Grace Laird, a senior at Lacey Township High School and member of the Leadership Academy of Humanities, asked the township committee Jan. 9 to approve placing a free sunscreen dispenser at a township recreational beach.

Lede: Grace Laird told the committee she surveyed high-school students and found 80% reported having gotten sunburn because they forgot or ran out of sunscreen; 13% said buying sunscreen had become a financial burden on their families.

Nut graf: Laird said the Richard David Khan Melanoma Foundation agreed to donate one dispenser and an initial two-liter bottle of sunscreen, which the foundation estimates will provide about 2,000 applications. She asked the township to approve placement (she suggested Lake Barnett Beach), arrange for nightly securing of the unit and assume long-term responsibility for refills at an estimated cost of $125 per two-liter refill.

Committee members responded positively. Committeewoman Giuliano and other members praised Laird for bringing a student-led, public-health idea to the meeting. Members asked that the proposal include an educational insert to accompany the dispenser so beach users could see brief information about sunscreen use and skin-cancer prevention. The committee said it would connect Laird with the recreation director to discuss placement, security and monitoring and to follow up on procurement and refill responsibilities.

What was proposed and next steps:
- Donation: Richard David Khan Melanoma Foundation — one dispenser and one two-liter bottle (donated initial supply); estimated first supply covers ~2,000 applications.
- Request: Place dispenser at Lake Barnett Beach (student’s preference), secure it nightly and assign a monitoring/responsibility plan for future refills (town would cover ongoing refill cost).
- Cost: Student reported refill cost of approximately $125 per two-liter bottle after the donated initial bottle is exhausted.
- Follow-up: Committee asked staff to liaise with the student and the recreation director; the committee also suggested adding laminated educational bullet points next to the dispenser.

Ending: The committee indicated support and agreed to follow up through the recreation department; Laird provided contact details for coordination.