Ep 133 Erika Kendrick Dancing for Our Life Girl Scout Gold Award and author of Squad Goals, Cookie Monsters, and Insta Famous
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Release Date: 04/04/2024
Ep 151 Breaking Barriers in Aviation: A Girl Scout's Journey to Empower Young Women in Flight
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at Today, we’re thrilled to have Pepper join us to share her inspiring journey as a young aviator and her impactful Girl Scout Gold Award project. From her first flight at just 10 years old to becoming a certified pilot, Pepper has navigated the skies and shattered stereotypes in a male-dominated field. She passionately discusses her mission to introduce aviation to young women in her community through a series of engaging workshops, where she taught the fundamentals of flight and even organized a thrilling "fly day" for eager participants. But that’s not all!...
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Ep 150 Building Leadership and Community: Rachel's Gold Award Project for JROTC Trophies
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at Rachel shares her inspiring journey of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award through her project of constructing a trophy case for her high school's JROTC program. She discusses the motivation behind her project, which stemmed from the need to properly showcase the numerous trophies earned by cadets through various activities, including Raiders, drill, and rifle team. Rachel highlights the importance of community support, detailing how local businesses contributed materials and resources, significantly reducing project costs. She emphasizes the collaborative effort...
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Ep 149 From Art to Action: A Girl Scout's Journey to Combat Single-Use Plastics
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at Jackie shares her inspiring journey of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award through her project titled "Single-Use Less Plastic." She discusses her advocacy against single-use plastic pollution, highlighting the importance of public policy, education, and art in driving change. Jackie reflects on how the COVID-19 lockdown prompted her to notice the overwhelming amount of plastic waste generated by her family, leading her to participate in the Plastic Free July challenge. She created an art curriculum inspired by artist Aurora Robson, teaching students to make...
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Ep 148 Empowering Neurodiversity: Piya's Journey to the Girl Scout Gold Award
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/ Piya's project focused on increasing education and awareness around neurodiversity advocacy, a topic that is close to her heart. She began by founding her school's first neurodiversity affinity group, creating a safe space for neurodivergent youth. Piya shared her journey of developing workshops and assemblies for both her peers and teachers, emphasizing the importance of updated training on neurodiversity. With the support of her school's learning support team and feedback from neurodivergent students, she was able to...
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Ep 147 Empowering Voices: Mikenna and the Silver Stories Podcast
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/ Mikenna shares how she created a platform to record and share the authentic stories of seniors in her community, which she then uploaded to YouTube and a dedicated website. She also made personalized booklets for each senior interviewed, ensuring they had a tangible copy of their story. Mikenna's journey began with her long-standing visits to a local nursing home, where she built meaningful relationships with the residents. Her project expanded beyond her initial nursing home to include another facility, capturing a diverse...
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Ep 146 Healing Through Toys: Sammie's Journey to Support Uvalde Survivors
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/ Sammie, a remarkable Girl Scout who shares her journey of earning the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award. Sammie's project, Sammy's Toy Drive, was inspired by the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Initially starting as a simple toy drive, it evolved into a full-fledged nonprofit organization aimed at supporting survivors of gun violence through healing events and community building. Sammie detailed the emotional and logistical challenges she faced, including the initial rejection of her first project...
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Ep 145 Creating Historic Lamont: Amelia's Gold Award Journey
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/ Amelia developed an app called Historic Lamont, a location-aware walking tour app that highlights the hidden historical gems of her hometown, Lamont, a suburb of Chicago. Inspired by a limited-availability walking tour from the Lamont Historical Society, Amelia wanted to make local history more accessible to everyone in her community. Amelia shared fascinating historical facts she uncovered, such as the local metro station witnessing President Lincoln's funeral train and being a site of the Lamont Massacre. She detailed the...
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Ep 144 Building United Communities: Camilla's Gold Award Project
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/ Camilla's project aims to build more united communities by educating people about different Asian cultures through workshops, YouTube vlogs, and a beautifully illustrated book. Camilla shared that her project was prompted by the rise in Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, which motivated her to use education as a tool to foster understanding and empathy. She detailed the three components of her project: interactive workshops at YMCA branches, vlogs exploring various Asian communities in Los Angeles, and her book, which...
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Ep 143 - Solving Overcrowded Shelters: Neha's Gold Award Journey
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/ Neha's project, centered around dogs and the issue of overcrowded shelters, led her to create a nonprofit called Pawprints. The nonprofit focuses on raising awareness about the importance of microchipping and GPS tracking collars to prevent dogs from getting lost and ending up in shelters. Neha shared her personal connection to the project, including her experience rescuing her dog Aggie, who was saved from euthanasia at an overcrowded shelter. She discussed the educational materials she created, which include information...
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Ep 142 Championing Bird Conservation: Adoriam's Gold Award Journey
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Full transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/ Adoriam, a passionate Girl Scout, shares her inspiring journey of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. Adoriam’s project focused on addressing the declining bird population in Houston, a city that ranks as the second worst in America for migratory birds. Through her project, she aimed to educate the community about the importance of being bird-friendly by conducting workshops, creating videos, and providing resources. Adoriam’s interest in conservation was sparked by her involvement in the Glenn Miller Agriculture...
info_outlineErika shares her journey from her Gold Award project to becoming a mental health advocate, speaker, and author. Erika's Gold Award project combined her passion for dance with her desire to work with children, leading her to teach dance to underserved kids in Chicago. This experience not only fulfilled her goal of exposing children to the arts but also taught her invaluable lessons about love, leadership, and the impact of creative outlets on mental health.
Erika opened up about her personal struggles with clinical depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety, which she has been dealing with since childhood. Her journey through these challenges led her to become an NBA cheerleader for the Chicago Bulls, a role that played a significant part in her path to recovery. Erika's experiences have fueled her mission to educate and empower others about mental health and wellness.
She has since authored middle-grade books that weave mental health themes into engaging stories for young readers. Her books, "Squad Goals," "Cookie Monsters," and the upcoming "Insta Famous," aim to provide children with the language and tools to navigate their mental health and to normalize therapy. Erika's work is a testament to the power of channeling one's struggles into positive change for oneself and others.
More about Erika:
Erika J. Kendrick is a bestselling author, an award-winning national speaker, and a mental fitness expert. She earned a psychology degree from Stanford University and an MBA in marketing and international business from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Erika was an NBA cheerleader for the Chicago Bulls before writing her novels, Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader and Appetite (Random House). She is currently touring her bestselling middle grade novels, Squad Goals and Cookie Monsters (Little, Brown Publishing). Her next novel, Instafamous, has a fall 2024 publication date. After battling her brain pain, Erika founded Mental Fitness for Life where she launched her Mental Fitness book tour, “Who Moved My Happy?” While talking to audiences of all backgrounds and ages, Erika shares her story of brain pain and inspires hope by creating safe spaces for life-saving conversations. She has presented, keynoted, and guest lectured at colleges and universities across the country as well as the US Army and Air Force, national sororities and fraternities, middle and high schools, conferences, and Fortune 500 corporations. She has toured with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and is a speaker with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) where she has been inducted into their Hall of Fame. Erika is a recipient of several “Who’s Who” honors, a Rising Icon honor, and several Awards of Excellence. Erika has taken the stage for TEDx, appeared on Good Morning America, NBC News, CBS News, The Wendy Williams Experience, national television and radio segments, and a host of other media outlets. She has been featured in several publications, including Page Six of The New York Post, The Huffington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and various magazines and digital media.
https://www.instagram.com/erikajkendrick/
https://www.facebook.com/erikakendrick/
http://xoerika.com/
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