1 in 3 people living in Southern California will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. It is the fastest-growing cancer in the U.S. and worldwide. 1 person every 8 minutes is diagnosed with melanoma in the US. After discovering no skin cancer awareness projects existed in the area, William decided it was important to start his own and  the community at large about this issue. The Melanoma Awareness Project of the Desert was created in 2008 by William Lavin as a 501(c)3 public service project to tackle an issue affecting his Coachella Valley community, the skin cancer epidemic. MAP holds events and gives presentations for local schools, businesses, organizations and government agencies about the importance of safe sun habits and how to detect skin cancer. Even though skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, it is 95-100% curable if treated early. The first step toward change is awareness.