THI Recognized for Support of Girl Scout Gold Award Recipients

Houston, TX (May 22, 2017) - Texas Heart Institute was recognized as a partner at a recent Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council Gold Award Ceremony for two Houston-based Gold Award recipients. Last weekend, two graduating high school seniors, Payton Campbell (Carnegie Vanguard) and Laura Hardwick (St. Pius) earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, Girl Scouts’ highest honor. Texas Heart Institute’s Keri Sprung mentored both Payton and Laura, who chose to focus their Gold Award projects on education gaps relating to heart health.

Payton Campbell pitched an impressive museum touch box idea to help educate children about the anatomy of the heart and ultimately inspire them to make heart-healthy life choices. She chose cardiovascular health as her topic because she identified that many of her peers did not fully understand the importance of heart health. She also recognized a gap in learning opportunities and resources for children, in particular in the 4th and 5th grades.

Payton created an exceptional interactive learning tool that shows adolescents the hearts of animals in order to help them understand the importance of their own heart. Her museum touch box project, Comparative Anatomy of the Heart, is currently being used in the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Eco Labs for students and visiting schools to use. You can watch Payton’s video here.

Laura Hardwick was moved by staggering obesity statistics and recognized deficits in her own peers’ understanding of the importance of healthy food choices and regular exercise. She decided to develop her Gold Award project for neighborhood community centers and created an interactive workshop for kids using educational materials from MyPlate and Texas Heart Institute's Project Heart curriculum. She pulled volunteer teams together for each of her events and invited special community health educators as guest speakers.

Today, Texas Heart Institute continues to implement Laura's project at outreach events, health fairs and as a "Kids Corner" activity during Houston HeartReach events. This sustainable project also provides an opportunity for other young volunteers to learn how to implement workshops in their own communities to help children take control of their health at an early age.

Texas Heart Institute commends both graduating seniors on their efforts to positively impact the future of our community's health through their Gold Award projects. Their leadership, refreshing creativity and commitment to making a lasting impact on this world is inspiring.