LSO Foundation
The Lauren Savoy Olinde Foundation was started in 2012 after the untimely passing of Lauren Savoy Olinde at the age of 27 from melanoma skin cancer. Learn more about Lauren's story here.
Friends of Lauren Savoy Olinde promised their brave young friend that they would carry on her legacy and share the message of skin cancer detection and sun safety. The LSO Foundation began with a single hope to bring a skin cancer awareness 5K race to their Baton Rouge community and grew into a bigger mission and full nonprofit to bring awareness to skin cancer through the efforts of education, prevention, and early detection. What began with just a 5K race, grew into a call to action on skin cancer awareness. For over 7 years, under the direction of Lauren's friend and Executive Director, Sarah Lomax Gray, The LSO Foundation organized 5 successful Hat Run 5Ks in Baton Rouge, multiple Top Hat Soiree Auction fundraisers, and educated the public throughout Louisiana on sun safety and skin cancer detection. Programs were created to target skin cancer education of lifeguards, sorority groups, outdoor workers, summer camps and hair dressers. A children's book following Dottie the Dalmatian teaching kids about sun safety was published in partnership with a high school senior, Arden Koschel, that began touring schools around the area. As well a sun shade on playgrounds initiative that shaded multiple community playgrounds and schools in the surrounding parishes.
In November 2018, The LSO Foundation moved under the direction of the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Foundation as an Endowed Fund. The mission has stayed the same and we continue to support skin cancer and sun safety initiatives.
We feel honored to share the beautiful spirit of Lauren Savoy Olinde through this Foundation’s work. We hope you will join us in carrying on Lauren’s wish for others to live a full and joyful life.
What we do now...
Adult Education
With a 45 minute speaking presentation with powerpoint on sun safety and skin cancer detection, Sarah Gray, LSO Foundation Executive Director, is available to meet any group in and around Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Rotary Clubs, Garden Clubs, Associations, Lifeguards, Sorority and Greek Chapter Meetings, high school students, sports teams, etc.). A donation of your choice is appreciated for our time. She will travel anywhere too (with travel compensation)!
Children’s Education
Our Children’s Education Program is 45 minutes, consisting of a reading of our children’s book, Dottie’s Sun Survival Guide, followed by a sun safety and skin cancer education activity. Please contact sarah@lsofoundation.org to organize your child’s classroom visit or consider buying the book and YOU can read it to your child’s classroom! We can provide you with teaching materials to help your visit!
Funding
To support our mission in bringing awareness and early detection education of skin cancer to the community, please consider donating to our Fund at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Foundation (Link button below).
Contact Carter Stone or Sarah Gray for any questions in regards to your donations and support.
Carter Stone, cstone@marybird.com
Sarah Gray, sarah@lsofoundation.org
You can also support us through your purchase of our children's book, Dottie's Sun Survival Guide and Spotty Dottie products on our online store. Dollars raised by store purchases help us continue visiting schools with our children's book!