Goldfish Bowl Soothes Hearts
On Tuesday, March 13 at Desert Sands Unified School District, the spring competition of the Goldfish Bowl took place. Liam Dixon ‘19 competed in the second Goldfish Bowl competition of the year. He pitched his project, Soothing Hearts, in front of six judges: Timothy Bradley, Jr. Kathleen McEntee, Mike Napoli, Bianca Rae, Joe Wallace, John Hoffner, and Brandon Weimer ‘09.
The judges awarded him with $500, as well as counseling for marketing and to help him to create a foundation. “My mom is a big part in this, I wouldn’t be able to do it without her,” said Dixon.
As part of Dixon’s Eagle project, his idea is to help babies at Desert Regional Medical Center born prematurely, who range from 24 weeks to 37 weeks in age. He designed an 8” x 5” two-sided heart-shaped pillow made up of cotton flannel and minky fleece.
Parents would take the pillows home and wear it on their chests overnight, so it captures their scent. The pillow is then sent back to the hospital and placed in the baby’s incubators. Premature babies aren’t able to form a bond with their parents like other babies when they first come out the womb. He had this idea when his sister was born prematurely. He was devastated he couldn’t hold his sister, as he could only watch her when she was in the incubator.
Dixon and his mom have been working on this project for almost three years now. They have spent almost $2,000 in materials. They hosted a few public sewing sessions to speed up the process. He’s started talking to hospitals to possibly test the product.
Attiana Villalobos is a sophomore at La Quinta High School. She is a reporter for the Hawkview. She makes life chill and keeps things simple. Always with a smile on her face, she enjoys listening to music and being in her own world. She also enjoys traveling and cooking. Villalobos is also very active...