By Amy Batista, Special Writer
It’s that time of year again. Girl Scout Cookies are on sale.
The annual sale of Girl Scout Cookies for the central and southern New Jersey area began on Jan. 14 and continues through March 6.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program remains the largest financial literacy program for girls in the country generating $790 million in sales, according to a press release from Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey.
The regional group represents girls who live in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex and Salem counties and parts of Monmouth County and serves more than 19,000 girls.
The East Windsor Area Girl Scouts (EWAGS) have 47 active troops and serves 323 girls and 211 volunteers.
“We have 33 troops and 1 Juliette troop selling,” said EWAGS Cookie Manager Siri Heinrichs.
She said that last year 43 troops participated in the cookie sale and they sold 39,060 packages of cookies in their service unit. Of that, $26,839 raised went back to troops locally, she said.
The baker is ABC Bakers of Richmond, Virginia. ABC is one of two licensed Girl Scout Cookie bakers that serve councils across the country, and is the oldest and most experienced licensed Girl Scout Cookie baker, according to the organization.
It became “Official Girl Scout Cookie Bakers” in 1937. Each council may choose its baker independently each year, according to its website.
From local businesses to popular shopping malls, Girl Scouts will be setting up cookie booths for the annual fundraising program. Girl Scout Cookie sellers from all around the area lined up their cars at the Sunny Delight warehouse on Corn Road in Dayton last Friday and Saturday to pick up initial cookie orders.
Volunteers, service unit managers, Girl Scouts, and dads volunteered to help lend a hand distributing cookies for those who came to pick up the initial orders.
Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbreads, Caramel deLites, Lemonades, Thanks-A-Lots, Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Cranberry Citrus Crisps can be purchased from the Girl Scout troops for $4 per box. Select locations will also be selling a limited supply of the gluten-free Trios cookie, introduced last year, which has chocolate chips nestled in a gluten-free peanut butter oatmeal cookie and is available for $5.
The Lemonade cookie is celebrating its 10th birthday this year.
Buying Girl Scout Cookies is more than just handing over money for a box, according to the organization.
For a Girl Scout, it’s about the skills a girl learns and gains from interacting directly with the public, mirroring the experience of running her own cookie business and working with others.
EWAGS Cadette Olivia Giblin, 12, of East Windsor, recalls how her experience as a Daisy was intimidating, but by being involved has helped her overcome her shyness.
“When I joined the Girl Scouts in kindergarten, it was very intimidating to me because I am so shy. However, over the years, being involved in the sales has helped me to overcome that, of which I am very proud,” she said.
She said that she sells cookies to help raise money for her troop so that it can go on camping trips and do other fun things.
“The cookie sales fund a lot of our activities,” she said. “Every year I make my goal to try to sell 100 more cookies than I sold the previous year. I use the Girl Scouts online cookie tracker to help stay on my goal. I also offer free delivery and mailing.”
She said her goal this year is to sell 600 boxes of cookies. Her personal favorites are Thin Mints and Lemonades, she added.
“I love being a Girl Scout because we do a lot of my favorite activities, like community service outreach, going camping, art and crafts, cooking, ice skating, and adventure sports like rock climbing and zip lining,” she said. “I am also so grateful for my amazing troop leaders and to be part of a group with some incredible young ladies.”
For Olivia, the highlight of selling cookies is all the support she receives from her family, friends and neighbors.
“I really appreciate it,” she said. “It is truly a team effort, and I have people that commit to buying from me every year.”
EWAGS Brownie Troop 71485 member Kayla Lewis, 8, of Monroe said she likes participating in the cookie sales because the girls learn how to manage money and talk to people.
“I set goals in the beginning. I set it to a number like 300 because it helps me get started and once I hit that number I increase my goal,” she said.
For Kayla, the highlight of the cookie season is going door-to-door, texting, calling and emailing all of her friends and family. She said her favorite cookies are Thanks A Lots and shortbread.
Her sister in EWAGS Junior Troop 70210, Namia Lewis, 11, of Monroe said she likes participating in the cookie sales because it teaches her how to run a business and that will help her in the future.
“I set goals by siting down with my mom and pick a number I can hit for sure and a higher number that will challenge me to sell more,” she said. “If I reach both goals, I continue to increase the number.”
For Namia, the highlight of the cookie season is setting goals and especially reaching them because it means she worked hard and tried her best. Her favorite cookie is the Thanks-A-Lot because they have the shortbread and the chocolate together, she said. “Some of the ways I reach my goals are selling at school, emailing my parents friends from Facebook, going to booths and talking to people at church,” she said.
East Windsor Area Girl Scouts Juniors Troop Leader 70210 and Cookie Manager Michelina Thornton said that selling cookies is a great experience for the girls to see first hand what it takes to run their own business.
