ARARAT’S kindergarten students will be able to spend more time outside in safety thanks to a donation of bucket hats.
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G.J. Gardner Homes Ararat donated the hats on Monday morning at Jack and Jill Kindergartens.
The hats will be distributed to Ararat’s three kindergartens and those in surrounding towns.
G.J. Gardner came up with the idea for the hats at a franchise meeting.
A franchise in New Zealand had ordered bucket hats and donated them to kindergartens in their district, for the local children during the Sun-smart season.
G.J. Gardner Homes Ararat’s Sally Heard and husband and co-owner of the business Ashley quickly their registered our interest in the program.
“It’s a great program to get behind given the alarming statistics from the Melanoma of the Skin Cancer Australia Website, which states ‘In 2017, it is estimated that 13,941 new cases of melanoma skin cancer will be diagnosed in Australia’,” Mrs Heard said.
“We realised the importance of the Sun-smart Policies and thought where better to start than with our youngest community members, given it has been proven that being sun-smart can cut the risk of skin cancer at any age, with Ultraviolet UV radiation being the main cause of skin cancer. We know that children can bring their own along but wanted to ensure all children at the Kindergartens have access to a bucket hats.”
Mrs Heard said she wanted to expand the hat program in other areas.
“We also wanted to implement this program because we have in previous years supported the region’s kindergartens, being the major sponsor for the Kinder Ball for kindergartens across the district, and wanted to continue to support however we can,” she said.
“We are also implementing this program in the other areas in which we build our homes: Hamilton, Horsham and Beaufort.”