[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.
[00:00:11] Sheryl: Welcome to hearts of gold. Today we have Sofia with us. Hi, Sofia.
[00:00:17] Sofia: Hi.
[00:00:18] Sheryl: Can you tell us about your girl scout gold award project?
[00:00:21] Sofia: Of course. So my project is called beyond the attic boutique. And I designed and created a space within my local child haven dedicated to foster youth so that they can have formal and special occasion wear without having to disclose their foster care status like they would with some other agencies.
[00:00:43] Sheryl: How did you find this project?
[00:00:45] Sofia: So my mom, she’s actually a social worker. And she when I was going through ideas, she kind of like. Was just telling me about like the kids and foster care and a lot of them are my age and I, I really, that stood out as something that I could really get involved in help with.
[00:01:04] So that’s kind of what sparked my idea with that, because Beyond the Attic Boutique is really dedicated to foster youth, but mainly foster teens, just anybody going in for like their first interview or for prom. Just so that they kind of have that safe space because it’s. Hard enough being a teenager, but being a teenager in foster care, that’s not any easier.
[00:01:28] Sheryl: How did you collect the formal wear and interview wear?
[00:01:32] Sofia: I designed and sent out a flyer letting everybody know when I would be there or as well as I posted it around my school and then people would come to me and then I’d just bring it over to Childhaven. And then Holly, she works with the Department of Family Services, she posted my flyer all around for the Las Vegas Valley to see, so people would come in and when we were actually building the space, there was a set day, and people would come in during that time as well and drop even more stuff off to this place called Peggy’s Attic, which is a donation center in Childhaven, Which, the space I created is kind of adjacent to it.
[00:02:18] We wanted to originally build it in there, but that wasn’t, we weren’t able to do that unfortunately.
[00:02:24] Sheryl: How does the process work when a foster child recognizes that they have the need for something from your closet? What process do they need to go through?
[00:02:34] Sofia: It’ll usually be through their caseworker, and their caseworker knows that Peggy’s is already a donation center.
[00:02:42] And now we have this beyond the attic boutique, which is specifically catered for these occasions. And so usually it’ll be determined kind of through the foster child and their caseworker. And then they can come in whenever they feel like it. They don’t have to disclose their status to anyone. Like that was kind of one of the main reasons that I wanted to build this space is that you don’t want to really have to, if you’re a foster child, disclose that to somebody you don’t really know.
[00:03:11] And so they can just come in and kind of shop, but not really shop, if you know what I mean, and then find what they’re looking for.
[00:03:20] Sheryl: What most surprised you as you were doing your project?
[00:03:24] Sofia: This is one of my favorite questions actually, because the amount of just things people, kind of like donations people gave and not, they were like extremely high quality, like Stuff like you’d want to wear.
[00:03:39] I was just overjoyed. I remember going through a lot of them and there was, I forget exactly who it was, but someone donated a lot of like pageant dresses and they’re from this brand Sherry Hill, which I like Sherry Hill. So that’s how I was like, Oh my gosh, like people are really putting in like the, the whole effort, just going the whole nine yards.
[00:04:02] It was so great to see. And just, I was really excited for like. You know, foster youths come in and have that kind of stress off their shoulders of finding like a dress they liked, but not having to go over budget on it.
[00:04:15] Sheryl: Were you able to get any feedback from the foster children who did use your closet?
[00:04:21] Sofia: I did. So I actually also created a kind of like an anonymous form at the end that they’re just like paper forms and once once a child goes in there and kind of shops, if they want, they fill out the form, I get the feedback. And which is really nice. And I actually also remember my project advisor, Denise.
[00:04:42] She kind of sent me this story about it was the first girl who came in and she found her like prom dress and she was so excited. And I was just really like, glad to hear about that. Really like you see everything like coming to like life in full circle. It’s really nice.
[00:04:58] Sheryl: You’ve mentioned Denise and you’ve mentioned your mom, who is on your team and how did they help you?
[00:05:03] Sofia: I mentioned Denise. She’s my project advisor. She also kind of runs Peggy’s Attic. So she was a very big help. Obviously my mom served as like a very big source of like inspiration, kind of helps me get going with the idea and who to reach out to. And then I also mentioned Holly before. Without her, we would not have been able to reach the amount of people we did.
