It all started with two college kids, an entrepreneurial class, and a dream to make a difference. Love Your Melon is a not for profit foundation looking to bring change in the world of childhood cancer. This foundation went from a simple class assignment idea to a nation-wide phenomenon. University of St. Thomas students, Zachary Quinn and Brian Keller, can be thanked for Love Your Melon. The foundation was "founded on the simple concept of helping those in need and engaging communities to make a difference."
The idea is as simple as it sounds. The basis of Love Your Melon is the buy one give one program. Buy a hat; give a hat to a child fighting cancer. The action of purchasing a hat, fulfills a wish to a dream of those who deserve it most.
Since the beginning of Love Your Melon, it has been the company's goal to provide fun and comfort where children need it most. Through over the 30,000 beanies sold, Love Your Melon has been able to provide therapeutic adventures to help the children have fun and grow. This is the real foundation of the company.
These hats provide so much more for the kids than keeping their mini-melons warm. It provides them with chances to fly in a plane or hang out with some of their favorite superheroes. These "therapeutic treatments make children battling cancer comfortable and provide the opportunity for them to talk to their friends and family about positive experiences rather than negative ones." It is all about bringing happiness in a time when it is much needed.
Zach Sobiech, a high school student from Minnesota and prominent Love Your Melon advocate, was the inspiration for the first adventure, Cloud Rides. This gave kids the chance to fly in a helicopter, or plane, high up in the clouds. Sobiech, who had been diagnosed with terminal osteosarcoma, passed away shortly after the first Cloud Ride adventure. In his time, he inspired the start to a rising amount of fun and adventure. Quinn and Keller knew that giving these children a chance to soar to new heights and feel free was the difference they wanted to make.
These hats symbolize hope, spreading like wildfire across the nation with the help of collegiate and high school students everywhere. From New York to Nevada and beyond, Love Your Melon currently has a growing 93 collegiate and high school ambassador teams. The goal of these crews is to be at the forefront, spreading the melon mission across university campuses and high schools across the nation. While Quinn and Keller started a phenomenon, these crews are here to continue on the legacy of what started as a class assignment.
What was founded on the simple concept of helping those in need and engaging communities to make a difference, has turned into opportunities, hope, and happiness for a nation full of children and families battling cancer. Love Your Melon has moved far beyond accomplishing the initial goal of that one class assignment. They were told to build a business looking to make a difference. Quinn and Keller did that and so much more.
All images and quotes from LoveYourMelon.com.
