UNLV Med Student Hosts Sunscreen Drive

Emily Ames is a medical student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. During her summer vacation, she decided to launch a sunscreen drive to gather the essential sun safety tool for those who might be in need.

In September, she delivered more than 60 tubes and bottles of sunscreen to Nevada Cancer Coalition’s Sun Smart Nevada program.

Ames ran the sunscreen drive from late August, when students returned to campus for the fall semester, through the last week of September. Students, faculty and staff could donate to the sunscreen drive by dropping products off at the medical school.

NCC’s Jorge Arambula and Valerie Martinez met with Emily and Maggie, another student in the medical school, to pick up the sunscreen. NCC plans to distribute the donated sunscreen to schools in southern Nevada to help students, faculty and staff protect their skin during recess, field trips and other outdoor activities.

“We are so grateful to Emily for spearheading this effort which will benefit Las Vegas youth,” Arambula said. “We work with many Title I schools where students qualify for free and reduced price lunch and whose families often cannot afford the added cost of sunscreen, despite knowing it’s important for sun safety. They’ll be able to take the same precautions as other students, potentially avoiding future skin cancers.”

Using SPF30+ sunscreen is just one way Sun Smart Nevada encourages community members to practice sun safety. It’s one of the 5 S’s, a mnemonic used to remember the five ways to protect oneself from excessive UV radiation.

The 5 S’s are:

• Slip on sun protective clothing.
• Slop on broad spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen.
• Slap on a wide-brimmed hat.
• Seek shade or shelter, especially from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Slide on UV protective sunglasses.