Program Information

What is the Make Sun Safety Your Goal!^® program?

Welcome to the 2008 Make Sun Safety Your Goal!^® initiative! The American Academy of Dermatology has set a goal for children to practice sun safety through the Make Sun Safety Your Goal!^® public education program. The many hours spent in the midday sun playing soccer or cheering for their favorite team puts both players and fans at risk for skin cancer, a potentially life-threatening condition that affects 1 in 5 Americans. Because of the time spent in the sun, skin cancer poses a threat to the more than 17 million Americans who play soccer, including 11 million children.

Make Sun Safety Your Goal!^® is a public education program designed to raise awareness about the simple, everyday steps soccer players and their fans can take to prevent skin cancer. The program is conducted through a public service partnership among the Academy, Major League Soccer (MLS), the U.S. Soccer Foundation (Foundation) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and SeeMore’s Playhouse™.

SeeMore the Safety Seal™ is the star of SeeMore’s Playhouse™, a two-time Emmy Award winning preschool television series which airs on PBS stations nationwide. The show is a new 13-part children’s television series featuring a colorful world of loveable puppet characters, irresistible music and laugh-out loud fun to promote safe and healthy habits for kids. The information conveyed on SeeMore’s Playhouse™ helps children feel self-confident and empowered, and helps parents feel they have been given a helping hand in protecting their little ones. Because of SeeMore’s commitment to safety, health and wellness, he helped teach children to Be Sun Smart^® this summer.

In conjunction with the AAD’s Make Sun Safety Your Goal!^® skin cancer awareness program, the “SeeMore Safety Tour” visited soccer stadiums in 2007 from New York to California, Houston to Toronto, the All-Star Game in Colorado, and the Major League Soccer Cup in Washington, D.C., to teach families how to be safe in the sun.

Parents had the opportunity to learn more about sun safety and become acquainted with the AAD sun-safety pledge, in which fans agree to Be Sun Sun Smart^SM and were entered into a drawing to win prizes. When kids meet SeeMore the Safety Seal™ at the game, they had the chance to join the “Safety Scouts” and learn how to protect their skin while in the sun. As Safety Scouts, children will have access to an online interactive community and can earn rewards by playing games and other safety-based activities.