On October 20, campuses across the nation celebrated the fourth anniversary of the founding of Love Your Melon. Love Your Melon (LYM) is an apparel brand that collaborates with nonprofit organizations to support those fighting pediatric cancer with donations to the cause.
Every Monday, the LYM Crew sets up in Bartels to reach out to students on campus. Volunteers share their passion for the cause with students while giving them the opportunity to see LYM products in person. The anniversary is a special exception to this routine.
The representatives set up a festive table on Thursday with balloons, candy and a giveaway, encouraging students to learn about the organization and feel the hats and soft, knit beanies that the brand is most widely recognized for selling. A sponsored snapchat filter was created to raise awareness on social media.
Tricia Lasso, team captain and UNH’s LYM founder, glowed with pride as she rushed to make the event come to life. Lasso stumbled upon LYM when she “…just needed a beanie. [She] saw them on Instagram and went to their website, where [she] saw their mission. [She] clicked on the ‘Campus Crews’ tab to see if UNH was involved, and it wasn’t.”– she was drawn in by LYM’s products and, after reading their mission statement, decided that she wanted to bring the organization to campus.
At the time, LYM was represented by 200 schools across the country—since then, they have spread their presence to over 700 campuses.
UNH’s LYM crew sponsors a variety of donation events. After the Bartell’s event, a small group dressed as superheroes travelled to Bay State Medical Center to donate beanies to 70 children. Soon, they will be hosting a fun day of activities for Christian, a 5 year-old boy that the crew met last year.
UNH’s LYM team is collaborating with other organizations on campus, including their formation of a team for Up Till Dawn. Their involvement is recognized nationally: they won the “Go For The Gold” challenge and have already racked up 200 sales credits, rushing towards a goal of 250 to fund an event in which they can meet a family affected by pediatric cancer and donate to the child.
To donate to University of New Haven’s LYM crew, shop on the LYM website or stop by their table on Mondays.
