[00:00:00] Walter: The Hearts of Gold Podcast is brought to you by the Grow and Share Network, produced by off the Walter Media Productions.
[00:00:13] Sheryl: Welcome to Hearts of Gold. Today we have Bridget with us. Hi Bridget.
[00:00:18] Bridget: Hello.
[00:00:19] Sheryl: Can you tell us about your Girl Scout Gold Award project?
[00:00:22] Bridget: Yeah, so my project is called Sew Sustainably and so what it was about was teaching about the environment fast fashion and how to sew sustainably. So what I did for my project was I did a total of five workshops and I was teaching, put a upcycle clothing, you know, basic sewing skills so that you can fix your clothing and reuse your clothing.
[00:00:48] We also did a lot of crafts, so making bags out of t-shirts, stuff like that. And my project was really focusing on keeping clothing out of landfills and just [00:01:00] repurposing what you have and connecting that to sewing.
[00:01:04] Sheryl: For those that may not know, can you tell us what fast fashion is?
[00:01:08] Bridget: Fast fashion is basically big companies are making clothing that is too cheaply to be worn as often as it should.
[00:01:17] So every time you wash it like threads come out and synthetic fibers go into the washing machine and then out into the oceans. So this means that every time you wash these cheaply made clothes, it actually pollutes our oceans a little bit and you don’t get as much wear out of it as you would want to.
[00:01:37] So you only wear it a few times, and then it gets thrown out and put into landfills.
[00:01:44] Sheryl: What types of things did you teach at your classes that you did?
[00:01:48] Bridget: Basic sewing skills, like how to sew on a button and, you know, fix holes in things. And then I also did how to like, repurpose things. So again, we were making [00:02:00] stuff like bags out of old t-shirts.
[00:02:02] We did sewing kits so that people could actually, you know, like sew if they didn’t have a sewing kit already. And just like little crafts we did. Also scrunchies out of extra material. So that was fun for the little Scouts So a lot of cool things like that to just spark people’s interest in sewing and be more environmentally friendly with our fashion consumption.
[00:02:27] Sheryl: What questions or feedback did you get from the participants in your classes?
[00:02:32] Bridget: They actually loved it. The little girls were especially loving it. Cause this was kind of their first introduction to sewing. So they actually liked it a lot more than some of them thought they would. And they kept, you know, wanting to, you know, come back.
[00:02:48] So that was really nice to see. And yeah, people liked the idea of the project because they didn’t realize that clothing was being thrown out as often as it. So [00:03:00] it like opened their eyes to this kind of issue and you know, made them more aware.
[00:03:06] Sheryl: Did you discuss shopping alternatives for those of us who maybe can’t afford the higher quality clothing and how we might still have higher quality clothing at the more affordable price?
[00:03:17] Bridget: A lot of my project also had to do with thrifting, which is good because you know, you’re getting it secondhand, so it’s getting another life. And it’s also good because, you know, it’s also very affordable for people who can’t afford be higher price tag. We went to thrift stores and we were giving them pamphlets on how to, you know, reuse stuff.
[00:03:41] I actually wrote a little book that’s on Amazon, so this is just about kind of like stuff we did at the workshops, the sewing basics. And we gave those out to the thrift stores with a QR code so that people who were thrifting could possibly like, reuse something that they found, or if it had a hole in it, but they still [00:04:00] liked it, they could, you know, fixed up themselves.
[00:04:03] Sheryl: Who was on your team and how did they help you?
[00:04:05] Bridget: We had the Y M C A, which is where we held our workshops I had a lot of sister scouts help me, so they helped with like, making posters and actually like, at the workshops just to, you know, help move things around and pass out things. And then I had some advisors from the school costume team actually like, help me figure out like some things to do or how to teach, like sewing basics.
[00:04:34] So that was cool to kind of see a bunch of people from different areas kind of come to help my project.
[00:04:40] Sheryl: What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
[00:04:43] Bridget: So the first thing was that towards the end of the project, the social medias that I had for the project, like the Facebook and stuff, for whatever reason they like, it was glitching.
[00:04:55] So all of the post and everything were kind of down and we didn’t know [00:05:00] what to do with that. So I was worried how that would impact, you know, my final report and like getting everything together cuz I was kind of like my log. So I was also worried that like people wouldn’t get the flyers for my last few workshops cause they wouldn’t be seeing it on social media.
[00:05:16] But then that was resolved, I think that. Facebook issue. We reached out to them. And then another issue was publishing the book on Amazon, cuz we were gonna do that. The book would be just no money because, you know, this is not for money obviously. But Amazon makes you do where you have to do a minimum of $2, just that’s their policy or whatever to get around that.
[00:05:43] We were donating the proceeds to a company called Remake, which is all about ending fast fashion and getting better wages for workers. So that’s how I got around those challenges.
[00:05:56] Sheryl: What’s a favorite memory from your project?
[00:05:58] Bridget: The scrunchy making [00:06:00] workshop because those girls were just so excited to learn about the sewing machine and, you know, make scrunchies and they were just very enthusiastic about it.
