Love Your Melon is a new organization on campus, otherwise known as the Blackburn College Love Your Melon Campus Crew. The crew, which got its start in mid-September, has 18 members so far and is sponsored by Development Officer for Institutional Advancement Sarah Rysell.
Love Your Melon is an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in the U.S. For every hat sold, another is donated to a child fighting cancer and 50 percent of all net proceeds go to their nonprofit partners, The Pinky Swear Foundation and CureSearch, which both work in the field of pediatric oncology by funding cancer research initiatives and provide immediate support for families with children undergoing treatment.
The Blackburn College Love Your Melon crew painted the rock outside of Butler Hall
The brand sells not only hats but also clothes, bags, scarves, keychains, mugs and other merchandise. Products are made in the U.S. from 100 percent all natural fibers. However, products are currently only sold online at www.loveyourmelon.com.
The Blackburn campus crew program functions on a credit-based system. For every product sold and credited to Blackburn College, the crew gets a credit. Once the crew earned 10 credits, they received a “starter kit” which includes promotional materials such as informational cards, stickers, pins and bracelets, as well as signage and even a sample beanie. These materials are provided so that the crew can begin tabling, or setting up a table at various events on campus and around the community in order to promote products and provide a venue for individuals to make online purchases. When the crew accumulates 250 credits, they will dress up as superheroes to visit children with cancer in local hospitals to donate the hats. They will also get the opportunity to spend some time with them outside of the hospital, whether it be at the zoo, a public park or even a Blackburn sporting event.
The crew has now earned 30 credits, and is hoping to reach their goal of 250 credits by the end of the semester. In order to credit the organization when checking out, you can go to their cart, click the drop down menu that says, “Select a Campus Crew to Support,” and select Blackburn College Campus Crew before hitting “Check Out.”
The crew meets every other Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Woodson 111. So far the organization has painted “The Rock” outside of Butler Hall in honor of Love Your Melon, and has also hosted a “#GoForGold” event in which Blackburn students, faculty and staff were invited to take a pledge to “go gold” and wear a gold ribbon for a day in support of childhood cancer awareness. The club also did a tabling event at homecoming. Currently there are over 11,000 members who represent 740 crews at colleges and universities across the nation. To date, over 75,000 hats have been donated to children and over 1.1 million dollars has been donated to pediatric cancer research funds.
So why are students so interested in Love Your Melon? “I love philanthropy, especially when I can connect it to helping children out,” said senior club secretary Alexis Platto. “I was in and out of hospitals growing up so this touches my heart— trying to brighten a child’s day.”
“Love Your Melon is an excellent organization for our students to be involved in,” said Rysell. Our Blackburn [crew members] are benefiting both personally and professionally from being involved…They are gaining leadership experience, implementing marketing and entrepreneurial strategies to encourage sales, while also engaging in a philanthropic mission that expands further than campus.”
“I’m really looking forward to going to the hospitals, giving kids the hats and spending the day with them to try and take their minds off of things for at least a few hours,” added Platto.
At this time the crew is unable to accept donations on behalf of Love Your Melon. If you would like to help the crew out, go to loveyourmelon.com, or visit the Facebook page Blackburn College LYM Campus Crew for any questions. The crew is also on Instagram and Twitter @bc_lym_crew.
*This article was written by the founder and president of the Blackburn College Love Your Melon Campus Crew.