By Sherrie Norris
The 2019 Girl Scout Cookie sales have begun, with thousands of the seasonal favorites expected to arrive in the High Country on January 11.
With one of America’s most recognized and popular fundraising efforts currently underway, pre-sales are happening now and booths will be setting up around the High Country on January 18.
Who among us — even if we just recently made resolutions to cut down on sweets — can say “no” to the hardworking girls who put their best efforts into their signature fundraising efforts this time every year? How can we possibly deny ourselves the luxury of those mouth-watering Thin Mints (the most popular, representing 25 percent of national sales), Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel deLites and other specialties we’ve come to know and love? We can’t. It’s just that simple.
Cookie lovers can preorder from their neighborhood Girl Scouts, order online for delivery, or wait to find their little boxed treasures outside local businesses soon, including Lowes Hardware, Lowes Foods, Mast Store and inside Boone Mall. Otherwise, the cookie locator at https://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/all-about-cookies/How-to-Buy.html, is also a great resource to help find a booth near you.
There is always a sense of good-natured urgency associated with this yearly announcement because availability is limited, and many are anxious to try new varieties as they are introduced.
Cookie Varieties available this year include returning favorites: Thin Mints, Caramel deLights, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbread, Thanks-A-Lot, S’mores, Lemonades, all at $4 a box. And this year, the gluten- free Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies will be available for $5.
As always, there is a lot of enthusiasm around this fundraising campaign, according to local Girl Scout troop 10492 leader and media specialist for High Country Girl Scouts, Amber Mellon.
“All proceeds from the cookie program support Girl Scouting in the local community where they are sold,” she said, adding that the cookies provide an opportunity for girls to earn money for badges, service events, recognition and the potential for scholarships. Additionally, the sales help the troops with summer camp, exploring science and math, traveling to various destinations and learning about future careers. Additionally, Melon said, “The goals of the cookie program include helping the girls learn about decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.”
According to Ann Mellon, local scout spokesperson and a cadette with Troop 10492, “The cookie program is an awesome way to help local Girl Scout troops out. We use the funds to buy badges for the skills we have learned, and to go on trips to learn something new away from home. Plus, you get delicious cookies from girls in your community.”
Since 1917, five years after Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Ga., founded the Girl Scouts, the organization has been selling cookies as a way to raise money for troop activities and build life-changing skills in its participants.
A survey from the Girl Scout Research Institute indicates that 85 percent of Girl Scout “cookie entrepreneurs” learn money management by developing budgets, taking cookie orders and handling customers’ money. Eighty-three percent build business ethics; 80 percent learn goal setting; 77 percent improve decision-making; and 75 percent develop people skills.
Since 2014, the direct sales approach to cookie sales has proved to be successful, in which the girls have cookies readily available when asking customers to purchase a box, instead of taking orders and returning a few weeks later with the cookies.
Things you might want to know about the Girl Scout Cookie Program:
- Currently, there are only two commercial bakers licensed by Girl Scouts of the USA to produce Girl Scout Cookies: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers.
- Girl Scouts now offer an online purchasing optionfor their customers through which cookies are shipped directly to them (shipping charges will apply). For those without a Girl Scout connection, consumers can email their name, phone number and address to cookies@girlscoutsp2p.org.
- There is also a mobile cookie app available for download to smart phones (both iPhones and Androids) that allows you to find cookies near you. To downloadthis app, visit girlscoutcookies.org.
- The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the premier girl-led entrepreneurship program in the world, but it is just one part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Girl Scouts participate in varied activities throughout the year and work on many projects. The cookie program is just one of those activities. And because only registered Girl Scouts may sell Girl Scout Cookies, their market availability is normally limited to the six- to eight-week period when girls are engaged in the program through their local council.
- Girl Scouts only sell cookies produced for the current season. Therefore, if a council or troop has cookies left at the end of the sale, they are encouraged to work with local food pantries and other charitable organizations to distribute cookies as a special treat for people seeking food relief services. GSUSA works with licensed bakers to ensure that they too have an annual plan for responsibly managing leftover cookie inventory.
About the local council
With service centers and shops located in Asheville, Gastonia, Hickory and the Triad area, Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont is one of the 112 councils from across the nation that delivers the Girl Scout program; it serves nearly 14,000 girls in central and western North Carolina, including the High Country counties of Ashe, Avery and Watauga.
With a mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place, Girl Scouts is currently 2.6 million strong—1.8 million girls and 800,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) to change the world.
For more information, visit www.girlscoutsp2p.org, www.girlsleadtheway.org, call (800) 672-2148, or contact Amber Mellon through FB/messenger.
You must be logged in to post a comment.