0 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,000 ep164 Raina Applegate 1 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,000 Tommy: The Hearts of Gold Podcast is brought to you by the Grow and Share Network, produced by Thrille Media. 2 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,000 Sheryl: Welcome to Hearts of Gold. Today we have Raina with us. Hi Raina. 3 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,000 Raina: Hello. 4 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Sheryl: Can you tell us about your Girl Scout Gold Award project? 5 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,000 Raina: Yes. My project was about how roads affect wildlife and preventing road kill. I volunteered at the regular National Wildlife Refuge. 6 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000 I saw a lot of roadkill there because it run the refuge runs right next to a highway. So part of my project I made wooden signs to put up at the entrance and exit of the refuge that say slow for animals. And I also made a poster board for inside of their refuge door building that has information on different animals. 7 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,000 And what people can do to prevent roadkill. And I also made pamphlets that have different information on animals' behaviors, like when they're most active and when they're most likely to be seen on roads and what time of years. And I also made a Facebook page so people all around the world can also see this information, not just people in Louisiana at the Wildlife Refuge. 8 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Sheryl: Your graphics are beautiful. How did you design them? 9 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,000 Raina: I drew them myself. I drew, they're just little doodles that I did and I referenced actual, pictures to see how they looked, and then I colored them. I drew them on paper, and then I took a picture of them and drew them and copied it over digitally and colored them there. 10 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,000 And then. Made them into stickers. 11 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,000 Sheryl: So you used stickers as fundraising. How did that come about? 12 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,000 Raina: I liked stickers and I needed something that was, i wanted something that was related to my project for fundraising and, I like to draw, and since I drew pictures for my pamphlets, I thought I could turn those pictures into the stickers. 13 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,000 Sheryl: Did you face any challenges with doing stickers as fundraisers? Because I believe that people ordered them and you shipped them, correct? 14 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,000 Raina: Yes. I didn't have any problems with that besides some people like would order stickers, but then never give me their address or pay. That was really the only problem I had. 15 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Sheryl: What inspired your project? 16 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,000 Raina: Volunteering at the Red River National Wildlife Refuge and all around Shreveport. There's a lot of roadkill and, and I live in a, I lived in a neighborhood that had a lot of squirrels and those would often get hit on roads. 17 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:39,000 Sheryl: You also created a map asking people to mark where they were from when they learned about their project. Can you tell us about the map? 18 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000 Raina: That was for my global patch. Or global links so I could keep track of how many people and where people saw my project. And at the end of my project, I had people from 23 states and six countries. 19 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,000 Sheryl: And multiple continents. 20 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,000 Raina: Mm-hmm. 21 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,000 Sheryl: Talking about worldwide, you have a future ambition that is worldwide. 22 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,000 Can you tell us about that? 23 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,000 Raina: Yes. I want a job in conservation. And preventing climate change and stuff like 24 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,000 that. Animal related. 25 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,000 Sheryl: How did you choose that as an interest for your future? 26 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000 Raina: I always really liked animals. I guess I wanted a job and animals and saving animals. 27 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,000 Sheryl: What was your biggest challenge during your project and how did you overcome it? 28 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,000 Raina: I underestimated the cost of supplies for making the wooden signs and for that it was a lot expensive, more expensive than I thought it would be. So I did another fundraiser. I had to do another fundraiser to get more money for that, which means I had to get more money to buy the stickers, and I had to sell a certain amount. 29 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000 Sheryl: Who was on your team and how did they help you? 30 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Raina: Two of the Rangers at the refuge helped me. One of them helped me get the idea for my project and what I wanted to do. And the other one helped me by getting my pamphlets and giving me little things to add. 'cause they did a project on roadkill and also the friends members of the refuge. 31 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,000 I talked to them and then they put my project on their Facebook page. So all the people that went to the refuge and people that were friends of the refuge could see it. 32 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,000 Sheryl: What's a favorite memory from your project? 33 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,000 Raina: Seeing all the people that, share my project. I had a whole bunch of people that would share it and I would get like a bunch of notifications about it. 34 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000 Sheryl: What other Girl Scout activities have you done? 35 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,000 Raina: Done a lot. For my Silver Award, I made a patch for Girl Scouts and so I've gone to a bunch of, camps and done a bunch of things. 36 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,000 Sheryl: What was your Silver Award patch theme? 37 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,000 Raina: It was when I lived in Germany, it was called Running Around Ramstein, and it was so girls that lived in Germany and in the Ramstein area could learn more about German things like they, part of the requirements would be going to a castle or trying German food or going to all the historical sites that are around Ramstein so they can learn about their area. 38 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,000 Sheryl: You have been involved in Girl Scouts in many different locations. Can you tell us more about that? 39 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Raina: I've been part of five or six troops over the years. And they're all very different, I've noticed. And they, some of them have different cookie locations, so there's different cookies, never the same 'cause it's different camps and there's different girls and you do entirely different things even though they're the same like patch or something. 40 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,000 Sheryl: What is one thing that you've learned that helped you be successful as you had to transition troops and connect with the girls in the new troop? 41 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,000 Raina: I kind of just got used to it. Because I would change troops every few years, and that's just how it was. 42 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,000 Sheryl: You mentioned Germany, which would be Girl Scouts overseas. How many of the troops were a part of Girl Scouts overseas? 43 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,000 Raina: I'm not sure how many troops there are total. My troop was a big troop. It had cadets through ambassadors, and I think we had some juniors too, but all the troops in that area would meet at the same place, sometimes at the same time in this one building. 44 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,000 Sheryl: Very cool. What other unique aspects did you have when you were in an international troop? 45 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Raina: With our cookie money, we were able to go to places that normally wouldn't be able to, so we went to Switzerland and England with our cookie money and we went to the Girl Scout World lodges there, the RCLA in Sweden or Switzerland, and Pax lodge in London. 46 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,000 Sheryl: And you have plans to attend the other world centers. How do you think you're gonna fold that into the future? 47 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,000 Raina: I don't know. I just hope that I can go see them. Because they all look really cool. And I also wanna collect the pin from each of them and have the full set. 48 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,000 Sheryl: Very cool. Do you have a favorite experience from Pax Lodge or the Chalet? 49 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,000 Raina: At the Pax lodge, they have a Harry Potter themed patch, and you go around to different filming locations around London and we went on all the trains and to all these different places around. 50 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Sheryl: That sounds super cool. What else would you like to share with the audience? 51 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Raina: When putting in your proposal and getting your project approved? Make sure to check up with the council and not just wait for them to respond because they might not have gotten your proposal or whatever you sent in. So if it's been too long, check and make sure they got it. 52 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,000 Sheryl: Great advice. How do you make your s'mores? 53 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,000 Raina: I like setting the marshmallow on fire. And then just eating the marshmallow. 54 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,000 Sheryl: Fire marshmallows are the best. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. 55 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Raina: Thank you. 56 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,000 Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe so you always know when new episodes are released. Power your passion and conquer your challenges. 57 00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:00,000 Tommy: Thank you for listening. If you'd like to be on the show to share your story with how you earn your Gold Award, reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com. Be sure to catch up on our previous shows on any of your favorite podcasting platforms, as well as view the full video versions @youtube.com/SherylMRobinson. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time.