Cookies, Cool Camps, & Community
March 02, 2023
By Cheran H, Troop 8240
Girl Scouts are known for their awesome uniforms and unique badges, but these badges cost money. This is where cookies come into play. What does cookie money from customers pay for and how does each purchase benefit others?
I began selling cookies in kindergarten as a cute little Daisy. We sold a lot of cookies and I learned that of all the flavors, Thin Mints are my favorite! We used the funds to go to the Perot Science Museum and the Dallas Art Museum. We were able to go on a shopping spree at the Girl Scout Store where we learned about SWAG. Our blue vest was loaded with patches!
When you're a Daisy, cuteness sells cookies. People don’t say no when you throw your sales pitch, “we’ve got cookies, yes we do-we’ve got cookies, how about you?” Being a Brownie, you have to change your game plan. Overnight camping becomes an option and therefore the amount of cookies sold becomes important. We learn to sell with confidence. We take pre-orders with our marketing skills. We approach people because we’re true entrepreneurs.
By the time you’re a Junior and older, you make new friends and keep the old. Cookies are no longer about getting patches and cool merchandise. Camping with Texas Oklahoma Plains takes on another level. I have been to Stevens Ranch, Coyote Ranch, Jellystone Park, and several other camps. We canoe, ride horses, white water raft, fish, hike, take exclusive tours, and go to petting zoos. [Cookie] Money is spent to go rock climbing, swim, do obstacle courses, painting, archery, and rock climbing. We do all the camp stuff that is done in movies. I won a Cookie Diva Trip to California and was able to meet the Full House Cast and go to studios that filmed all your favorite Warner Brother’s Productions.
Giving back to the community happens every time we get together. It doesn’t matter what you look like; it doesn’t matter what you wear; we come together and get things done. We do parades, clothing drives, toy drives, book drives, and collecting items for the Humane Society. Sometimes physical labor is used to clean up a park, restore a garden, or build a little library. A memorial bench was constructed by Abigail to honor Sharron Williams. We go caroling and visit retirement homes and that is something that makes everyone smile. Sometimes making a Valentine card for the sick and shut-in is just as much fun as supporting the small business that we go to when we have our scheduled meetings.
