By: Samantha Mellman
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – at least for those with a sweet tooth – as area
Girl Scout troops bring out the colorful boxes of cookies to sell.
Three weeks out
of the year we see our local friendly Girl Scouts’ selling those delectable
cookies we have all come to know and cannot resist. The big question we may face when
we meet them is, how many boxes will we buy? But the bigger question should be what
are you donating to?
“Every year the girls who sell the cookies earn troop proceeds and they actually decide
what they want to do with their money,” said Melinda Glasco, director of marketing
and communications for the Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. “They can decide to
take a really great, fantastic educational trip, many of them actually reinvest in the
community and use it towards their community service project, some of them donate it to
organizations that they have worked with throughout the year they can do fun things such
a trip to sea-world.”
Last year the troops in Southeast Florida earned more than $1 million, she said.
The annual Girl Scout cookie sale is about more than how many boxes of Thin Mints,
Samoas and Tagalongs are sold. The bigger aim of the cookie sale program, troop leader
Nina Heckerthorne said, is to teach the Girl Scouts business skills and interaction with
people.
“Girl scouting is really about teaching them life skills, values, and how to be strong
powerful women,” said Heckerthorne, a first-year leader of Girl Scout Troop 20912 in
Boca Raton.
Troop 20912 has 15 members – five Daisies and nine Brownies.
The program’s five key goals are goal setting, decision making, money management,
people skills and business ethics.
“What I try to strive for my girls every day is that anybody can become a leader, be
strong, and grow from your experiences,” Heckerthorne said. “I was a Girl Scout as
a child and I remember how fulfilling it was to be with a group of girls who felt like
sisters.”
The tradition of the cookie sale is entering its 80th year with the first cookie being sold
in 1933. Back then Girl Scouts baked their cookies at home. Now the cookie sale is a
nationwide effort and become a yearly tradition that people look forward to.
Madison Hernandez is in her fifth year as a scout. She has enjoyed the many field
trips and friends she has made along the way.
“The fairy tale camp out was my favorite, we each got to take a fairy home,”
Madison, 10, said.
To learn more about how you can be part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience by
visiting http://www.gssef.org, or by calling 1-561-427-0177.
