By Autumn Jarrett
For six weeks each year, Girl Scouts in Arizona participate in the world’s largest girl-led entrepreneurial program: The Girl Scout Cookie Program. This year, the cookie season for the Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council (GSACPC) began Jan. 18 and continues until Feb. 28. As in years past, 100% of all GSACPC Cookie proceeds stay local to benefit Girl Scouting in Arizona.
“Given COVID-19, GSACPC has developed new and different scenarios and ways for girls to sell cookies safely,” says Tamara Woodbury, CEO of GSACPC. “We are extremely proud to be able to offer our girls both a sense of normalcy in a near-year that has been anything but normal, and a means to help girls grow their entrepreneurial, public speaking, financial and other skills through this modified take on our cookie program.”
Digital Cookie App Opens Early
Through this digital selling platform, girls build a custom website, and then they invite friends and family they know to purchase cookies via email marketing, with the option of having cookies delivered via contactless pick-up and drop-off or shipped directly to their home. Girls can also use the Digital Cookie Mobile App to accept credit card payment from customers on-the-go.
“Digital Cookie introduces lessons about online marketing, application use, and eCommerce to Girl Scouts, through building their cookie website and managing their virtual sales,” says Woodbury.
Drive-Thru Booths
Beyond the Digital Cookie offering, local Girl Scout troops will also be coordinating drive-thru booths, with cashless transactions being strongly requested. The drive-thru booths will be in parking lots that allow for plenty of distancing and space for the girls and their parents. Cars will have the chance to pull to the front of the line, make their orders (masks required to make an order), and have the contactless or near contactless ability to pick up their cookies as they would from a traditional booth. There will be parents stationed at each of these booths with sanitizing products to help the girls ensure maximum safety and monitor cookie transfer to cars.
“The girls will not only be selling at these locations but helping market them via signage and other promotions, enabling the girls to flex their creative and communication muscles in a new way,” says Woodbury.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program is more than a sale. It provides girls the skills they need to become successful women. Girl Scouts learn to invest in themselves, their troops, and their community. Encouraging girls’ interest in entrepreneurship prepares them for any future career pathway. The qualities that lead to successful entrepreneurship, like curiosity, confidence, and innovation, are essential for all types of academic and career success. And while girls learn five key skills in the program, this year they’re learning a sixth skill: managing uncertainty.
The 2021 Cookie Season for Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council continues until Feb. 28. Visit gscookiefinder.com and enter your zip code to find a cookie booth near you.
