[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 Ifrah with us. Hi Ifrah
[00:00:18] Ifrah: Hi thank you for having me.
[00:00:21] Sheryl: Oh, you’re welcome. Thank you for joining. Can you tell us about your Girl Scout Gold Award project?
[00:00:27] Ifrah: My gold award project is called child Myopia Awareness, and it strived to address the surge in child myopia cases, especially since the Covid 19 pandemic.
[00:00:41] And the goal was to educate children on how they can implement certain lifestyle changes. To improve their eye health for the future. So in order to accomplish this goal, I held a community public workshop where. Community members and children could come and listen and have activities and learn how they can improve their eye health for their future.
[00:01:12] And a big product of this workshop was, was the eye care log, which I created using my research in myopia. And this log included the necessary steps that children can take in order to help their eyesight and. Help their health as a whole. So these lifestyle changes included, Cutting back on screen time, more time spending outdoors and implementing fruits and vegetables, specifically leafy green vegetables.
[00:01:47] So nearsightedness can affect someone for the rest of their life. So my goal for this project was for children to understand the importance of eye care, which is an area. Children and parents often neglect.
[00:02:03] Sheryl: What inspired your project?
[00:02:05] Ifrah: I, myself had a nearsightedness when I was younger and I refused to wear glasses.
[00:02:11] I never took the necessary steps to help my eyesight and help myself for the future. And I continued to keep screens and watch TV really close to my face and. Because of that, nearsightedness is probably going to be something for that I have to deal with for the rest of my life, and it’s going to be part of my eye health.
[00:02:35] So eventually I did have to wear glasses, but as I said, like it, myopia really impacted me. So I had that thought in my head and. I did some research on how Covid 19 affected my opioid rates across the nation, and it completely. , like searched, like so many. There’s so many cases now and experts are actually calling this a myopia crisis.
[00:03:06] So I wanted to address child myopia, which is a healthcare issue that really doesn’t get the tension it deserves, and many parents don’t even realize that their child is at risk of contracting myopia. And speaking of healthcare, healthcare is something that I’m passionate about, specifically advanced healthcare.
[00:03:27] So my project is basically a combination of my personal experience with my interests.
[00:03:36] Sheryl: Who was on your team and how did you create that team?
[00:03:39] Ifrah: My Girl Scout’s Gold Award mentor Sherry Stewart. She guided me through every step of the way. She was always there to answer my questions suggestions and connected me with different people.
[00:03:53] I could not have done this project without her. And another person is Dr. Terry Young, which is an ophthalmologist I actually reached out to in Wisconsin. So I had a meeting with her and she gave me a whole different perspective on my research in myopia. What I’d done before I talked to her was just like preliminary, but she actually advanced my research and how this is.
[00:04:21] Big issue that kids are facing. So many kids. So it was great talking to her. I learned a lot and I had insight into an ophthalmologist’s point of view in of this whole myopia crisis. Of course, my parents helped me a lot. They gave me many suggestions what I should do to make my project creative and look nice.
[00:04:46] and my brother also actually helped me. He’s only eight years old, but I was able to practice my presentation on him and actually get his feedback on what parts he did understand, didn’t understand, and how I can implement that into my project.
[00:05:03] Sheryl: You mentioned that Dr. Young is in Wisconsin, which is far from you. How did you make that connection?
[00:05:10] Ifrah: I actually read online like top ophthalmologist, like I wanted to get an opportunity to talk with. Like a ophthalmologist who specializes specifically in myopia. And I saw many of her publications, many of her articles, and I just reached out, found her email, reached out to her, and this is a reoccurring theme without throughout my project of like going online, researching and finding emails, finding phone numbers constantly, which is a really important skill that I think everyone should
[00:05:48] have and learned throughout their Gold Award journey.
[00:05:51] Sheryl: Wasn’t it scary reaching out to a professional multiple states away that you did not know to see if they would help you with your project?
[00:06:01] Ifrah: Yes, it was definitely nerve-wracking, but I formatted a nice email, I think, and I just send it off, and she actually applauded me for my enthusiasm of being so far away and reaching out.
[00:06:18] So I believe that it was rewarding at the end.
[00:06:22] Sheryl: You never know what connection is going to really help your project and asking doesn’t hurt anybody. So I also applaud you for making that effort.
[00:06:34] Ifrah: Thank you. And she actually agreed to be my advisor for this project.
[00:06:40] Sheryl: That’s wonderful. You created a worksheet as part of your project for your presentation.
[00:06:44] Can you talk about that worksheet?
[00:06:46] Ifrah: It’s called the iCare log and it had three columns. One for reducing screen time, one for implementing leafy green, a vegetables and fruits, and one for spending more time outdoors. So the kids were supposed to. do at least one of these three things every three days.
[00:07:11] So every three days they would either go outside for more time or reduce their screen time or eat like vegetables and fruits. So after this, after they completed that for a whole month, then they were rewarded with a gift card for their hard. So there was a little bit of an incentive there and they can always download the iCare log and continue to use it.
[00:07:40] Sheryl: And we’ll make sure there’s a link to that in our show notes.
[00:07:43] What kind of feedback did you get from the children that attended your presentation?
[00:07:47] Ifrah: They were really excited because I had a lot of activities. I actually had a model of an eye and I showed how a certain part of the eye actually stretches out if you get myopia. So they were really intrigued. I had Coloring pages and my presentation was filled with like pictures, so it was engaging and they really liked it.
[00:08:12] Other feedback that I received was from parents, and I actually had a teacher come in and said that like, this is an issue she didn’t really think about from before, and she wanted to take. Project details and actually implement it into her school and her classroom. So that was really nice to hear how my project is like will reach more and more kids.
