Over 500 Waltham High School students promised not to tan for this year's prom - and it paid off.
As part of the Your Skin is In contest, the school won $1,000 from the Melanoma Foundation of New England to use toward the spring dance.
The nonprofit, dedicated to education about about early detection and prevention of melanoma, asked students across New England to sign a no-tanning pledge.
Schools that got at least 70 percent of their prom-going class to sign the pledge were entered into a raffle with a chance to win $1,000 or $500 in prizes and tickets to Six Flags New England. Over 5,500 students across New England signed the pledge.
Melanoma survivor Kelli Pedroia, wife of Boston Red Sox player Dustin Pedroia, is the spokeswoman for the foundation.
"I am really proud of the students who took the pledge," Kelli wrote in a press release. "I attribute my melanoma to using tanning beds and laying out in the sun."
Pedroia was diagnosed with melanoma in 2002, when she was 18. Doctors say years of using tanning beds and laying out in the sun caused Pedroia's skin cancer, according to the Melanoma Foundation's Web site.
She wrote on the site that after surgery the cancer is gone, but those scars "are permanently on my body."
The school's health teacher Heather Metallides encouraged students to sign the pledge. A friend who works at Brigham and Women's Hospital e-mailed her about the contest.
"Brigham and Women's is one of the sponsors," she said. "I went online and contacted the event manager."
Metallides said it took two months to collect all the names. Students announced the contest over the school's loud speaker system in December and read facts about tanning before they signed the pledge.
"In each health class I grabbed as many kids that wanted to get involved and gave them pledge forms," she said. "I sent them to other classes and asked people to not go tanning."
Metallides said tanning is popular among students.
"I specifically do a class or two on education about tanning. We have a video," she said. "It's amazing to see the kids' reactions (to the dangers of tanning)."
Over 2 million teens in the United States visit tanning beds annually, according to the Melanoma Foundation's Web site.'
"There is plenty of research that shows that tanning can lead to melanoma. Melanoma rates have been skyrocketing among women aged 18 to 25 over the past five years," wrote Deb Girard, executive director of the Melanoma Foundation of New England in a press release.
For more information, visit www.mfne.org.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jgilbrid@cnc.com.
