Girl Scout cookies available to buy online
Girl Scout cookies are still available online
Girl Scout cookies sales on the North Coast were well underway when the COVID-19 crisis accelerated in this area.
Locally, there are 37 troops in Humboldt County and 10 in Del Norte County. To protect the hundreds of local Girl Scouts — as well as the communities they represent — door-to-door cookie sales and cookie booths were suspended in mid-March.
“We chose to cancel inperson cookie program activities on March 12 and to absorb the financial impact of troops’ cookie packages that went unsold due to pandemic-related concerns,” said Gwen Shapiro, regional cookie manager for Humboldt and Del Norte counties. (Both counties are part of the Girl Scouts of Northern California council.)
Online cookie sales, however, continued for another week for local Girl Scouts. (These Girl Scouts have been using web-based cookie storefronts since 2015 and, during the 2020 cookie program, since Jan. 25.)
“We extended the digital cookie direct ship one week,” Shapiro said, “allowing girls to safely sell online during the final days of the cookie program in our council. Many of our troops and girls promoted their online businesses through highlighting donations to first responders, hospitals and free school lunch programs during this time.”
Even though local Girl Scouts have wrapped up their sales for 2020, there are still cookies available online being sold by other troops.
“Our council was lucky that the majority of our product campaign was completed before things got very difficult,” said Cheryl Kingham, Redwood Service Unit leader support and program manager. “There are many other councils around the country who have now lost the opportunity to have their cookie program and the GSUSA’s launch of a digital platform for ordering is an attempt to help many councils have some type of cookie fundraising.”
Folks who would still like to buy their Samoas, Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos and other sweet treats can order them at www.girlscouts.org/en/ cookie-care.html and have them shipped to their door.
“Local folks can still order cookies online from our sister councils,” Shapiro said. “Customers will enter their zip code and choose from the closest participating councils. All revenue and package credit will go to the chosen council. GSNorCal’s online cookie program has ended.” (Online orders will be delivered by UPS or FedEx.)
Cookie sales are not the only Girl Scout program affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kingham.
“Just as big an issue beyond cookie sales for us now is our inability to hold troop meetings or area events,” she said. “I had to cancel our annual HSU Marine Day, … our 15th annual HSU Society of Women Engineers STEM Exploration Day, the Guys and
Dolls Dance, Mother/Daughter Tea Party, first aid trainings for older girls and adult volunteers, wilderness and remote first aid training for older girls and adult volunteers, in-person troop meetings, … our annual Awards and Recognition Volunteer Ice Cream Social and, most disappointing of all, our annual International Festival, which normally sees 150 to 180 girls from all over the area joining to celebrate the global nature of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides.”
Kingham added: “My Service Unit is now offering a ‘Virtual Troop Meeting’ badge to all troops who figure out a way to continue to move forward on badge work, activities or just staying in touch through conference calls, Zooms or other digital and social media. So far, four of my 14 troops are doing just that with the help of tech-savvy older girls or young adult volunteers.
“While all area Girl Scouts are out of school and struggling with the lack of social contact with friends, teachers and doing home school, reaching out and communicating is very important,” Kingham said.