Love Your Melon

Who’s sick of the snow and cold?!  *raises hand enthusiastically*  

My job requires me to work outside (which I love) and there were no exceptions during the Wisconsin cold spell - the birds gotta eat!  I can’t tell you exactly when I adapted to the frigid temps, but I can say that the freezer was noticeably warmer than the outdoors plus a co-worker and I considered 6* to be warm (even as frost collected on my eyelashes).  20* felt like a heatwave and I started working without my coat on!

I can’t imagine life without snow, to be honest, so when I hear people say they’ve never experienced it before I’m always in awe.  (I guess that would be similar to me admitting that I’ve never seen the ocean before..?)  I’ll admit it: when the snowstorm initially hit Texas and my Tik Tok feed blew up with Southerners struggling to scrape ice off their cars, asking how Northerners deal with this all the time and going redneck sledding (being pulled through a street from a truck in storage bins), I was laughing non-stop and rolling my eyes at how they thought 30* was cold.  Yes... I was one of those Northerners.  Until the energy and water crisis.  Then, I got angry (but I won’t open that can of worms).  I’m thinking of you all and praying for you all.  Click here for a list of organizations to donate to amidst the Texas blackout crisis.

Speaking of organizations, today I wanted to write about one that is very near and dear to my heart: Love Your Melon.

If you don’t know, Love Your Melon is a non-profit apparel brand that donates a portion of its proceeds to institutions dedicated to pediatric cancer research such as St. Jude’s, Ronald McDonald House, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand, to name a few.  It was started by two college students in their entrepreneurial class - they wanted their project to be meaningful and impactful, so their goal was to give every child in the country with cancer a beanie.  They also wanted to bring awareness to pediatric cancer research.  The project made it out of the classroom to college campuses across the nation and, since the launch in 2012, they “have given over 8.3 million dollars to the fight against pediatric cancer and over 200,000 hats to children battling cancer” (LYM, Our Story).

My mom was the one who told me about the company and its mission and I instantly wanted to be a part of it.  Before I left for college, I had the goal to be a member of the UWSP Love Your Melon Campus Crew.  I connected with the group immediately during the involvement fair and didn’t hesitate to volunteer with them at various local events.  It wasn’t long before they invited me and my friend, Sophie, to become Crew members.

From there, I attended a Bucks game as a UWSP LYM ambassador, became the Crew’s Event Manager, and for the last two years of college, I was the Crew’s Vice-Captain.  Campus Crews made meals at Ronald McDonald Houses, planned Superhero Adventures for local kiddos with cancer, and hosted giving events where a local child received their beanie.  We volunteered a lot within the community, striking up conversations and bringing awareness to pediatric cancer with whoever asked us what Love Your Melon was about.  We also competed in challenges against other campus crews across the nation.

During my time on the Crew, I had the privilege of planning and organizing four Superhero Adventures for a few kiddos in the community.  A Superhero Adventure was when Love Your Melon assigned us to a child and provided us with a budget so that we could spend the day doing the child’s favorite things with their family and a few of the UWSP LYM Crew Members (aka Superheroes).  One went to a waterpark, toured the fire station, and had a pizza party for lunch.  Another went to Build-a-Bear.  The third went bowling and got a manicure.  Finally, the last (and my personal favorite) was able to go behind the scenes at a local zoo, grab a bite to eat at a Mexican restaurant (because she loves tacos), and finish the day with ice cream!  Members reported back to me that she could not stop saying, “This is the best day EVER!”

We also had a photoshoot every semester, made lots of handmade cards to be delivered to childrens’ hospitals, hosted swab drives for the bone marrow registry, and repped the brand every chance we got.  Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, Love Your Melon ended their Campus Crew Program.  I am forever grateful for my time as a Crew member during my college experience and will always be a part of the LYM story!

Have you heard of Love Your Melon before?  Do you own any of their fun beanies?  Have any questions about this org?  Ask away!

Lex out...