Recently in Cookies Category

After one hundred years, Girl Scouts is going strong, and why is that?   Because of you!   You're the best!   We can't say that to you often enough.   We are all glad the cookie program is over and excited about another year of a 10% increase in sales.   You have managed to do that the past three years!   How amazing are the girls of Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama?   Well, pretty amazing!

The spoils of the cookie program go to the girls.  Here's how... We signed the contract today for a new restroom at the horse stables at Camp Scoutshire Woods, which I refer to it as the pretty potty.   No more port-a-potty if you go to horse camp.   The dock on the island at Scoutshire is almost done.   There are six stand-up paddleboards en route to our camps, three for Scoutshire Woods and three for Kamp Kiwanis.   The girls that tried them last year loved these boards, so we're giving girls more opportunity to try them.   The new sail loft is under construction at Kamp Kiwanis, and we are going to test some low zip lines for Kamp Kiwanis and Scoutshire Woods.   We also have purchased a slack line for each camp.   We have replanted Humming Hills and have been working on the buildings to ensure they will be around for a long time to come.  Time for the girls to have some fun with the extra monies they earned!

We are happy to continue to have some great girl events, because that is why we all do this work.   We have more 600 girls signed up for the Girls Rock Mobile event this weekend.   Our fund development staff has been out getting all sorts of things to make the event a huge success.   One of the events we think will be stunning this year is the 100^th anniversary Centennial Bridging Ceremony at the Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery, which features a beautiful huge wooden bridge the City of Montgomery will close for us on that day for that event.  Bridging has been an important part of Girl  Scouting since its earliest days, so if you want to participate in a once-in-a lifetime bridging event, sign up for that one.   If we're lucky, one of our Juliette Gordon Low descendents will be there!   

We know that many of you will be using your cookie earnings for great trips.   Rock the Mall keeps getting bigger and better.   There's a large Girl Scout event at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and we have we have a number of troops attending the Mississippi council event.    Thanks for all you do to make the world a better place!

A Cookie mom's experience at a recent booth sale.  It's a lovely story!

I've worked for Girl Scouts for almost 10 years, and if there's one thing I know, it's that the first weekend of cookie booth sales is BIG.  What I didn't know until yesterday, when I captained my first booth sale at a local Wal-Mart with my Daisy daughter and her fellow troop members, was just how big an impact it could have on me.

Sure, I know that loading 20 cases of cookies isn't easy and sitting out in the hot sun with five-year-olds for two hours can certainly be a challenge.  However, I wasn't prepared for the wonderful outpouring of support from our community.  It was amazing to see how many people told us they just couldn't resist those sweet smiles our girls gave when they asked said "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?," or how many ladies and gentleman stopped by on the way into Wal-Mart to make a promise to buy cookies on their way out of the store (and, yes, our girls only asked them on their way out).  I also was overcome by the number of folks who said they couldn't afford a box of cookies, but gave us a dollar or a couple of quarters, instead.

One such individual, though, really touched my heart.  I had noticed the man in tattered clothes sitting outside Wal-Mart as I pulled up to drop of our cookies.  He was smiling at folks as they walked in, just watching the busy Saturday afternoon scene.  I assumed he was homeless, but didn't have much time to think about it as we busily shuffled cookies and got ready for our sale.  Toward the end of our shift, the gentleman walked up, simply handed our girls a dollar, smiled and said "good luck." It touched me, and our other parents, that this man, obviously hard on his luck, could be so generous to our girls.

I was relating this story to my parents that evening, and my father, who volunteers with our local homeless coalition, said he had heard of the man we'd seen, and that, yes, he is homeless.  He was laid off from his job and now spends his time at Wal-Mart, and even helps bus tables at a local fast-food restaurant, just to keep busy until he finds a job. Well, the gentleman will be rewarded for his dollar given to our troop, as I have arranged for him to receive a box later this week.  Such a generous, selfless act should not go unnoticed and certainly serves as a teachable moment for our girls.

Girl Scouts are blessed to have the support of many strangers.  It is through their kindness that our organization survives and our girls are able to develop courage, confidence and character.  I hope you can find such inspiration in your work during this busy cookie season, and I wish you many happy booth sales.  Look forward to seeing you out there!

