Many of us have definitely seen those incredibly cute and perfect beanies that so many girls wear once the weather gets below seventy degrees. With football and fall, nothing completes an outfit like a beanie! But, what’s the story behind them?
LYM, or ‘Love Your Melon’ are the ones responsible! Meeting with the president, Carly Smith, as well as Daylin Myers and Madeline Collins, helped explain what this organization does and its heart-warming purpose.
(Carly Smith, President)
Q: What is LYM (Love Your Melon)?
Smith: LYM is an Apparel brand, with a mission to put a hat on every child with cancer. We work with organizations that focus on childhood cancer, since only 4% of all funding goes towards childhood cancer.
Q: What made you decide to bring LYM to WVU?
Smith: Going to other schools, I saw so many students wearing these beanies and decided to bring LYM to WVU. It has a great purpose. My mother also definitely helped and encouraged me to bring it to WVU.
Myers: Same with Carly, seeing so many students wearing them at other schools, I wondered why WVU didn’t have this organization here!
Collins: Growing up with heart defects, I had to go through multiple surgeries and procedures. Being around sick children, and having a friend who had cancer while she was at her sickest, made me believe more in this organization. I felt connected to many of the other sick children in my similar situation and decided to definitely get involved.
Q: What are the goals you have for LYM here?
Smith: Since we’re a relatively new group at WVU, starting this past January 2016, we primarily want brand awareness—getting people to credit them, as well as getting the opportunity to spend time with children in these situations.
Collins: ‘Love Your Melon’ Campus Crews are well-known in other schools, and we want to make sure they’re known and popular here at WVU.
Q: What are Credits?
Smith: Credits are the hats we sell. 1 credit = 1 hat.
Q: What are the “challenges” you make?
Smith: Our national executives’ organization posts a ‘challenge’ for all campus crews every two weeks, and they can be done as a group or as just an individual. They’re mostly tasks to do, with picture competitions. Since there are four to five regions nationally, there will be a winner from every region. As a prize, a gift card is presented to the winner and the campus crew gets to spend the earnings on a kid in need or promoting items for the crew itself.
Q: What is LYM day?
Smith: LYM Day is the day we were founded. We do a lot of donation events all across the country. October 20th is LYM day.
We will definitely be looking out for them. Be sure to visit @lymwvu on Facebook or @wvuLYMcrew on Twitter to learn more!