SELLING COOKIES
Girl Scouts celebrate National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend
CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. » Girl Scouts around the Capital Region and the entire country are celebrating National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend, offering customers a sweet way to support young female entrepreneurs.
Celebrated by Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York and Girl Scouts of the USA, National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend honors the achievements of young entrepreneurs across the United States - Girl Scouts who run successful cookie booths and door-todoor cookie sales as well as market their businesses online using the Digital Cookie platform.
For the occasion, local Girl Scout troops have cookie booths throughout the GSNENY council area all weekend to sell cookies to the public before personal orders arrive in late March.
On Saturday morning, local Girl Scouts Faith English and Maya Alexander, both fourth-graders at Division Street Elementary School, were representing Girl Scout Troop #3031 at its first cookie booth of the season. The girls set up a table outside of Palette Cafe on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs. One of their first customers to visit the booth was Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, who spoke with the children about
scouting while buying her cookies.
“I like when we get to sell girl scout cookies. I like getting the thrill of selling the cookies,” said Alexander, who is nine years old, “and when we sell them, the more money we make off of selling them, we get to go on camping trips and we get prizes, which is fun.”
This year, Troop #3031 has a goal of selling 2,020 boxes of cookies for 2020, and Saturday’s National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend cookie booth helped the girls on its way to achieving it.
In addition to helping the Girl Scouts, Troop #3031’s cookie booth helped raise money for The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund. Last year, the troop donated the Saratoga County Animal Shelter, and this year’s charity choice continues their mission of helping animals.
In Troy, Girl Scout Troop #1303 plans to once again assist Joseph’s House & Shelter with this year’s Girl Scout Cookie efforts.
“We’re selling the cookies, and we’re going to use the money to buy food for Joseph’s House,” explained Girl Scout Kaelyn Stone, one of the troop’s youngest members. This donation is expected to fund a whole weekend of food for those at the shelter.
The rest of the funds will help the troop go on camping trips, which they try to do as many times as possible each year.
Two Girl Scouts from this troop are saving their cookie earnings to go on an international trip to Europe, with stops in London and Paris.
Overall, Troop #1303 aims to sell a total of 3,000 boxes of cookies this season, and the National Girl
Scout Cookie Weekend cookie booth sales will be a great start.
The girls have another National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend cookie booth scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. on Sunday at the Troy YMCA, located at 2500 21st St. in Troy.
“It’s really fun. You get to meet new people,” said Girl Scout Mariah Allen, who was enjoying interacting with customers at Saturday’s cookie booth.
The girls of Troop #1303 are also looking forward to participating in the upcoming Cookie Concoctions event, which will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 29 at the Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club. Here, several local troops will prepare unique dishes using the favorite Girl Scout Cookies in the recipes.
Girl Scout Cookie customers can purchase boxes anywhere they see a cookie booth and proceeds will go toward a troop’s overall sales, powering opportunities, adventures and amazing experiences for local Girl Scouts.
Booths will be stocked with this year’s cookie line-up, featuring new packaging and this year’s newest cookie: LemonUps. These crispy lemon cookies are baked with messages inspired by Girl Scout entrepreneurs. “I am a go-getter” and “I am an innovator” are among the eight phrases that bring the experience of Girl Scouting to life.
“They’re awesome,” Stone said, noting that Lemon-Ups have inspiring messages.
The new cookie joins the national 2020 lineup, which also includes favorites such as Thin Mints, Samoas, and Trefoils.
Through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, girls empower themselves as they earn their own money to put toward a wide range of experiences, some of which are illustrated on this year’s refreshed cookie packaging - from adventure-packed camping and canoeing, to exploring space science and designing robots, to taking meaningful action to improve communities. Every purchase of Girl Scout Cookies makes experiences like these possible for local girls, giving them hands-on opportunities to hone valuable skills like decision making and business ethics. Nine out of 10 Girl Scouts say the cookie program has built their interest in entrepreneurship and given them the skills to succeed.
“Last year was a great experience as GSNENY’s first time participating in National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend and we are excited to be taking part in this nation-wide celebration once again,” Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York CEO Mary Buszuwski said in a press release. “Not only does this give our customers a taste of what’s to come when their cookie orders arrive, it also allows our Girl Scouts a chance to use the skills they have learned thus far ahead of booth sales beginning in late March through April.”
Another exciting addition to the Girl Scout Cookie Program this year is the Cookie Entrepreneur Family pin collection, which encourages parents and caregivers to support their girls as they develop business skills, make memories, and earn a different pin for their uniform every cookie season. A girl’s family plays a key role in championing her cookie business, and the pin collection enables families to engage in the cookie program together as their girls begin to think like entrepreneurs and take the lead in their cookie businesses.
Girl Scout Cookies can only be purchased from a registered Girl Scout. Customers can find Girl Scouts selling cookies in their area by visiting www.girlscoutcookies.org or by using the official Girl
Scout Cookie Finder app, free on iOS and Android devices.
More information about Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York which represents almost 8,500 Girl Scouts in 15 counties including Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady - is available online at girlscoutsneny.org.