[00:08:39] Sheryl: What was your biggest challenge during your project and how did you overcome it?
[00:08:42] Ifrah: Finding like a nice proper location that would agree with what I was trying to do. Cuz many people didn’t really take me that seriously cuz I’m, I was just a 17 year old doing this, so they didn’t want to like book anything.
[00:08:58] But I ended up connecting with my local library and explaining them what I wanted to do what my goal was. And they were really helpful throughout the project and. The marketing aspect was easy. It was just like creating flyers, but parents were a little hesitant to have their kids attend a public event because it still was during covid.
[00:09:26] So that was a little bit of a hurdle, but we ended up having a good amount of kids show up, and it all went well. And I think these challenges were important for me to go through in order to learn how I can organize myself differently for my future.
[00:09:45] Sheryl: What did you learn about the gold award process itself that you didn’t know and might be helpful to others?
[00:09:51] Ifrah: Looking to do the gold award connections, you have to connect and you have to network and a lot of people, a lot. People I know think that. , like connecting might be a little awkward just reaching out, like I reached out to somebody across the country, but I still ended up getting a reply and they ended up being my advisor.
[00:10:14] So connecting is really, really crucial to, for this project. You never know who can help you and who they know that they can help you. I actually invited a state representative to be an attendee for my project. He gave. A lot of positive feedback on my presentation, and he actually suggested that I send him my project details so it can be utilized in the Delaware Department of Education, which is my state.
[00:10:48] Networking is really, really important and there’s nothing to shy away from. With networking, just reaching out, calling, emailing. It’s really, really important.
[00:11:00] Sheryl: How did you feel when that representative told you that he wanted to implement your project into the Delaware education system?
[00:11:08] Ifrah: I was really, really happy and like it felt like my hard work actually paid off because it’s going to so many people now, so,
[00:11:22] I felt like because of my passion, because of this is a personal issue, that’s why I felt like it made such a big impact.
[00:11:32] Sheryl: You mentioned screen time, which we’re all very aware of as part one of the three pieces that we can actually change ourselves. You also touched on nutrition. You’re very interested in nutrition also in fact, you’ve started a club. Can you talk about that?
[00:11:47] Ifrah: Yes. I started Nutrition Awareness Club at my high school in 11th grade. So it started with a group of my friends and we kept reaching out to people to join our club and we held. It bas The club’s goal is to address food insecurity because a lot of high school students don’t feel the need to eat breakfast in the morning.
[00:12:15] They’d much rather sleep and they’re always running late and they also don’t have time to pack a lunch, which really touches on malnutrition, which is a huge issue. High school students and kids in general are facing. So I wanted to create a group that was a bit of a, a safe space and also helps the community.
[00:12:39] So we’ve held like hygiene drives. We’ve made PB and J sandwiches to homeless veteran shelter. So we’ve definitely made a school impact, and I think it’s important to talk about malnutrition and food insecurity.
[00:12:56] Sheryl: You’re very much a volunteer and you’ve earned the presidential service volunteer award. Can you talk about that?
[00:13:03] Ifrah: I earned my gold PV essay in 11th grade, so that took about 250 volunteer hours more than that. So yeah, I volunteered in multiple organizations and I really love seeing. The impact that just one person me can make. And it’s almost a bit of a stress reliever now for me. It really doesn’t feel like work.
[00:13:32] I actually enjoy volunteering and it’s even more fun if you go with a group of friends and family. So, yeah, I don’t think I. I don’t plan on stopping to volunteer.
[00:13:46] Sheryl: What are you looking to do in your future?
[00:13:48] Ifrah: My passion and interest is healthcare, so I want to go into advanced healthcare and work with.
[00:13:57] Creating devices, prosthetics, things like that.
[00:14:01] Sheryl: What other girl Scout experiences have you had?
[00:14:04] Ifrah: I’ve enjoyed camping. When I was in middle school, I remember camping was one of my favorite activities with all the Girl Scouts and throughout my Silver Award journey with all of my Girl Scout team. We had a lot of fun doing that.
[00:14:20] We would meet every week and that was just a really like fun time of my life.
[00:14:26] Sheryl: What was your silver project?
[00:14:28] Ifrah: How we can help shelter and stray animals.
[00:14:33] Sheryl: Is there anything else you’d like to share with the audience?
[00:14:35] Ifrah: If you’re starting your Gold Award journey? I think the best way is to. Dive into yourself and think about what your past experiences are, and that will definitely.
[00:14:50] Your passion will show through your project if it’s a personal experience of yours, and as I mentioned before, make sure to connect and network as much as you can. That’s a skill that will take you not just through your gold award journey, but it’ll take you really far in life. So you never know who’s gonna help you and who they can make you meet and stuff like that.
[00:15:15] So that is the biggest piece of advice I would give.
[00:15:18] Sheryl: How do you make your s’mores?
[00:15:20] Ifrah: I actually like to have my marshmallow completely like burnt. Like I, it needs to be completely black then, and then I put it in. Graham cracker and I don’t have chocolate with it at all, so I really like, like it has to be basically on fire.
[00:15:39] That’s how I like it.
[00:15:41] Sheryl: Well, thanks for joining us today.
[00:15:42] Ifrah: Thank you. Thank you for having me. This was an awesome opportunity.
[00:15:47] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe so you always know when new episodes are released and power your passion. And conquer your challenges.
[00:15:58] Walter: The Hearts of Gold Podcast is brought to you by the Grow and Share Network, produced by off the Walter Media Productions.
[00:16:05] 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.
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. Take care and we’ll see you next time.