Representatives from the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, the office of Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe A. Martinez (District 11) and the Richard David Kann (RDK) Melanoma Foundation were joined by residents on Tuesday, Apr. 24, for the unveiling of a new sunscreen dispenser at Westwind Lakes Park, 6805 SW 152 Ave. in West Kendall.
The dispenser will be stationed at the park’s splash pad and sunscreen applications will be free to the public.
The sunscreen dispenser was provided courtesy of the West Palm Beach based RDK Melanoma Foundation, a nonprofit foundation focused on the prevention of skin cancer. The initiative is a pilot project for the park, resulting from a resolution sponsored by Commissioner Martinez and approved by the Miami-Dade County Commission.
The easy-to-use automatic sunscreen dispenser is meant to help prevent sunburn and reduce the risk of skin cancer, the most common cancer in the U.S. and one of the easiest to prevent. Florida is second only behind California in incidence of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer.
The dispenser provides a regulated 1ml dose of 30 SPC sunscreen per application, allowing users to quickly and cleanly apply the proper amount of sunscreen on the go. It contains up to 4,000 sunscreen applications.
“I am happy to see this initiative kicking off at Westwind Lakes Park, the jewel of action sports parks in District 11,” Commissioner Martinez said. “Having easy access to free sunscreen will encourage residents and their children to use it often to reduce the risk of sunburns and sun damage, so they can be sun safe, while enjoying their favorite park activities, like skateboarding, inland skating, BMX, soccer and volleyball, among others.”
Miami-Dade Parks director Maria I. Nardi added, “We are grateful to RDK Melanoma Foundation and Commissioner Martinez for partnering on behalf of skin cancer prevention and for this brand new sunscreen dispenser which coincides with Miami-Dade Parks’ commitment to bettering lives.”
