New Shade Structure Donated to FBC’s East Campus

We’re no strangers to the Arizona sun here at Foundation for Blind Children, but for many of our students, the sun presents more challenges than just its heat. That’s why we were excited to be gifted a new shade structure for the playground of our East Campus by the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation. Thanks to The Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation, we have more shade to allow our students to have more protection as they explore and play outside.

Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation

Earlier this year, the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation came to FBC to do a screening for some of our clients. The foundation focuses largely on skin cancer prevention, and regular screenings are an effective way of catching issues early on. They visited FBC and screened our adult clients. After the initial screening, they worked with folks to refer them to dermatologists near where they lived so they would be easy to access.

The Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation provides free screenings to vulnerable populations, including those who are chronically ill, physically disabled, or homeless. For people who are visually impaired, something as simple as checking their skin for blemishes can be a challenge, so this was a great opportunity to get some outside help.

In addition, the foundation helps provide shade to help people who are at risk enjoy the outdoors. The third leg of their efforts towards prevention is sun safety education.

Shade is a Win-Win

At FBC’s East Campus, the west side of the playground had very little protection from the sun. Because of this, it was hard to enjoy the space. When the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation approached us about adding some well-needed shade, we jumped at the opportunity.

Not only does more shade help protect our kids and their skin from sun damage, but it also can make playing outside more comfortable for those with light sensitivity. With vision loss often comes extreme sensitivity to light, and the sun can make playing outside difficult. So this was a total win-win. More shade means less skin damage, less heat, and less light sensitivity.

Building the New Shade Structure

The new shade structure was built by Shade Industries, with shade cloth that protects against 97% of direct UV radiation. Their team came out to assess the site and design the structure to provide the most shade possible. It’s important to explore the area, identify a shade goal, and design according to the sun. If every factor isn’t considered, your structure can be ineffective because it shades the wrong area or only gives shade at the wrong time of day.

The structure was planned to maximize shade between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM, which is when students are most likely to be enjoying the space. Even the seasons had to be considered, because we don’t need to worry about students in the summer months when there is no school.

We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation and for the great work of Shade Industries. Thanks to them, we have more shade, more protection from the sun, and more spaces to enjoy our amazing campus.