CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Mary Sammons was presented with The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Skin Sense Award at the foundation’s Annual Skin Sense Award Gala in New York City.

Sammons was honored for Rite Aid’s commitment to educating consumers with its in-store skin care initiative and its co-presenting sponsorship of The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Road to Healthy Skin Tour.

The foundation has a 38-foot customized RV with two private exam rooms that travels the country offering free full-body skin cancer screenings by local dermatologists. In the past two years, almost 7,000 people were screened during 165 stops, which included more than 100 Rite Aid stores, the drug store chain said. In addition to the screenings, more than 34,000 people stopped by for the latest skin cancer information.

Rite Aid said it distributes more than 765,000 free skin care guides, developed in tandem with The Skin Cancer Foundation, to customers in its stores and on the tour. The guide also is available year-round on Rite Aid’s web site, along with interactive tools that include a quiz to determine skin type for specialized advice, skin cancer facts and a body map to track skin changes on a regular basis.

Last spring, Rite Aid launched its RX Suncare products line to make high-quality prevention more affordable. The retailer said seven of the products carry the Skin Cancer Foundation Seal of Recommendation as an effective UV sunscreen with SPF 30 to SPF 50 and antiaging vitamins.

Upon receiving the foundation’s award, Sammons accepted "on behalf of all Rite Aid associates who focus every day on our mission of helping customers lead happier, healthier lives. It’s an honor just to be associated with a group like The Skin Cancer Foundation that has helped so many people through its awareness campaign."

David Greenberg, president of Maybelline New York-Garnier, also was honored with a Skin Sense Award because of Garnier’s role in the development of new sun protection technologies.

Rite Aid joined with Garnier to raise money for the foundation, donating a dollar from every sale of two of Garnier’s antisun-damage products purchased in a Rite Aid store during September and October.