Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

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Alex shares why music is important for Alzheimer's patients and how her Grandfather influenced her project. She also shares her troop Bronze project, which is still available.

More from Alex:

I started as a Girl Scout Brownie with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois’ Troop 8797 in 2007. The change in the age and grade levels for Brownies in 2008 and my move to Wisconsin in 2009 resulted in my being a Brownie for 4 years. Girl Scouts has been a vital part of my life now for 13 years. My favorite projects were:

• Creating www.fitandco.weebly.com, which is a health/fitness website for kids, by kids. Former First Lady, Michelle Obama, linked her “Let’s Move” website to it, too.
• Webkinz Drive for the children of Ronald McDonald House, Iowa city.
• Water Conservation/Preservation Awareness Project.
• No Texting Project
• Careless Corey Project
• Kids Caring Kits Project
• Dane County Humane Society Drive

My other passions include:

• Tai kwon Do (7 years)
• Creative Writing Instructor at MCDS (3 years)
• Acting in theater productions (5 years)
• Piano Lessons (10 years)
• Basketball (3 years)
• Volleyball (2 years)
• Kumon (4 years)

Last summer, I interned at U.W. Badger Lab which specializes in biomechanical engineering where I loved working with and coding robots. I will attend U.W. Madison this fall to become a Mechanical Engineer.

Gold Award Website: https://gst2298.wixsite.com/alzheimersmusic

Instagram: @alzheimersmusicforthesoul

News 15 Story: https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/Girl-Scout-raises-money-to-buy-radios-for-those-with-Alzheimers-569388561.html

Waunakee Tribune Story https://www.hngnews.com/waunakee_tribune/news/local/article_89df4c2b-c6a2-5755-a9c0-aadc16551299.html

Alzheimer’s Store https://www.alzstore.com/?Click=57751

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Editing by https://www.offthewalter.com/ Walter’s YouTube channel is

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Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/

In this episode of the Hearts of Gold podcast, Rebekkah shares about her Girl Scout Gold Award project called "Through the Eyes". She explains that it was an immersive experience aimed at all ages and backgrounds to teach about several eye conditions like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and amblyopia. Rebekkah created a sensory board with a Braille alphabet, simulation glasses, and a hands-on Braille activity with a muffin tin and balls. She added a UV lamp and QR codes for sustainability and global impact. The project was inspired by Rebekkah 's personal struggles with her vision.

More from Rebekka:

My name is Rebekkah. I am a 17 year old, Adult Girl Scout. More importantly, I am also a 3-time high award recipient. I have been in Girl Scouts for 12 years. I joined as a daisy and have aged out. I have sold thousands of boxes of cookies and have hundreds of hours of community service.

Girl Scouts has allowed me to learn perseverance, make lifelong friends, kindness, and how to be a sister to every girl scout. I plan on attending Georgia Southern University starting Fall of 2023 and majoring in psychology. I would love to become a trauma therapist for the youth or an autism specialist.

https://rebekkahgold.weebly.com/

https://www.instagram.com/rebekkah.go.gold/

https://ms-my.facebook.com/RebekkahGoGold/

Key points from the episode:

Make a Difference Through Service.

The importance of service is often overlooked, but it can have a huge impact on people's lives. For example, Rebekkah, a Girl Scout, used her Gold Award project to make a difference in her community. Through her project, "Through the Eyes," Rebekkah created an immersive experience to raise awareness about visual impairments.

Rebekkah was inspired to create her project after struggling with her own visual impairments. She was born with amblyopia and strabismus and later suffered a horrific eye infection that caused her vision to decrease significantly. As a result of her struggles, she was bullied and told she would never be able to drive. However, Rebekkah persevered and used her experience to create a project that would help others.

Rebekkah's project took place at the local community center and included a sensory board with Braille alphabet simulation glasses, a hands-on activity using a muffin tin and six balls, and a UV lamp with QR codes linking to her website and social media pages. Through her project, Rebekkah was able to spread awareness about visual impairments and connect with people from all over the world.

