For over 100 years, Girl Scout cookie season has been something to look forward to. Whether stocking up on the classic crispy Thin Mints, or the new Rocky Road inspired Exploremores, an investment in Girl Scout cookies is an investment in the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. Besides the exclusive treat, each box represents the support of a girl learning about herself, her interests, and the world around her.
The story of Girl Scouts began in 1911, with a life-changing meeting in England between a woman named Juliette Gordon Low, “Daisy,” and Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts. Baden-Powell encouraged Low to become involved in the Boy Scouts sister program in England – Girl Guides.
Low did just that and in 1912, she sailed home to Savannah Georgia. One of the first things she did was call her cousin, a school principal.
“I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, and all America, and all the world, and we’re going to start it tonight!” Low told her cousin.
The first troop of 18 Girl Guides was formed in Savannah and the program grew quickly. The name of the U.S. program was officially changed to Girl Scouts in 1913. And in 1922, a national fundraiser was held that not only raised money but changed the culinary landscape forever. Homemade cookies were sold for 25-30 cents a dozen.
Girl Scout cookies and the sales process have evolved over the years. For the past few months, the 12 troops in the Cache Service Unit area have been selling cookies online, door-to-door, and at booths at various locations.
The cookie season starts with the cookie rally, a fun event to get the girls excited and informed about their products. The highlight of the rally is the cookie walk, a “fashion walk” with handmade cookie costumes to introduce the flavors and characteristics of the cookies.
Troops set goals for how many cookie boxes they want to sell and are responsible for moving that inventory. The girls set up an online platform that is managed by the Girl Scouts that they can send emails from, set up QR codes, and have limited and supervised social media access to help with sales.
Marsha Campbell, service unit manager for Cache and Rich counties, as well as Tremonton, spoke of five life skills that girls learn and develop over the cookie sales process:
- Goal-setting – The girls set the sales goals and then figure out how to achieve them.
- Decision-making – Based on their goals, the girls make decisions on how many booths they need and what will sell the most cookies.
- Money management – Girls are taught to make a budget, about the price of merchandise and how to count back change. Older girls are taught how to navigate digital financial programs.
- People skills – Girls are taught how to be confident in their approach.
- Business ethics – Girls are taught the value of honesty and responsibility as well as the polite and ethical way to respond to tough questions.
“I really feel those five skills are all in play, starting with the Daisies, who are the kindergarten and first graders, up to the high schoolers,” Campbell said.
There are six levels of Girl Scouts based on grade level: Daisies (K-1st), Brownies (2nd-3rd), Juniors (4th-5th), Cadettes (6th-8th), Seniors (9th-10th) and Ambassadors (11th-12th). Each level comes with its own array of badges and awards the girls can earn. These are reflective of the four pillars of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience: Entrepreneurship, Outdoors, Life Skills, and STEM/STEaM.
As the girls learn entrepreneurship skills through cookie sales, they earn the money necessary to fund the various activities. Each troop gets a certain percentage of each box of cookies sold, and the girls earn activity credits based on the dollar amount they sold. Credits can be used for various Girl Scout activities and/or camp payments.
“Each Girl Scout has their own curiosity, dreams and talents,” a statement reads on the girlscouts.org website. “So when they come together to decide which of the thousands of Girl Scout activities to try, the sky’s the limit. Whether visiting an animal shelter, camping, hosting a dance-off or filming a movie–they’re learning to take risks, trust their gut, and team up with others for good.”
Campbell herself became involved with the Girl Scouts because she wanted to spend time with her granddaughters, doing activities that were not available anywhere else. She quickly came to realize how the Girl Scouts program affects the community and wanted to become more actively engaged.
“We are growing good, strong, girls in our community and the program helps them become better citizens,” Campbell said. “Girl Scouts prepares girls to empower themselves and promotes compassion, courage, confidence, character, leadership, entrepreneurship, and active citizenship.”
Takiah Nish-Nye, a 25 year old young woman from Smithfield, went through the Girl Scouts program, earning the “Gold” award, the highest award given in the program. For her Gold project, Nish-Nye taught several self-defense classes for female peers.
“I was so happy to know I was making a difference in giving women ways to protect themselves and helping them have the confidence to do so,” Nish-Nye said.
Nish-Nye can see the ways that Girl Scouts prepared her for life as an adult such as helping her be ready for things like job interviews and meeting new people in college. She also credits cookie sales for helping her learn many life skills.
“It was especially good for getting used to rejection,” she said. “If someone said no, we’d just try the next person. We learned how to work hard and reach a goal.”
Cookie season has now come to an end for the Cache Service Unit, but save the date – the chance to snag your favorites and support hundreds of girls in the valley will be back at the start of 2027.
For more information about the Girl Scouts program in Utah, including how to join, can be found at www.gsutah.org.