MARQUETTE — Before Jodi Ball passed away from melanoma, she aspired to establish an organization to give back to communities and charities, help families who were going through financial hardship because of unexpected medical expenses and educate youth about the dangers ultraviolet rays have on exposed skin, her mother and awareness chairwoman for Just Believe, Delight Hill said.

Just Believe, a nonprofit organization in Ball’s memory, tries to uphold that initiative with May’s Melanoma Awareness Month and hosting Melanoma Awareness Day, which occurred May 4. A sunscree dispenser was awarded to the Skandia Township Supervisor Art Lauren at the Community Building and Playground that day. Melanoma Awareness Day, which occurs the first Monday in May, is usually a day filled with presentations and activities around schools in Marquette County, but due to the COVID-19 situation, the event was held at the Township Hall in Skandia with social distancing measures in place, Hill said.

Along with the setup of sunscreen, melanoma awareness billboards were put up last week, showcasing area children with sunscreen dispensers with the message “Kids Know the Importance of Using Sunscreen!” The two billboards are located at the Crossroads Park and Ride parking lot on M-553 and on M-28 and will remain up until the first week of June.

“Just Believe applied for a grant from IMPACT Melanoma concerning sunscreen dispensers,” Hill said. “In addition to applying for the grant, Just Believe arranged for a melanoma awareness billboard to encourage all to be aware of melanoma. Just Believe also delivered materials concerning skin cancer, especially melanoma to libraries in the county to have available for individuals.”

Formed in 2013, Just Believe began its education efforts for the youth and public in 2014, advocating for sun safety and skin cancer awareness and prevention, Hill noted. Grants and donations from local organizations, foundations, clubs, businesses and individuals were utilized to purchase sunscreen dispenser setups.

With the amount of support the organization received, officials decided to continue with the sunscreen dispenser project, she said, adding that the new dispenser in Skandia was donated by Sue Welch-Heidtman and Randy Heidtman.

West End Health Foundation also donated funds in order to award two sunscreen dispenser setups to the Ishpeming Community Gardens and one sunscreen dispenser setup to the Tilden Township New Playground, Hill continued. Forefront Dermatology and Flagstar Bank provided donations as well, and all remaining funds will be used to assist in repairs and replacements of previously awarded dispensers, she added.

“Hopefully when we award the other sunscreen dispenser setups this COVID-19 pandemic will be over and we will be able to have all sponsors and recipients there for the awarding of the setups. If not, we will continue to practice social distancing to be able to award them,” she said. “It is also hoped that with people being able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine that they will remember to apply sunscreen to avoid having the ultraviolet rays damage their skin. Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer.”

Broad spectrum SPF 15 or higher sunscreen should be applied 30 minutes prior to going outdoors on exposed skin and reapplied every two hours. Regular daily use of SPF 15 sunscreen can reduce a person’s risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by about 40% and lower melanoma risk by 50%, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation website.

Jackie Jahfetson can be reached at jjahfetson@miningjournal.net.