[00:05:26] So that’s awesome. And then also with that, Every kind of time around that year, she like goes out again and kind of, so people know that they can come around and donate. And then as well as my mentor Gretchen, she was really awesome, really helped me kind of guided me in so many ways, especially when I ran into like my road block, she was always there and really on my side.
[00:05:52] Sheryl: Can you share some of those roadblocks and how you overcame them?
[00:05:55] Sofia: I originally wanted to work with this one club that I was in. And I was kind of told that like, yeah, that’s great. Like, we’ll do it. Don’t worry. Let me like ask somebody else. And then unfortunately I wasn’t able to get approval and I wanted to place out donation bins so I could get close from my like peers at school.
[00:06:18] And then it’s just an easier way for me to transport, but I wasn’t able to have that happen because we already had too many drives going on, but I had to look somewhere else, which is fine. And my friend, he was actually the president of our key club there. And so he kind of put up our flyers and also like circulated them.
[00:06:41] And so while I wasn’t exactly able to have the donation bins out, I still got so much help and just kind of feedback from that. Just looking in another place, which I didn’t really expect to have to do. I’m glad how it turned out because now I have my project in. Thank you.
[00:07:02] Sheryl: What’s a favorite memory from your project?
[00:07:04] Sofia: I think the day we were setting up, I knew a lot of students from my school were coming to help and that was really nice. But I, I saw so many, like, it was just overwhelming. There’s like a big group photo in there somewhere and there’s just so many kids and a lot of them are my friends who like came out and helped me and really like supported me through this project and donated a lot of stuff that helped contribute to this.
[00:07:30] Sheryl: You have also earned your bronze and silver awards. Do you remember those projects? And if so, can you share with us?
[00:07:36] Sofia: I do. So both my bronze and my silver award were group projects with my troop, but for my silver award, actually I think it might’ve been my bronze. But we did a coat drive at my middle and elementary school that still goes around to this day.
[00:07:54] It was during the winter, but obviously for coats. But that was also to go to foster youth and it was really inspiring. And I think that also kind of like made me realize that I really was passionate about this kind of subject in the area. And really made me like think that I want to do this for my gold award as well.
[00:08:15] I cannot exactly remember Mary’s Silver Award, but I know it was also a troop project, and I want to say it was also, it was a drive. I think it was diapers, or kind of like baby products for like mothers and that kind of stuff, so we did that as well and helped collect them and donate them.
[00:08:38] Sheryl: What other Girl Scout adventures have you had?
[00:08:40] Sofia: One of my favorite memories, actually, I was a delegate for the National Girl Scout Convention. Unfortunately, COVID did hit. So I didn’t get to like, do the super like cool things and like travel and everywhere. But I actually did me and my fellow Girl Scout, my friend, Lucy, she, we both were chosen. And we got to do kind of like a zoom conference with everybody else and hear like all these things.
[00:09:05] And then we got to call with I want to say it was the governor of Pakistan and also two other Girl Scouts in Pakistan. So it was really just a great experience and really eye opening. So I thought that’s like one of my most profound experiences. I really got to see like another way of life and it was awesome.
[00:09:27] Sheryl: I was also a 2020 delegate and unless you were a delegate, it is hard to describe what that experience was like. What was something that you didn’t expect that happened during the council session that you will carry on into your future?
[00:09:49] Sofia: I just really got to hear from so many different, kind of going back on what I said before, but so many different perspectives.
[00:09:57] And at this age, I was, I was younger, I’m now a freshman in college, but it was, I think it really, like, promoted my, like, individual growth, just hearing, obviously, I said I talked with those girls from Pakistan, I got to know them, they were really nice, and It’s just interesting hearing about, like, their way of life and how different it is and just, like, kind of hearing about, like, my other, like, fellow delegates and who they got to speak with, just really inspiring and good to hear.
[00:10:27] Sheryl: So the National Council session follows Robert’s Rules of Order. And we had a list of. Items that were going to be discussed and then voted on during the council session. Was there anything that surprised you about how that progression of the discussion and the voting occurred that might be interesting for the audience to have a little insight to?