Rebekkah's project demonstrates the power of service. By using her own personal experience, Rebekkah was able to create something that had a lasting impact on her community. Her project not only raised awareness about visual impairments, but also showed the importance of perseverance and resilience. By making a difference through service, Rebekkah was able to create a positive change in her community.

Take charge and be bossy.

Rebekkah's project also shows the importance of taking charge and being bossy. Despite the obstacles she faced due to the pandemic, Rebekkah was able to stay focused on her goal and take charge of the situation. She worked closely with her neighbor, an OT specialist, to develop her idea and proposed it to her eye doctor. When the library she wanted to put her project in was undergoing renovations, Rebekkah had to quickly pivot and put it in the community center instead.

Rebekkah's leadership skills were evident throughout her project. She led the meetings and outlined what needed to be done. She also took charge of the shopping trip to get supplies and wrote the list of items needed. Rebekkah was also the one who made the decisions and stuck to them, no matter what.

Rebekkah's project shows that taking charge and being bossy can be a powerful tool. She was able to use her leadership skills to create a successful project that had a lasting impact on her community. Rebekkah's project shows that it is possible to make a difference through service and that taking charge and being bossy can be a powerful tool for creating positive change.

Partnerships are essential.

Partnerships are essential for any successful project. Rebekkah's Gold Award project is an excellent example of this. She was able to partner with Girl Scouts Historic Georgia to take over their social media for a day during their Quest Fest event. This partnership allowed her to reach a wider audience and spread the word about her project. She also partnered with Kristina Lachagh, who helped boost Rebekkah's social media presence and gave her acce...

With the upcoming new Girl Scout year and new Silver Award requirements, I thought I would share an episode I recorded with Sarah Heeter for her podcast 'Troop Leader Experience' last spring.

Girl Scout Councils are rolling out this updated information. Check your council's website for updates and GSLearn for trainings for your Girl Scouts (and you).

We also recorded an episode about the Highest Awards, especially the Gold Award!

https://pod.link/1439828810/episode/824ccd0587f406f4ad6855d0f3074e76

Check out that episode and other great information regarding troop leadership at Troop Leader Experience wherever you listen to audio. https://pod.link/1439828810

Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/

On this episode of Hearts of Gold, Sim shares her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Honoring the Missing Man. Sim explains that her project was inspired by the dedication and perseverance of the veterans she met through her involvement in the Air Force Junior ROTC program. She set out to raise awareness about the Missing Man table, a table that is set up to recognize POW and MIA soldiers. With the help of her fellow cadets, Sim donated kits to over 15 schools and presented to the school board. Her project was a great success in honoring and educating others about the sacrifices of our soldiers.

More about Simran:

Simran Carl is a junior at Cedar Park High School. She has been an active member of the Girl Scouts since kindergarten and has recently completed her Gold Award. She served on the Advisory Board and is currently a National Delegate. In addition to my home troop, I am a member of the only scuba diving-based Girl Scout in the country. Her Gold Award project focused on creating missing man tables and donating them to Leander Independent School District schools. Through her dedication and hard work, Simran has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving her community and positively impacting those around her. In addition to her community service work, Simran enjoys spending time with her friends and family, pursuing creative hobbies, and exploring new interests. She lives with her sister, parents, and a particularly heavy orange barn cat in Austin, Texas. After high school, Simran hopes to go to college to study business or pre-medicine.

Links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honoringthemissingman/

In this episode of the podcast, Hearts of Gold, produced by the Grow and Share Network, guests who have earned their Girl Scout Gold Award share their experiences and projects with the audience. The podcast aims to inspire and motivate listeners to pursue their own Gold Award projects and make a positive impact in their communities. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the podcast and catch up on previous episodes, which are available on various podcasting platforms and YouTube.