[00:06:10] And they were just lighting up when I like taught them how to do it and like I even let them, you know, do it themselves with like me guiding them on the sewing machine. So they really liked that. And it was cool to see that, like they actually had an interest in it after learning about sewing. So yeah.
[00:06:26] Sheryl: What did you learn about the Gold award process itself that you didn’t know that could be helpful for others?
[00:06:32] Bridget: I learned that the process was a little bit more than I thought it was like there’s a lot more like logging than I thought there was, and a lot more just like putting in stuff for reports and stuff.
[00:06:47] So, you know, I would kind of say just like don’t let that discourage you cuz you know the log is there to help you. You should be doing it as you’re going along. That was one of my issues. But [00:07:00] you know, like everything there is meant to, everything you fill out is meant to help you and not to get discouraged by it.
[00:07:09] Sheryl: Who did you choose as your project advisor and why?
[00:07:12] Bridget: I actually chose Ashley Donato as my project advisor, and this is someone around my town and she. Very crafty very, you know, hands on. So that was very good for my project. And she has just a nice history of repurposing things. Just finding things and like making it into something new.
[00:07:35] She even does that with furniture as well as clothing. So she’s very knowledgeable about all this. And I brought up, you know, fast fashion and all the environmental stuff and she was like very on it. She knew all about it, so that was good.
[00:07:51] Sheryl: As related to environmental, I understand that you are a big proponent of environmental issues and are a leader at your high [00:08:00] school.
[00:08:00] Can you tell us about that?
[00:08:01] Bridget: I’m a member of the environmental club at my high school. So what we do for that is we obviously have meetings, but then we go into the school and take the recycling cuz we have, each classroom has one recycling bin. So we take out the paper and the plastic and we sort it into, different bins.
[00:08:22] So that’s like some service that we do. And then I’m also on the Summerville Environmental Commission, so that’s just part of the Town Borough Council. And for that I run their social media pages and, you know, go to their. Meetings at the community garden. So that’s cool to see how, you know, the community’s coming together for environmental change.
[00:08:44] Sheryl: What interesting things have you learned about how your town works from interacting with them in that way?
[00:08:50] Bridget: I joined the Environmental Commission because of my project, cuz I did a Earth Day town wide swap as part of my gold. [00:09:00] So people were just like swapping items, you know, leaving stuff out and picking stuff up From there, I learned about the Summerville Environmental Commission and that’s where I got involved.
[00:09:10] So I learned that there was actually a big group of people in town that were for, you know, the environment and everything that I’m for, and I didn’t even know that this like existed. So that was actually really cool to see and see that there’s a lot of people into gardening and environmental practices.
[00:09:28] Sheryl: What are your future plans?
[00:09:30] Bridget: Right now I’m just a senior in high school. So I’m starting the college application process, but I’m thinking of doing like majoring in the humanities, so like writing and then combining that with healthcare, so doing like medical writing or something in the medical humanities.
[00:09:51] Sheryl: What other Girl Scout memories do you have you’d like to share?
[00:09:54] Bridget: I think one of my favorite Girl Scout memories was Camp aiding at Girl Scout Camp. Just cuz [00:10:00] I used to be a camper at Girl Scout Camp and it was kind of cool to see like the other side of it and, you know, making it fun for the scouts by singing songs and doing the rock wall and stuff.
[00:10:11] So it was kind of cool being like that person for them as people were for me.
[00:10:18] Sheryl: Are you a big cookie seller?
[00:10:19] Bridget: Oh yeah.
[00:10:20] Sheryl: What’s your favorite?
[00:10:21] Bridget: Samoa are.
[00:10:23] Sheryl: Samoas. I’m a thin mint girl. .
[00:10:25] Bridget: Oh, that’s a close second.
[00:10:27] Sheryl: Mm-hmm. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with the audience?
[00:10:31] Bridget: To anyone who wants to do the Gold Award, that you should definitely do it.
[00:10:35] You know, it seems like a lot when you’re told like 80 hours. But if it’s something you know that you’re really passionate about, those hours are just gonna fly by and you can definitely do it. Go for it, find something you’re really passionate about and it’ll be really fun to do, and you’re gonna be so glad that you did it.
[00:10:52] So, Just puts those fears away and then just do it.
[00:10:56] Sheryl: How do you make your s’mores?
[00:10:58] Bridget: Kinda normal [00:11:00] compared to other people but I like them just golden brown, you know, the classic s’more. So nothing too special.
[00:11:10] Sheryl: Well, thanks for joining us today.
[00:11:12] Bridget: Thank you for having me.
[00:11:14] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe so you always know when new episodes are.
[00:11:19] And don’t forget to power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:11:27] Walter: The Hearts of Gold Podcast is brought to you by the Grow and Share Network, produced by off the Walter Media Productions. Thank you for listening and spreading the word on what we do. If you want to share your story of how you earned your goal award, reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com.
[00:11:45] Be sure to listen to the newest episodes on your favorite podcast app, as well as view the full video episodes on youtube.com/SherylMrobinson. That’s youtube.com/Sheryl, The letter m, Robinson. [00:12:00] Take care and we’ll see you next time.