Girl Scouts Need
Cookie Sales

A letter to the editor in last week's Herald suggests making a monetary contribution to Girl Scouts rather than purchasing Girl Scout Cookies. While any support for Girl Scouts is appreciated, the letter contained some unfortunate misconceptions and misinformation.

The amount of cookies in a box has, in fact, not decreased in recent years. The boxes themselves may be smaller due to more efficient use of packaging materials.

Yes, Girl Scout groups keep a portion of the profit from each box of cookies and rely on these profits to fund major activities, camping trips, community service projects, and other events.

Girls receive many other benefits from the sale, including new skills, opportunities to earn badges, and services from their Girl Scout council. In Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council, which covers this area, only 23% of each box of cookies goes back to the bakery. The remaining 77% stays with the local troop, girls, and council.

The Girl Scout cookie sale isn't only a means of earning money for group activities. It is a well-rounded program by which girls learn skills like money management, goal-setting and planning, public speaking and relating to others, and sales and business savvy.

These elements of the sale are important to overall Girl Scout program goals of fostering independence and self-worth, respect and caring for others, and developing meaningful values.

In addition to the profits earned by the troops and by individual girls, Swift Water Council also retains a portion of the profits, which are used for vital support services—without which the local Girl Scout groups simply would not exist. Summer camps, leader training, year-round events and programs for girls, community service programs, financial assistance, and recruitment and group organization are among essential services provided by local councils.

In our area, girls are served by two different councils: Girl Scout Council of Vermont and Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council. Each council sets its own cookie pricing, profit distribution, and "cookie credit" program, so it is worth asking for details if you have any questions about how the sale in your area is managed.

Girl Scouts in your area do need your support, whether through the cookie sale or as a volunteer. Groups always need volunteers to help chaperone group meetings and trips, share a skill or craft, give a talk about visiting or living in another country, manage cookie sales, or just give a needed ride to and from meetings. Please ask your local Girl Scout leader how you can best help support Girl Scouts in your town.

Jennie Clarke

Bethel

Jennie Clarke is the service unit manager of the Karibu Rafiki Service Unit of the of Swift Water Council.