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Don't Fry Day
Sun Safety for Kids (SSK) is proud to have
initiated the idea for Don't Fry Day.
In November 2008 SSK's president, Dr. Jeff
Ashley, presented a proposal to the National
Council on Skin Cancer Prevention*
for a national observance to focus attention on
sun protection. To emphasize avoidance of
overexposure to the sun, Dr. Ashley suggested
choosing a Friday and calling it "Don't Fry
Day." The proposal was accepted by the
Council member organizations, which include the
American Cancer Society, American Academy of
Dermatology, US EPA, and US CDC among some 40
additional medical and cancer advocacy
organizations. After the Council agreed to serve
as the official sponsor, the observance was set
to take place on the Friday prior to Memorial
Day each year.
SSK next proposed spotlighting a different
aspect of sun safety each year. The Council
agreed and designated 2009 "The Year of the Hat"
to remind people to wear a sun-protective hat
when outdoors.
Each Council member will promote Don't Fry
Day to the member's own constituents. For
example, Sun Safety for Kids has posted
information about the event on this website, and
has created a Don't Fry Day poster for children
that warns of the dangers of overexposure to the
sun and gives tips for sun protection. The
poster also includes a scale for tracking the UV
Index. SSK has mailed a poster to every public
and private elementary school in the state of
California (almost 10,000 schools) and is
providing a free downloadable
version of the poster on this website. Also,
SSK has developed lists of ideas and suggested activities,
and posted them to our website as
ideas for primary
schools and
ideas for secondary schools.
With melanoma incidence rates still rising
and one American dying every hour from skin
cancer, Sun Safety for Kids hopes that
Don't Fry Day will heighten awareness about the
simple steps that can be taken toward halting
the skin cancer epidemic.
For more information, visit The National
Council on Skin Cancer Prevention at
http://www.skincancerprevention.org/
* The
National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention is
the united voice of 45 groups dedicated to
reducing skin cancer morbidity and mortality in
the United States. Council members represent
some of the nation's premier researchers,
clinicians and advocates for melanoma and skin
cancer prevention (including Sun Safety for
Kids).
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