by Michaela Carpenter, Public Relations Writer
Fighting pediatric cancer has become a nationwide cause for college students. At Cedarville University, 18 students have joined forces with Love your Melon — an organization that raises money for pediatric cancer research.
There are more than 12,000 college students currently supporting Love Your Melon and its effort to end pediatric cancer, and there are 761 college chapters across the country fighting for the same cause, including at least one chapter in each of the 50 states.
Since its founding in 2012, Love Your Melon, which sells hats and apparel, has donated more than 90,000 hats to pediatric cancer patients. They’ve also donated $2.5 million to pediatric cancer research, and they continue to find new ways to support children and their families.
Since 50 percent of the profits from Love Your Melon products are given to nonprofit partners such as Make a Wish Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the main role of campus crews, like the one at Cedarville, is encouraging people to buy. As they sell products, the crew earns credit and eventually can host larger fundraisers and special events for families and individual children battling cancer.
Leslie Pence, a junior English education major and founder of Cedarville’s first-ever Love Your Melon Campus Crew, says the group hopes to use this as an opportunity to build relationships with and provide support for local families. The first project they hope to start is establishing pen pal relationships between Cedarville students and kids with pediatric cancer.
“I can only imagine how draining it is for a kid and how they might feel like there’s no hope. And I think that’s what’s really cool about getting Cedarville involved is that we have that hope,” Pence said. “We can build relationships with kids and actually share the hope of Christ that we have with these families when they’re in this trying time.”
Anyone interested in supporting the effort can purchase Love Your Melon products at loveyourmelon.com and select “Cedarville University Campus Crew” at checkout.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.
There are more than 12,000 college students currently supporting Love Your Melon and its effort to end pediatric cancer, and there are 761 college chapters across the country fighting for the same cause, including at least one chapter in each of the 50 states.
Since its founding in 2012, Love Your Melon, which sells hats and apparel, has donated more than 90,000 hats to pediatric cancer patients. They’ve also donated $2.5 million to pediatric cancer research, and they continue to find new ways to support children and their families.
Since 50 percent of the profits from Love Your Melon products are given to nonprofit partners such as Make a Wish Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the main role of campus crews, like the one at Cedarville, is encouraging people to buy. As they sell products, the crew earns credit and eventually can host larger fundraisers and special events for families and individual children battling cancer.
Leslie Pence, a junior English education major and founder of Cedarville’s first-ever Love Your Melon Campus Crew, says the group hopes to use this as an opportunity to build relationships with and provide support for local families. The first project they hope to start is establishing pen pal relationships between Cedarville students and kids with pediatric cancer.
“I can only imagine how draining it is for a kid and how they might feel like there’s no hope. And I think that’s what’s really cool about getting Cedarville involved is that we have that hope,” Pence said. “We can build relationships with kids and actually share the hope of Christ that we have with these families when they’re in this trying time.”
Anyone interested in supporting the effort can purchase Love Your Melon products at loveyourmelon.com and select “Cedarville University Campus Crew” at checkout.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.