The Foundation

The Dean Hedstrom Foundation for Melanoma Awareness was founded by Dean’s friends and family after Dean lost his battle with Stage IV Melanoma on April 25, 2009. His friends and family are determined to make sure that Dean’s memory lives on and that he is honored for the amazing man that he was, the amazing life that he lived, and the amazing battle that he fought.

Of the 60,000 people diagnosed with Melanoma each year, over 8,000 will die from this devastating disease. Our Mission is to educate golfers, especially juniors, regarding the risks of long-term exposure to the sun, the importance of sunscreen and the importance of routine skin checks resulting in early detection and prevention.

The Foundation has no paid employees and intends for at least 95% of all donations go directly to their causes. One of the initial benefactors is the Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club and Academy in Clearwater, Florida. Their program utilizes golf as a cornerstone that builds self-esteem, instills a strong work ethic, and stresses the importance of a good education in the lives of the disadvantaged children. In 1993, their foundation opened a public school in partnership with the Pinellas County School District for at risk children. They are also a major promoter of The First Tee Program, The Boy’s and Girl’s Club of America, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County. They have an extensive after school program for children enrolled in these programs, which includes learning the game of golf. It is our Foundation’s goal to protect these kids from the sun while they practice their golf swings! Funds raised from our initial golf tournament will be used to provide a sunshade to cover as many of their 40 practice bays as possible. We will also be providing continuing education programs for the kids by conducting fun events throughout the year. We will be teaching them about the dangers of over-exposure to the sun and early detection of skin cancer. Coppertone has generously donated up to 400 bottles of sunscreen for the kids to lather up with every day!

We will also be supporting the Dean Hedstrom Foundation Research Fund at the University of California San Francisco. Research has come so far in the past few years. While we are ultimately hoping for a cure, we feel that it is a real possibility that it can become a chronic disease for many Stage III and IV Melanoma patients as opposed to a death sentence.

All of us on the Dean Hedstrom Foundation Team will be working very hard to help save as many lives as possible through education and awareness but we need your help. We greatly appreciate all levels of participation and support --- monetary donations, support of our annual golf tournament in May, your time and your comments.

As Dean always said… “Never give in, never give up and never lose.”