[00:10:53] Sofia: I was an alternate delegate, so I had to be prepared if anybody like had to say, so that was really nerve wracking, but also exciting. But kind of just seeing. Like, the way these girls advocate. Is really awesome and that was one of them because I would, I would like watch these girls and I’m like in awe of just how like strong and confident they are and just speaking their mind.
[00:11:17] I was like, wow, like I could, that could be me. Like, I could be in that position.
[00:11:22] Sheryl: Yeah. And a lot goes into being a delegate before the, even, even the council session. Like you have conversations about what the questions are and you learn about why. They’ve been proposed and so that you got, you can make a good decision using your voice and understanding what others in your council, what their opinion is on the question.
[00:11:44] And I think that’s what prepares some of those girls to speak, but they are truly amazing when we get those girl delegates in there advocating for what they believe in.
[00:11:54] What have you taken from Girl Scouts that you think that you’re going to bring into your future?
[00:11:59] Sofia: I think being a Girl Scout has been the biggest blessing in my life.
[00:12:04] I don’t think I would be who I am without Girl Scouts. I think I’ve just been able to grow so much. I’ve just been more comfortable in who I am and have developed so much confidence, especially by doing these kind of projects. It really, I said that before, but it grows you as a person and just getting to talk with so many different people.
[00:12:28] that you might not have talked to before. I get to do these experiences and really Girl Scouting just offers so much to me and to girls everywhere. It’s just really inspiring and it’s good to see that there’s kind of a space that like that for girls.
[00:12:46] Sheryl: How have you used either the skills that you built on during your gold award or Or the experience itself as you prepared for college and have now begun college?
[00:12:58] Sofia: During my Girl Scout Gold Award, obviously you face rejection, which something nobody likes, obviously. But I think that really helps me coming into college. I’m, I’m from Nevada originally and I go to school in Alabama and so coming across the country and I knew nobody, it really gave me the confidence by doing my gold award and talking to so many people and doing so many other things and just having those like experiences within me already.
[00:13:32] It gave me a sense of like confidence to go out and be who I am and unapologetically myself. And it’s really nice to have that foundation with you when you go somewhere so far.
[00:13:46] Sheryl: What are your plans for your future?
[00:13:49] Sofia: So I’m majoring in nursing right now. I hope to get into my nursing school here and my plans.
[00:13:56] Further on, I want to get my master’s and become a nurse practitioner. So that’s hopefully the plan. Very excited about it.
[00:14:08] Sheryl: What else would you like to share with the audience?
[00:14:11] Sofia: I’d like to share just a word of advice for Girl Scouts who are considering their Gold Award or going through it now. I kind of mentioned it before but, like, rejection is going to be everywhere and that’s fine, that’s good.
[00:14:28] They say, like, rejection is redirection and that’s the most true thing in the world. And it really builds your character to face that. And keep going and it builds, it builds a strong woman. And it’s incredible to see what that does for you.
[00:14:46] Sheryl: How did your team help you manage that rejection?
[00:14:50] Sofia: It was hard at first, but my mentor, especially Gretchen, she had kind of close relations.
[00:14:56] To me, and then people who, like, were helping me, because I originally wanted to get involved, like I said, like, at a club in my school, and she was also involved with my school, and so she tried to give me secondary options, like, Oh, maybe talk to this person, or let’s go, like, send this person an email, just kind of giving me so many other options, and helping me see that this isn’t the only way, and there’s a million different ways that you can make this project, be the best that it possibly could be.
[00:15:27] Sheryl: Absolutely rely on those team members. How do you make your s’mores?
[00:15:32] Sofia: Obviously you get the marshmallow like golden brown. And then, okay, now I do two Samoas as like the graham crackers, but when we had thanks a lot, that was the key. That was, those are so good.
[00:15:47] Sheryl: I say, bring back those thanks a lot. I love those cookies.
[00:15:50] Sofia: So do I.
[00:15:52] Sheryl: Thank you so much for joining me today.
[00:15:54] Sofia: Thank you for having me.
[00:15:56] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe. So you always know when new episodes are going to be released, power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:16:07] Walter: Thank you for listening. If you’d like to be on the show to share your story of how you earned your gold award, reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com.
[00:16:18] Be sure to catch up on our previous shows on any of your favorite podcasting platforms, as well as view the full video versions at youtube.com/SherylMRobinson. Thanks again for listening, and we’ll see you next time.