth through curriculum, sunscreen policy and free sunscreen, and promotion of sun smart environments. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has become one of the most common types of cancer among our nation’s adolescents and young adults, indicating a need for youth education and prevention activities. In Nevada it is estimated that about 440 Nevadans will receive a melanoma diagnosis in 2016 and of those, about 100 will die from the disease.

Check out photos from the event!