GIRL SCOUTS: THE SEASON FOR SERVICE AND SAMOAS
One was missing some front teeth and all wore blue jeans.
The 9-year-old girls excitedly explained the product they were selling, conveying the possibility that, on another day, in another place, they could be tomorrow's civic leaders or perhaps CEOs of a start-up.
Their product — Girl Scout cookies, with the 2023 season starting out with pre-sale orders Wednesday, followed by general sales in public locations March 20.
Vacaville Troop 30175 members Alexandria Keane, a fourth-grader at Sierra Vista K-8 School; Kenslie Reding, a third-grader at Stetson Academy; and Rylie Reding, also a fourth-grader at Sierra Vista, shared the news during an interview at Journey Downtown on Main Street in Vacaville.
Clad in turquoise-green vests emblazoned with their troop number, each said they were cookie-sale veterans, two to five years, depending on who was doing the talking.
Troop leaders are Danielle Reding, Vanessa Puskas, Stephanie Whiteback and Francie Keane, the latter explaining in an email to The Reporter that the annual program is “the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world.”
Kenslie, Rylie and Alexandria (who said it was OK to call her Alex) will learn — or reinforce — a variety of skills, such as goalsetting, decision-making, money management, getting along with others in a group, and business conduct, said Keane, who assembled the girls at the downtown venue.
Kenslie said the cookie sales experience taught her “to save money” and “how to make change.” Alexandria said that she has learned “how to manage money, how to be a good salesperson, and how to take a credit card” from a customer who wanted a box or boxes of cookies. Rylie learned that anyone can increase the shelf life of Thin Mints, Adventurfuls and Samoas — the three most popular of 10 cookie offerings this year — by “putting them in storage in the refrigerator.”
Keane, in the prepared statement, said the girls have created a budget to fund community projects and to fund “experiences” for their troop, which usually translates into defraying the cost of campout or
a trip to, say, the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
This year the troop has a goal of selling 650 cases, or 7,800 boxes, yielding a profit of around $7,800. The girls have agreed to plow 40% of their net gain back into their community projects, which include sponsoring dog adoptions at the Vacaville SPCA, she noted.
Another local troop, No. 20276, led by Carla Mancera Strachan, will be using cookie profits to fund their Gold Award Project, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn.
“They are just in the planning stages but their project will help the community learn about hidden disabilities,” said Keane. In previous years, she said, Troop 20276 used some $1,200 of their profits to build and maintain a children's library at the Opportunity House, Vacaville's homeless shelter.
This year, Vacaville/Travis Air Base Girl Scout Ser
“You don't have to buy Girl Scout cookies. But you can donate cookies to the military.” — Kenslie Reding, Vacaville Girl Scout Troop 30175
vice Unit will collectively sell nearly 68,000 boxes of cookies, with 25 Girl Scout troops, some 200 girls in all, selling cookies at $6 per box. As a group, said Keane, the 25 troops will be making “birthday party kits” for children at the Opportunity House.
Besides the three most popular cookie offerings, this year's selection also includes fan favorites and a new flavor: Tagalongs, Toffee-tastic (gluten-free), Lemon-ups, Trefoils, Do-sidos
and S'mores. The new flavor? Raspberry Rally.
The bad news is, they were in such high demand that, after quickly selling out online, boxes are being hawked for as much as five times the regular price on the resale market, as reported Wednesday by the New York Times.
Said Keane, “No matter what cookie people buy, we hope they can feel good about knowing where the profits go.”
“You don't have to buy Girl Scout cookies,” said Kenslie. “But you can donate cookies to the military,” to servicemen and women across the United States and around the
world.
Said Rylie, “Even if people don't buy cookies, I appreciate their kindness.”
More than anything, Alexandria wanted people to know that Girl Scout cookie sales “actually help us give back to the community. It helps people in need. My favorite thing is helping people in need.”
The three girls also noted that Wednesday, when online sales began locally, was International Women's Day, a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 to focus on the women's rights movement and draw attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive
rights and violence and abuse against women.
Alexandria said she learned in class Wednesday that Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, reminded her husband to advocate for women's rights in the late 1700s.
A visitor to the group reminded them of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, passed in 1920.
“We're grateful for all the people who have fought for the rights of women,” said Alexandria.
To buy cookies, visit https://digitalcookie. girlscouts.org/scout/ troop30175-636?fpkp=1.