Eleven secondary schools across Victoria will receive up to $25,000 for shade, thanks to Cancer Council Australia grants made possible through the eftpos Giveback program.
The grants were awarded from a pool of more than 380 applications from across Australia and are designed to help protect young peoples’ skin from UV damage during school hours.
Charlton College will receive a $25,000 shade grant thanks to an outstanding application from the school’s own students. Principal Kelvin Baird said: “Skin cancer is one of the most preventable cancers. As a school we can play a significant role in reducing our students’ lifetime risk of developing the disease and this shade grant will help us play that part.
“It’s also an exciting project because it’s actually been initiated by our Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) students, who worked together on the grant application. They’ve shown real drive and leadership throughout the process and now we’re all excited to see their hard work come to fruition.”
Korumburra Secondary College, Mornington Secondary College, Eaglehawk Secondary College, Kew High School, Bundoora Secondary College, Irymple Secondary College, John Paul College, St Francis Xavier College, MacKillop Catholic Regional College and Borinya Wangaratta Community Partnership also received a grant.
SunSmart Youth & Advocacy Co-ordinator Jane Hill said: “Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime, with Australian teenagers having the highest incidence of melanoma in the world, compared to adolescents in other countries.
“School hours fall within high UV periods of the day, which is why SunSmart works with Victorian secondary schools to establish healthy UV policies and practices that protect students, staff and the wider school community. Thanks to the eftpos grant, 11 Victorian secondary schools will be able to provide shaded outdoor learning spaces to reduce their students’ future skin cancer risk.”
eftpos made the funding available through its Giveback program, which encouraged Australians to support the cause by choosing CHQ or SAV at the checkout in the lead-up to Christmas last year.
eftpos Managing Director Bruce Mansfield said: “eftpos Australia is delighted to have been able to support Cancer Council’s Shade for Secondary Schools Program, helping to provide vital shade to secondary schools across Australia.
“Thanks to the millions of Australians who support eftpos by pressing CHQ or SAV at the checkout, we were able to donate $1 million to Cancer Council for this great shade program."
For more information on the SunSmart Secondary School UV Program, which has been specifically developed for Victorian secondary schools, visit sunsmart.com.au