Club of the Week: Love Your Melon
Love Your Melon (LMY) is an apparel brand dedicated to supporting the fight against pediatric cancer and giving a hat to every child battling cancer. The RWU Love Your Melon Club was originally started on campus in 2015 by seniors Aimee Slatkavitz, Gabbi Dinobile, and Bri Hardy. It now has about 40 active members.
The members of the club and eboard refer to club as the “LYM crew.” They meet biweekly on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in GHH 208. Cyndy Chappell is the club’s advisor and Cheyenne Quintal is the Senate representative. The RWU LYM club cannot sell the apparel at school and can only promote it. The club itself can get donations through fundraisers, but these are used to financially support the club and its events.
They are not allowed to raise money for the Love Your Melon brand, which is why club leaders encourage club members and students to purchase their apparel, as the proceeds go to pediatric cancer research. Every time a beanie is purchased on loveyourmelon.com, the company donates a beanie to a child with cancer. The club receives “points” by getting social media followers, club members, and participating in challenges that are run by the LYM company. The more points the campus crew receives, the more opportunities they have to attend hospital visits and events in/near Rhode Island.
The RWU LYM crew has attended Hasbro Children’s Hospital in the past and brought beanies to children battling cancer. Last fall the crew also attended a birthday party for a cancer patient and dressed as “superheroes,” which is how LYM refers to the cancer patients. Recently, the LYM organization has been broadening their horizons and released a children’s book about superheroes.
The club has events including bake sales, pumpkin carving, and occasional photoshoots for their social media accounts. Additionally, club members often write cards to deliver to children suffering from pediatric cancer and their families to provide support and comfort in their times of need.
The RWU club often has table times where they display the latest apparel releases and hand out bracelets, pins, stickers, and information cards. Last year the club participated in Hawk’s for St. Jude. Recently, the club has been growing their social following; Crew PR Manager Lucia Petruccelli said that the group recently held a RWU Snapchat Takeover.
The Love Your Melon Club is a wonderful group on campus dedicated to raising money for cancer. They are a very close knit club with members striving toward the same goal. If you would like to join LYM crew, please visit their social media platforms, @rwulymcrew, or come to the crew’s Wednesday meetings at 5:30 p.m. in GHH 208!
