The Love Your Melon Association (LYMA) at Slippery Rock University will be hosting a Kiss Away Cancer fundraiser Feb. 14 during common hour in the Smith Student Center.
According to Paige Diehl, senior early childhood education and special education major, those participating in the Kiss Away Cancer fundraiser can buy a piece of lipstick to rub on their lips and kiss a piece of poster, kissing cancer goodbye. Hot chocolate will also be provided at this fundraising event.
Diehl, who’s also president of the SRU chapter of LYMA, said the organization was first recognized as an organization in the spring of 2018 and began holding meetings in the fall of 2018.
Love Your Melon is an apparel brand that supports the fight against pediatric cancer and for every hat sold, gives a hat to a child battling cancer. The brand also gives 50 percent of all net profit from the sale of LYM products to the Love Your Melon Fund. All profits fund charitable programming initiatives for children and families battling cancer, create therapeutic experiences, and support nonprofit partners in the fight against pediatric cancer.
The Kiss Away Cancer fundraiser is one that LYMA has done before. Seventy-five percent of the profit from the Kiss Away Cancer fundraiser organized by the Love Your Melon Association at SRU will be given to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and other associations battling cancer.
“We fundraise and bring awareness to foundations like Love Your Melon,” Diehl said. “[I hope] that everyone can realize that Love Your Melon is focused on family and partnerships, rather than money. They help pay for treatments and other necessities.”
LYMA has other fundraising events on campus in the future such as the relay for life, collaborating with Make A Wish to do a 5K, a watermelon contest in the quad, and bake sales.
“We want to create a family with the club,” Diehl said. “We understand that [people have] other obligations. If you can’t come to this meeting, come next week.”
LYMA also traveled to Pittsburgh last semester to participate in the St. Jude Walk and Run 5K and made cards for UPMC during the holidays.
Meetings for the Love Your Melon Association are currently every other week starting Feb. 12 at common hour, with the exception of the first meeting which will be held at 1 p.m. The location is currently to be determined.
“We are flexible; as of right now, we don’t have any dues,” Diehl said. “It’s all about getting out there and finding time to fundraise; it’s not about how many people you get.”
“A lot of my friends set [up] the club together,” Diehl said. “We have this passion for helping children. I didn’t even think that some members who came to SRU would have gone through this, but one of our current members went through this.”
Love Your Melon has given 160,000 hats to children battling cancer and has raised over 6.1 million dollars to the fight against pediatric cancer.
To learn more about the Love Your Melon Association at SRU, follow them on Instagram @lyma_sru.
