RALEIGH — The most delicious time of year is here: The 2017 Girl Scout Cookie Program, which kicks-off Saturday, Jan. 14.
With this year marking 100 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies, Girl Scouts are celebrating a century of the world’s largest girl-led business with the delicious unveiling of Girl Scout S’mores™ cookies. The s’mores-inspired treat features a crispy graham cookie double-dipped in a crème icing and enrobed in a chocolatey coating. This clever take on the time-honored campfire tradition was developed in response to popular consumer trends. It is vegan, and free of artificial colors, preservatives, and partially hydrogenated oils. The new cookie joins classics such as Thin Mints™ and Shortbread™.
Participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program is a long-held and cherished tradition for girls, families, volunteers, and customers. For the last century, Girl Scouts have been using the power of the cookie to help build everyday leaders and make the world a better place. From traveling to new places like Europe or Costa Rica, to funding community service projects and philanthropy efforts, to attending skill-building programs in STEM, financial literacy, healthy living, and environment stewardship – the Girl Scout Cookie Program supports girls on their path to leadership while broadening their experiences and opportunities.
Just ask Girl Scout Troop No. 285 — the girls sold almost 10,000 boxes of cookies to fund a backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail.
“Girls purchased ultralight gear and spent four days in July on the Appalachian Trail, along with biking 20 miles on the Virginia Creeper Trail,” said Karen Stump, troop leader. “The rising sixth- and seventh-grade girls became proficient in setting up their backpacking tents, meal planning and cooking, packing packs and more. They summited Mt. Rogers, the highest point in Virginia at 5,728 feet and their longest day involved eight miles of backpacking — carrying all their own gear, food and water.
“Women are few and far between in the backcountry, and girls are nearly nonexistent,” Stump added. “This trip allowed them to feel amazingly strong and special, and confident that they can do anything.”
Everything girls do in Girl Scouting is designed to help them grow into women of courage, confidence, and character who will make the world a better place – and the Cookie Program is no different! The Girl Scout Cookie Program is a true financial literacy program, teaching girls essential skills to succeed personally and professionally, including goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. These five skills are important ingredients in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Through the program, girls become leaders in business and sales, learn how to manage finances, and gain self-sufficiency and confidence in handling money.
“Through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, girls are able to fund unique leadership experiences that build them into bold and courageous young women who make the world a better place,” said Kelly Griffin, product sales director, Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines. “Girls not only have a blast decorating cookie booths and selling alongside friends, they also learn real world skills that help them become innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Every box of cookies purchased is an investment in girls and provides life changing opportunities that show every girl and every voice can make an impact on the world.”
Girls decide how to spend their troop cookie proceeds, which could include traveling across the world or across the state exploring new cultures and customs, donating items and serving dinner at a local soup kitchen (or funding another community service project), or spending a week at summer camp discovering the magic of the great outdoors – girls are able to have amazing experiences and pursue their leadership development thanks to support raised each year through the Cookie Program. Because 100 percent of the net revenue raised through the Girl Scout Cookie Program stays with the local council and troops, customers who purchase Girl Scout Cookies are not only getting a delightful treat — they are also making an important investment in their communities.
The Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines’ Cookie Program will run through Sunday, March 5. Locally, all Girl Scout Cookie varieties are $4 per box. To find cookies on sale near you, visit www.girlscouts.org/cookies.
