A Hat for Every Head: CMU’s Love Your Melon Team

Story by Maggie McDougall
Photos courtesy of Amy Dowdall

In 2012, two students in an entrepreneurship class at the University of St. Thomas in  Minnesota created the Love Your Melon campaign with the goal to improve the lives of children battling cancer by simply providing a hat for them.

After the campaign began to flourish, they created the Love Your Melon Campus Crew Program. This program consists of students across the country who are determined to improve the lives of children battling cancer. Their purpose is to spread awareness through promotion, events, and physical engagement with those affected.

Here at Central Michigan University, the Campus Crew is run by current junior Amy Dowdall, along with 26 other representatives.

Throughout the course of the year the crew works with events like MainStage to promote the program, as well as spreading awareness through social media and word of mouth. Once their awareness goal is met the crew is given the opportunity to visit a local hospital and see some of the children they are helping.

“The greatest thing that Love Your Melon has to offer me is the experiences. The hospital visit meant so much to me and the families there, and that’s why I love being a part of this crew. The feeling of giving back is like no other,” Dowdall said.

When visiting, some students dress up as superheroes and they typically spend the day play games like bingo as a way for the children to “win” their Love Your Melon hats. While every child gets one, this adds some fun to it.

“We dress up as superheroes to get them away from the hospital scrubs and show them that not all superheros have powers, that they can be normal people doing good things for others” current senior Beth Boman said.

The hospital visits can be an emotional experience for a lot of the crew, but many feel the reward is well worth it.

“Leaving at the end of every visit I feel a sense of purpose knowing i was able to help others and to show them they aren’t alone in their fight,”current sophomore, Emily Wegenke said.

Twitter: @CMULYMCrew Instagram: @cmu_lymcrew Facebook: CMU Love Your Melon Campus Crew