What is Block the Blaze?
Block the Blaze is a John Wayne Cancer Foundation (JWCF) funded youth skin cancer education program. The Block the Blaze program is the official partner of the California Surf Lifesaving Association (CSLSA) to provide skin cancer education to CA junior lifeguards. JWCF educated over 23,000 California junior lifeguards in Summer 2016 and expanded Block the Blaze into 8 additional state junior lifeguard programs: DE, FL, IL, NJ, NY, SC, TX and VA.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. with 3.6 million people diagnosed annually, and it is on the rise. 1 in 3 Californians will be diagnosed with skin cancer during their lifetime. 95-100% of skin cancer is curable if caught early and treated quickly.
Block the Blaze doesn't just educate junior lifeguards. Through our partnership with USA Swimming Foundation, Block the Blaze was able to educate another 2,000 kids this past summer. We are excited that camps have also started implementing Block the Blaze on behalf of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, bringing our message into an additional 3 states.
Who do we educate?
The program aims to educate elementary, middle school and high school students about sun safety and skin cancer with an emphasis on skin cancer prevention and self-screening.
To date, we have educated nearly 220,000 youth in 12 states!
Support skin cancer prevention and sun safety education
LEARN MORE ABOUT US!
Explore using the links belowSummer Sanders
National Volunteer SpokespersonAt 1992 at the Olympic Games, a 19-year-old Summer Sanders won four Olympic medals, bringing home 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. The moment she hung up her Speedo, she embarked on a television career, hosting shows for MTV (Sandblast), the NBA (Inside Stuff), Nickelodeon (Figure It Out), and Fox (The Sports List, Skating with Celebrities), and acting as a correspondent for shows such as Good Morning America, Rachael Ray, and The Today Show. She has been a contestant on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” and the Food Network’s “Guy vs. Rachael Celebrity Cook-Off”. Through her production company Sanders co-created and hosted “Find Your Fitness” on MSN, and The Summer of W on ESPNW. She is most recently the co-host of CBS Sports Net’s award winning sports talk show, “We Need To Talk” and was the host of HLN’s game show “Keywords”. A health and fitness realist, Sanders is a working mom who prides herself on living a hands-on active lifestyle and being a “life is perfectly imperfect” motivator. In October of 2014, her life changed forever when she learned she had a malignant melanoma. She would discover 2 more during the next year. She is cancer free after catching them very early. Her voice and passion for skin cancer are stronger than ever as the volunteer spokesperson for John Wayne Cancer Foundation’s “Block the Blaze” education and awareness program. She also serves on the board of Right To Play (her humanitarian love for 2 decades and counting) and The USA Swimming Foundation. She has two children, Skye (10) and Spider (8), with her husband Olympic skier Erik Schlopy.
By The Numbers
Quick statistics on our program and skin cancer250,000+
Youth & teens Block the Blaze has educated to date
4
Million people diagnosed annually with skin cancer
45,000
Youth & teens we educated in 2015 alone
95
Percent curable if caught early and treated quickly
Testimonials
What people are saying about Block The Blaze