According to their site, Love Your Melon is an apparel brand “dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in America as well as supporting nonprofit organizations who lead the fight against pediatric cancer.” They sell a wide array of accessories, including beanies, scarves, shirts, and so much more. When you buy something off of their site, 50% of your purchase goes to a nonprofit organization that funds cancer research or cancer care (you can see the list of the nonprofit orgs that they work with here!). However, when most people think of the brand Love Your Melon, they simply think of beanies. To Temple University students Anna Brignola, Maura Swanick, and Marissa McGahey, it’s about so much more.
Temple’s Love Your Melon Crew began only about five years ago and has grown exponentially. With 30 crew members and about 45 volunteers, the Love Your Melon crew is flooded with helping hands and can always use more, so stay tuned for applications in January for the Spring semester! Their work on campus consists of Love Your Melon awareness, working table events, holding photoshoots, and team bonding events.
Anna Brignola, a junior marketing major, says, “Everyone has a similar mission. A lot of people on the crew have been affected by cancer in some way or they, themselves, have been affected by cancer in the past, and being able to help and being able to put a smile on so many kids faces by going to the hospital and giving them the beanies is just more than rewarding and I’m just very grateful to even have this opportunity.”
But what’s the point? How can simply buying a beanie help someone in need?
“This is a huge cause. This is a huge issue today. People don’t know how many kids are affected, and I think that just by buying a beanie, that little thing that you’re doing, is helping in such a huge aspect,” Bragnolia says.
Maura Swanick, a junior public health major, adds, “When you think about it, no child should have to go through something so big and scary alone.”
“Half the time they don’t even really realize it. When you go to the hospital, they’re just as fun and lively as another kid at a playground,” says Maura McGahey, a sophomore nursing major.
Brignola, Swanick, and McGahey all agreed that Love Your Melon has affected their lives tremendously. It has given them lifelong friendships, career guidance, something to be passionate about, and overall sense of gratitude for everything that they have.
“It helps you reflect on your life, like prioritizing what’s important and what’s not important,” Swanick said. “You don’t realize how lucky you are.”
You can follow Temple’s Love Your Melon Crew on Instagram @tu_lymcrew and on Twitter @tuLYMcrew, and make sure to check out their merchandise at https://www.loveyourmelon.com/.