A cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment will not only take a physical toll on the child’s body, but can also deeply affect a child’s behavioral and emotional well-being. Children can experience anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation. At Love Your Melon, we feel it’s critical that we spread awareness on the importance of mental health as it relates to a pediatric cancer diagnosis. This is why we are dedicated to sharing the stories of families, survivors, medical professionals, and nonprofit staff who know this struggle all too well. It’s also why we further invest in our community by funding programs that create therapeutic experiences for the children the LYM mission serves.
Love Your Melon is proud to partner with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. With your support, since the end of 2021, LYM has provided RSF with $150,000 in funding. Our grants have helped upgrade and fix technology in the studios, educate and help patients host their own shows, and purchase items like iPads, camera gear and robots to safely deliver prizes to patient rooms. The funding has also allowed RSF to extend their footprint by helping to build out three new Seacrest Studios in Memphis, TN, Queens, NY and Salt Lake City, UT.
RSF’s primary initiative is to build broadcast media centers, named Seacrest Studios, within pediatric hospitals for patients to explore the creative realms of radio, television, and new media. Reaching nearly 2.5 million patients across the country on an annual basis, RSF’s aim is to contribute positively to the healing process for children and their families during their stay by developing these centers to bring an uplifting spirit to the hospital community. For a list of all 14 studio locations, click here.
Within the walls of Seacrest Studios, patients have the unique opportunity to host their own shows, request songs, play games, interview celebrities, conduct experiments, join educational events and more, all while learning state-of-the-art broadcast equipment. Programming airs on the studio channel via each hospital’s closed-circuit network 24/7, with over 10K hours of live shows broadcasted nationwide each year.
Seacrest Studios is a family’s living room when the hospital becomes their home away from home.
“When your child is diagnosed with cancer so much is immediately stolen from them. I watched Carter go from a happy, creative, imaginative, innocent little boy to a boy who could explain more about blood counts, chemotherapy, and medications than any adult in my life. After getting involved with the studio, I saw parts of Carter I hadn’t seen in almost a year; parts of Carter I was afraid were gone forever. There really are no words to truly convey how much Seacrest Studios and the relationships built through it mean to us.” – Patient Mom, Boston Children’s Hospital
Ryan initially had the idea for the Foundation after visiting patients with his radio show at CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) 15 years ago. During one of his visits, a family shared with him that their daughter had not gotten out of bed in 72 days until he showed up with a special guest at the hospital. The moment was so impactful that he sat his family down around the dinner table and brainstormed a way to bring exciting moments like these to hospitals every single day.
We value the truly collaborative relationship we have with RSF. In partnership with RSF, Love Your Melon has also donated beanies, caps, Love Your Melon Superhero books and apparel, to enhance special celebrations, like National Superhero Day and Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. At the beginning of the summer, Love Your Melon gave kids at some of the Studio locations an opportunity to be “Kid product testers” and try our new Family Hero Products before anyone else and give their feedback! Most recently, LYM and Mattel partnered with the studio at Children’s Hospital of Orange County to host a Barbie themed party for the kids, in conjunction with Love Your Melon’s new Barbie product line.
Click here to learn more about the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.