“Each girl has their own way of approaching it,” she said. “It is very important to help the girls learn leadership qualities, but also to financially help the troop plan trips and the money pays for the costs of badges and supplies that go into planning bi-monthly meetings,” she said.
Ms. Thornton said that their troop brainstorms places and activities they’d like to do.
“They decide what charity they’d like to donate to and one big trip and other smaller activities they’d like to do,” she said. “We narrow down the list and then choose a few we can really accomplish.”
She said that they create a budget of how much it would cost and then set a troop goal.
“Each girl then sets their own goal based on realistic numbers from previous years selling,” she said. “We work hard from there selling and reaching out to people to buy cookies.”
Ms. Thornton has nine girls in her troop.
“Last year we used the money to go on an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge,” she said. “We went on the EWAGS camping trip and the funds were used to pay for all troop badges and supplies.”
She said that selling at cookie booths can be difficult due to weather conditions.
“The girls brave the elements and work hard to sell the cookies,” she said. “Each sale makes a difference to what the girls can accomplish as a troop. All support is appreciated.”
Ms. Heinrichs also agreed when it comes to the weather and getting support.
“Our girls benefit from the sales and it gets pretty cold selling in the winter so anything people can do to support us is greatly appreciated,” she said.
Another EWAGS Troop Cadette leader, Tracy Koegler, who has nine girls, also agreed on how important the cookie sale is.
“Our troop sets goals at our first Girl Scout meeting of the year,” she said. “We sit down together and work on what we would like to accomplish and achieve such as their journeys, community service, and volunteering.”
She said they also decide on trips, camping and badge work.
“The cookie sales help achieve our goals to raise money,” she said. “The more money we raise, the less out of pocket expense for the parents and girls.”
She said that last year they set a goal to go to the 2015 Hershey Park Camp-O-Ree overnight and that their cookie sale money covered 70 percent of the trip.
For Ms. Thornton, the highlight of the cookie season is watching the girls set goals for themselves and figuring out how to reach them.
“They work really hard and get so excited when they hear the updates at each meeting of how close we are to the troop goal,” she said.
For Ms. Koegler, the highlight of the cookie season is watching the girls thrive, supporting their community partners and the booths.
“My troop is now at the Cadette level and they completely run the booth from inventory of cookies to sales and finance,” she said. “It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that I had a part in that as their troop leader. They are reaching for their stars.”
Along with local booth sales, the Girl Scouts will also be taking cookie sales digital through the Digital Cookie Platform. Through this platform, local Girl Scouts will be able to take cookie orders from customers and automate cookie shipments through a unique transaction application designed specifically for Girl Scouts., according to a press release.
“The iconic Girl Scout Cookie Program helps today’s girls learn business and life skills. At each level, components are built into the program to help girls develop leadership, business and goal setting skills, along with money management,” said Ginny Marino, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ in a press release. “Our girls are even moving into a new generation of business with online sales. The platform offers an online experience that allows Girl Scouts to manage digital dashboards to track their sales and goals.”
Girls Scouts will also sponsor the Taste of Home Program a service project for sending Girl Scout Cookies to soldiers overseas and the Share in the Community Program, where a girl identifies an organization like a senior center, veterans’ hospital or food bank that she would like to see be the recipient of donated Girl Scout Cookies.
Consumers can purchase additional cookies to donate to either program.Last year, 1,890 cases of Girl Scout Cookies were purchased for the soldiers and donated through the Taste of Home Program, an 8.5 percent increase from 2014. The 2016 Girl Scout cookie donation goal is 2,000 cases. Consumers can purchase additional cookies from any Girl Scout to donate to the military, according to the organization.
The following businesses will be hosting a booth this cookie season in the East Windsor Girl Scouts Service Unit Area – ShopRite, Walmart, 12 Farms Restaurant, Americana Diner, Attitudes Hair Salon, East Windsor Bowl & Recreation Center, Cranbury Pizza, Crock-A-Deli, Dunkin Donuts, East Coast Martial Arts, Hightstown Diner, Hightstown Hot Bagels, Hightstown Post Office at their bench on the sidewalk, GameStop, Moe’s, Prestige Diner, Sal’s Pizza, Smashburger, Starplex Movie Theater, Teddy’s Restaurant, Walgreens, and Wawa at the last weekend of February. The girls will also be at a bench out in front of the Wells Fargo Bank and Tavern on the Lake at various times in downtown Hightstown.
Other businesses were approached but did not want to participate or were unable to due to corporate policies. If you would like to participate and support the local Girl Scouts, please contact EWAGS Cookie Booth Coordinator Mario Batista at smokeyfd91@verizon.net to set up days and times to have a booth run at your location.
To find cookies near you, visit the cookie booth locator at www.girlscoutcookies.org or download the mobile app available for Android and Apple devices. To learn more about the sale, visit www.gscsnj.org.
