The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) awarded shade structure grants to 26 schools and non-profit organizations across the country.

Since its launch in 2000, the AAD’s Shade Structure Grant Program has awarded 350 shade structure grants, which provide shade for more than 600,000 individuals each day.

The AAD awarded its 2017 AAD Shade Structure grants to:

Alabama

Douglas Elementary School, Douglas, Alabama

Sponsored by Joshua B. Wharton, MD, FAAD

Arizona

Donaldson Elementary PTO, Tucson, Arizona

Sponsored by Alan J. Levin, MD, FAAD

California

Imperial Elementary School, Anaheim, California

Sponsored by Cheryl L. Effron, MD, FAAD

Self-Help Enterprises Affordable Housing Community of Village de Guadalupe, Orosi, California

Sponsored by Joy T. Torakawa, MD, FAAD

Shasta Family YMCA, Redding, California

Sponsored by Elizabeth Gardner Stratte, MD, FAAD

Colorado

Fountain International Magnet School, Pueblo, Colorado

Sponsored by Krystal J. Holderness-Nakamura, MD, FAAD

Florida

Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., Sunrise, Florida

Sponsored by Jerome R. Obed, DO, FAAD

Branches, Inc. – Florida City Campus, Florida City, Florida

Sponsored by Judith E. Crowell, MD, FAAD

Galileo School for Gifted Learning, Sanford, Florida

Sponsored by Jeffrey G. Moskowitz, MD, FAAD

Imagine South Lake Charter School, Clermont, Florida

Sponsored by Joseph A. Shirer, MD, FAAD

Palencia Elementary School, Saint Augustine, Florida

Sponsored by Christina Brennan, MD, FAAD

Georgia

Vaugh Elementary School, Powder Springs, Georgia

Sponsored by Jared Samuel Friedman, MD, FAAD

Massachusetts

J. Turner Hood Elementary, North Reading, Massachusetts

Sponsored by Charles R. Taylor, MD, FAAD

New York

Bnos Leah Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York

Sponsored by Sara Leah Tarsis, MD, FAAD

The Friends of the Salamanca Youth Center, Inc., Salamanca, New York

Sponsored by Michael Nazareth, MD, PhD, FAAD

North Carolina

ABC of NC, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Sponsored by John G. Albertini, MD, FAAD

Eden Family YMCA, Eden, North Carolina

Sponsored by Stuart Tafeen, MD, FAAD

The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education, Raleigh, North Carolina

Sponsored by Margaret Brown Boyse, MD, FAAD

Oklahoma

Tishomingo Development Team, Tishomingo, Oklahoma

Sponsored by Michael G. McCauley, MD, FAAD

South Carolina

Chapin Intermediate School, Chapin, South Carolina

Sponsored by Allison L. Cashman, MD, FAAD

Cross Schools, Bluffton, South Carolina

Sponsored by Carmen A. Traywick, MD, FAAD

River Ridge Academy, Bluffton, South Carolina

Sponsored by Carmen A. Traywick, MD, FAAD

Texas

Faith Family Academy Charter Schools, Waxahachie, Texas

Sponsored by Andrew Paul Word, MD, FAAD

Newton Rayzor Elementary, Denton, Texas

Sponsored by Cynthia R. Harrington, MD, FAAD

Reagan Elementary School, Cedar Park, Texas

Sponsored by Shwol-Huo Kiang, DO, FAAD

South Knoll Elementary PTO, College Station, Texas

Sponsored by Rachel Ruth L. Moore, MD, FAAD

The program is open to non-profit organizations that serve children and teens under the age of 18 and have incorporated a sun safety program into their activities for at least one year. Grants are available for permanent shade structures over outdoor locations that are not protected from the sun, such as playgrounds, pools, eating areas and other locations.

For organizations interested in offering a sun safety program, the AAD has developed a curriculum for 8- to 13-year-olds to promote healthy self-esteem through education about skin, hair, and nails. The Good Skin Knowledge lesson plans and accompanying activities include sun safety education, which qualifies for the sun safety awareness program when in place for a year prior to application for a shade structure grant.