Teen pitches sunscreen dispensers for local parks

Sahitya Raghupathy started taking an interest in skincare during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Tiburon teen would watch shorts on YouTube detailing skincare routines.

As she became more interested in dermatology, she also researched how to best take care of her skin, including applying sunscreen every day. She realized her peers at San Domenico School were interested, too.

“My school is really big and it’s very sunny,” says Sahitya, 14. “A lot of my friends come to me asking about skincare and sunscreen.”

Last year, for her eighth-grade capstone project at the K-12 school, she worked with nonprofit Impact Melanoma to install a sunscreen dispenser near the campus’s athletic fields. She’s now seeking to broaden the effort by installing the dispensers in public spaces on the Tiburon Peninsula, with her list of desired locations including Community Park and on San Rafael Avenue near the intersection with Tiburon Boulevard in Belvedere and McKegney Green, Blackie’s Pasture, South of the Knoll playground, The Ranch’s Dairy Knoll facility and Teather Park in Tiburon, as well as Reed and Bel Aire elementary schools.

Sahitya earlier this month pitched the idea to Belvedere’s Parks, Open Spaces and Lanes Committee, which expressed interest and will further discuss the topic in March. She says she also plans to present the idea to Tiburon and Reed Union School District officials sometime soon.

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