I was at a meeting last week where we had a troop of Brownies visit to sell us Girl Scout cookies.   They brought paper carnations they had made in green.   Each one went up to those in the room, individually, talked to the person, took their order and returned with money in hand to have the order filled. 

 It was a wonderful thing. The girls were excited about being there, and all the folks in the room were excited to have them there.   The girls were talking to strangers without fear, having a decent exchange of information.   I saw girls counting money and making change with their leader.   There was a lot of learning going on in those conversations.   There also were cases of cookies sold at this encounter, but, more than that, I watched girls learning self confidence.   It takes courage if you are a Brownie to talk to someone you don't know, and by doing so, they are investing in their own education.

I've heard some fun stories about the walkabouts through neighborhoods.   I've also heard stories about people's vicious dogs, not so pleasant responses and how ugly people can sometimes be.   But if you ask, have they learned anything, Daisy through Ambassador, I'm sure the response will be the same -- yes, they have learned.   They know more about themselves, they know more about how to set goals and achieve them, and they are more in tune with what is possible.

So, when you trip over that case of cookies in your house and think you cannot stand to see another one, just remember, those cookies have the power to change the world.   GSUSA estimates that the cookie program generates $700,000,000 across the US annually.    Think what girls can do with that!

 Okay, we are almost three weeks into the cookie program. Does it feel like an eternity to you yet?   Have cookies taken over your dreams?   Well, even if that's the case, so far everyone has done excellent work!  

I've tried to talk to as many volunteers as I can while they load cookies, and generally the conversation goes something like, "I was trying to unload cookies to a parent in a parking lot, someone saw the cases, came by and purchased two cases before I got them loaded."   Or my personal favorite, "I sold some cookies to some of my friends; they have now eaten them and are back for more."

Despite any chaos, you have successfully survived the first payment.   We have heard over and over again that, what makes you crazy about this isn't that you need to pay for the cookies, but chasing that errant parent or two in your troop who doesn't pay.   You have to bug them; you have to nag them; you have to call them again, and it makes you CRAZY!   And further, this is the same parent that drops their daughter off late, picks her up late, cancels attending an event the troop has paid for, or worse, forgets to tell you she isn't coming and you sit waiting.   At this point, you are entitled to the PRIMAL SCREAM!

Most of the volunteers I talk to, at some point in the conversation, talk about this very parent, and almost all troops have at least one them.   They are not necessarily apologetic about it.   When you are most frustrated with the hassle, it is this parent that you believe might well just send you over the edge!   SCREAM NOW!

So guess what, you are going to get your reward.   For 30 years I worked in student discipline at a college.   I would meet the student and think, "wow, they are impossible."   When things got really bad with the student, I got to meet their parents.   My conclusion was that, at least with the student, I had a chance for some change.   Too often the child was simply a lesser version of the parents, and some of the parents were pretty scary, and this was a very expensive university.  

You, as a volunteer, are getting the opportunity to change how it turns out.   You are going to do your level best to be sure that girl from the impossible parents doesn't turn into one.   You have made the world a better place.   And thanks for always being patient, always understanding and trying to make the best of a situation that is very hard.   It shows who you really are.   It's okay if you need to SCREAM again, we totally understand. We do it, too. 

The cookies are here!   Happily, we are busy loading them into cars, trucks, and right now there's a U-Haul in the back parking lot.   That's FANTASTIC!   Eric, our new PR director, was working on 45-second videos yesterday on what a cookie can do.  

1^st Deadline for the Troop Cookie Bonus:

Friday, Nov 18, is the deadline to turn in a signed Position Description and to log in to SNAP and complete the Troop Information page.  

Hurry, we don't want you to miss out on these first requirements to earn the Cookie Bonus!

This form may be completed, signed electronically and emailed to your SU Cookie Chair.  

http://www.girlscoutssa.org/forms/cookies2011/11_Troop_Cookie_Chair.pdf

Then, log in to SNAP at  www.abcsnap.com and complete your troop information page.

All troops that had SNAP IDs and passwords last year, can simply go into SNAP (using the same email address as last year) and retrieve a forgotten password. 

New troops should get their password from their SU Cookie Chair.