Girl Scouts won’t let pandemic get in way of Thin Mint, Samoas sales
Girl Scouts will be changing the way they sell cookies when Thin Mints, Samoas and other favorites hit the market Sunday.
Scouts in Loveland and across the country will be hosting virtual and drive-thru cookie booths, making porch drop-offs and on some days selling through GrubHub to have safe sales during the pandemic.
One Loveland troop plans to have its traditional booth with some new safety measures. The Scouts in Troop 77848 came up with the idea of creating a sneezeguard-type barrier for totally contactless sales.
“It was a group effort,” said Zelia Stillson, 11, whose father, Chase, brought the girls’ vision to reality using picture and poster frames and some other basic supplies. “I think that we all worked on it.”
She added, “I am really concerned about COVID and stuff like that because Mom and Dad both work through COVID because they are essential to society. We wanted to make something where we can still sell and be safe, because I find selling cookies joyful.”
The guard creates a complete window between the Scouts and their customers. They will collect payment with an electronic system that allows them to scan payment cards without touching them, and the girls have a bin to push the cookies out to the customer without hand-to-hand contact.
“There was some debate, at least in our household, whether or not we were going to do live booths this year,” said Chase Stillson. “We wanted to create a booth that’s safe for both the girls and the customers.”
With the added protection of the safety window, Stillson said he feels comfortable. So does Charlie Johnson, whose 13-yearold daughter, Autumn, is raring to go for cookie-selling season.
“I think it turned out really nice,” Autumn said.
The troop will have the booth at several locations during cookie season. Each of the girls in the troop will sell online individually, and the troop members will sell together through its booth in the community. They hope to sell at least 4,500 boxes, and Zelia and Autumn said they are excited to get started.
“Every single time Girl Scout Cookie season starts, I just get hyped,” Autumn said. “It’s just a thing.”
Each year, Girl Scouts across the country sell cookies, not only as a fundraiser but also to help the girls learn people, business and money management skills, according to information from the Girl Scouts of Colorado.
And each year, many customers look forward to ordering their favorites or trying different flavors. Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Trefoils, Dos-si-Dos and Lemon-Ups cost $4 per box, while S’mores and Toffee-tastic sell for $5 per package, according to information from the Girl Scouts of Colorado.
“I think it’s going to be busy,” Chase Stillson said. “I think people are really craving that normalcy.”
Sales run through March 7.