Two University of St. Thomas college students founded Love Your Melon (LYM), a nonprofit organization located out of Minneapolis, MN. College students run this organization across the country to raise money for cancer research and donate a hat to a child with cancer.

Lynsey Lytle, a junior at Black Hills State University received a LYM hat from a close friend after Lytle’s father passed away from cancer this past year. After researching the foundation, Lytle immediately wanted to be involved and is now the president of the Love Your Melon crew here at BHSU.

“I joined Love Your Melon because of how greatly impacted I was by having a family member who suffered and battled. So I can’t even imagine what it would be like to experience that, but with a child who hasn’t experienced all life has to offer, if I could make just one child’s life better, it would be worth all the effort and time,” said Lytle.

Lytle, along with Riley Winter and Emily Anne Harris, and 20 other members, make up the LYM BHSU crew.

“After joining the crew, I did some in-depth research and found out the Love Your Melon foundation reserves 45,000 hats. Those hats represent the estimated ratio of 45,000 children with cancer in the United States,” said Winter, a BHSU junior.

The goal is to raise awareness about how much students can support children with cancer simply by purchasing an American made beanie or other apparel. If students, faculty, staff, or community members decide to purchase LYM apparel, the BHSU LYM crew gets “credita�� toward their group. Once they reach a certain amount of “credita�� in sales, they will receive merchandise from headquarters that they can sell on campus or at events.

On Sept. 17, BHSU crew was at number three in the nation for that week’s sales. Lytle and the rest of the crew are hoping for number one soon.

“It’s been so amazing!! I can’t wait to see where it takes us and where this goes!!” said Lytle.

They will also have the opportunity to dress up as superhero and visit children with cancer at in local hospitals and give them a hat or beanie in person. To support the BHSU crew and help them receive credits for the campus, click the blue “SELECT A CAMPUS CREW” button at the bottom of the LYM webpage checking out.

The crew also has an Instagram and a Facebook page. Get a picture in your LYM gear and tag the BHSU crewf @BHSULYMCREW for Instagram and Black Hills State University “Love Your Melon Campus” on Facebook