Love YOUR Melon…yes you read this write, Love Your Melon. A title that can catch any person’s eye was created for a special reason, helping keep the heads (melons) warm of children battling cancer. This non-profit organization was created in 2012 by two college students seeking to connect communities and keep the world warmer one hat at a time. The non-profit has branched out to colleges, called campus crews, to grow the organization. Arley Dannehower and Julie LaPerch, two Catholic University sophomores brought “Love Your Melon” here to our own campus, which is the first university in Washington, DC to do so. Find out more about why Arley and Julie thought to bring “Love Your Melon” to Catholic and more about this amazing organization.
Her Campus: Thank you both for meeting me on such short notice and I am so happy to be getting the word out about such an amazing organization! How did you both find out about the “Love Your Melon” non-profit?
Julie LaPerch: Well, I saw the “Love Your Melon” campaign on Facebook because my friend had started it at Fairfield University and I wanted to bring it to Catholic!
Her Campus: I am so happy that social media worked to its full advantages, so now we will be able to get the word about “Love Your Melons.” How does this non-profit work?
Julie and Arley: We get credit based off of every item we sell, so each hat or t-shirt we sell we get credit and right now we have 39 credits. The non-profit works off of a bogo system when someone buys a hat or shirt, a hat or shirt will then go to a child with cancer. The organization sells beanies, baseball hats and t-shirts all that have the slogan “Love Your Melon.” Each item has different prices, beanies are $30, baseball hats are $32 and t-shirts are $40. People can even make a $20 donation, which can also be counted as one credit!
Her Campus: I love the concept of “Love Your Melon” and the message it is sending. Who are you mostly selling to and does the organization give you merchandise to sell every month?
Julie and Arley: Right now we have mostly been selling to our friends and family to get our credits up to 100. Once we get to 100 credits we can donate 100 hats to a hospital. The organization does not send us things every month, however they do release new items every month and restock. But people can purchase the items on the website: http://loveyourmelon.com . However, BEFORE anyone makes a purchase, for us to receive credit the Catholic campus crew needs to be recognized as to why that person is making the purchase. This question is asked right before check out specifically saying, “Want your purchase to support a crew?” They have two tabs for campus and high school and under the campus tab will be the option to choose Catholic!
Her Campus: I am glad you mentioned about making sure to credit Catholic, you both definitely deserve to get the credits you need to move up! I think everyone will want to know, why the “Love Your Melon” non-profit? There are so many non-profits to choose from…why this one?
Julie and Arley: We both felt that everyone has a personal story with cancer either knowing someone personally or a friend of a friend. Also seeing other friends getting involved in this non-profit at their schools, we wanted to bring it to CUA.
Her Campus: What are both your majors here at Catholic?
Julie and Arley: Business!
Her Campus: So would you say doing this charity can also help you both in the future for the business side of things?
Julie and Arley: Yes, we feel that bringing “Love Your Melon” to Catholic has benefits to both career and charity. We have to oversee 14 members of our campus crew and keep track of the credits we are accumulating! Also, we definitely would like to expand our team a little bit more if people would like to join!
Her Campus: I am sure lots of people would love to be apart of something so special! Thank you both for such a great interview on an amazing charity that is now being brought here to our own campus, it has been a pleasure!
To follow Julie and Arley’s journey as they build “Love Your Melon” at Catholic University and possibly join their team, follow them on Twitter and Instagram: CUALYMCREW as well as on Facebook: Catholic University Love Your Melon.