PARIS – The Hartford-Sumner Elementary School in Sumner was one of three area schools recently awarded $500 by the Maine Comprehensive Cancer Control Program to raise awareness of the importance of sun safety.

The other schools are New Suncook Elementary School in Fryeburg and South Hiram Elementary School in Hiram.

The schools will focus their efforts on educating students, faculty and staff on sun protection behavior, including wearing protective clothing (pants, long-sleeved shirts, hats, sunglasses), applying sunscreen with an SPF rating of 15 or higher, and seeking shade when outdoors.

The money may be used for special event days, incorporating skin cancer prevention education into comprehensive school health education, creating educational materials, purchasing and building shade structures such as trees and awnings for the school campus, and providing faculty and staff training.

While many believe that skin cancer is not a problem in Maine, data shows that the number of new cases of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has tripled since the mid-1990s, making it the fastest growing cancer diagnosis in Maine.

Because children receive between 50 and 80 percent of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18, it is important to educate them, their parents and their teachers about skin cancer.

Even in winter it is important to remember sun protection for outdoor activities, according to the American Cancer Society. Reflections from the snow can more than double the danger from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Funding for the grant was provided by The Maine Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and Maine Turning Point, in partnership with the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Cancer Consortium and the American Cancer Society.