One of the guests featured on the podcast is Sim, who completed her Girl Scout Gold Award project called Honoring the Missing Man. Sim's project involved setting up a Missing Man table to recognize POW and MIA soldiers. Through her high school's Air Force Junior ROTC program, Sim worked with veterans and discovered that many of her fellow cadets were not aware of the Missing Man table. She set out to make sure everyone knew about it by putting together a team of ROTC cadets and donating kits to over 15 schools in her district. She also presented to the school board and donated a kit to them. The Missing Man table is a simple round table with multiple items on it that represent different things, and Sim wanted to make sure that people knew that POW and MIA soldiers may be gone, but they are not forgotten. Sim's project impacted many people in her community, and she received a lot of positive feedback from those who helped her along the way.

Sim shares her future plans, which include studying either medicine or business. She has been involved in HOSA, a future health professionals club, since her freshman year of high school and has been around doctors her whole life, as her mother and family members are doctors. Sim also shares her love for s'mores and her technique for making them, which involves either burning them to a crisp or spending 30 minutes trying to get them golden brown, but ultimately as long as they have chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow, she considers it a s'more. Overall, the Hearts of Gold podcast is a great resource for anyone interested in learning about the amazing projects completed by Girl Scout Gold Award recipients.

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Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/

Valencia's project, titled "Giselle Learns About Alzheimer's," was inspired by her personal experience with her grandfather's battle with Alzheimer's disease. Through her project, Valencia created a children's book to educate and support children who have grandparents with Alzheimer's or who are interested in learning about the disease. Valencia's project not only reached her target audience of second and third graders but also extended to Alzheimer's patients and children across the country. Join us as Valencia shares her journey and the profound impact her project has had on others.

More about Valencia:

Valencia Julien, a recent graduate of Morristown High School in Morristown, NJ, is a scholar of knowledge who enjoys history, writing, and reading books on actual crimes and philosophy. She is an active member of her community who volunteers for various non-profit organizations. A self-assured and exhilarating performer in sports or on a theater stage. In 2022, she earned her Girl Scouts Gold Award for her leadership project by publishing a children's book on Alzheimer’s. This book is also accessible by E-book and in 10 different languages. This year, she was awarded her region's international Girl Scouts Gold Award scholarship. Currently, she attends Temple University and plans to pursue two majors in Criminal Justice and Anthropology that will allow her to overcome adversity, help those in need with behavioral analysis, and be an extraordinary role model as a criminal investigator. This career choice will allow her to assist different communities and visually promote young girls to envision themselves pursuing a career within local/federal law enforcement agencies. She intends to continue volunteering and serving as a role model for younger girls as a Lifetime Girl Scout when the opportunity presents itself.

https://www.youtube.com/@gisellelearnsabout4008

Key takeaways from the episode:

1. The Girl Scout Gold Award project can significantly impact the community: Valencia's project, "Giselle Learns About Alzheimer's," aimed to educate children about Alzheimer's disease and how to interact with family members who have the condition. Through her sessions and book, Valencia reached not only her target audience of second and third-graders but also Alzheimer's patients and children across the country.
2. Collaboration and support are essential for a successful Gold Award project: Valencia had a team of advisors and supporters who played crucial roles in her project. Her head advisor from the New Jersey Alzheimer's Association guided her in connecting with Alzheimer's patients and provided assistance in various aspects of the project. A teacher helped edit the book to ensure it was understandable for second and third-graders, and Valencia's mom provided support and assistance throughout the process.
3. The Gold Award project can be a personal and emotional journey: Valencia's motivation for her project came from her personal experience with her grandfather's battle with Alzheimer's. His passing during the project was a significant emotional challenge for her. However, she found strength in knowing that her project could help others and honor her grandfather's memory.

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Please subscribe to Hearts of Gold on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/sherylmrobinson or on your favorite podcast app.

Support future Hearts of Gold episodes at https://www.patreon.com/heartsofgold

Editing by https://www.offthewalter.com/ Walter’s YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt0wFZRVaOpUd_nXc_8-4yQ