Every March, I get in the spirit for that four-leaf green shape. No, not the St. Patty’s Day shamrock, the other one – the clover symbol for the Girl Scouts of the USA.
It’s cookie season, folks, right smack in between “New Year’s Resolutions” and “beach weather.” Has there ever been a stronger test of will and resolve? Thin Mints (or as I call them, ‘Fatty Mints’) are my personal kryptonite. I keep them in the freezer and try in earnest to reserve them for sweet-craving emergencies.
The Girl Scouts really have a good thing going: in exchange for making a paltry donation to an excellent organization that empowers young girls and women toward leadership, you get to indulge in some of the best cookies money can buy.
It’s so easy to tell yourself ‘It’s for the good of the Girl Scouts,’ so much so that the organization also offers an option to simply donate money without receiving any cookies. In many areas, folks can pay to donate their box of cookies to a food bank or other group in need – which is a great option if you’re looking for an excuse not to get cookies. But who’s looking for that?
This year, rather than the pre-orders of the past, the Girl Scouts are getting the cookies and just selling them straight away. While this can alleviate the damage I’ve done in years past, (“Eleven boxes of Thin Mints? Did I really order that?”) the Scouts have gotten savvy.
They also feature an Online Cookie Finder that will direct you to cookie sales booths in your area. A little Girl Scout, no older than 8, approached me with her cookie cart as I was walking into the office. When I tried to run in the other direction claiming I had no cash, she whipped out her little phone, complete with Square reader. “We take cards, too,” she informed me. Girls in leadership, indeed! I certainly didn’t have those kinds of sales tools when I was a Girl Scout.
Perhaps no cookie sale has been more successful than this year’s Oscars ceremony. Host Chris Rock brought out his daughters to sell cookies to the wealthy Hollywood audience. A smart move – most of those folks probably hadn’t eaten a carb in weeks!
When all was said and done, the girls made over $65,000 selling Tagalongs and Samoas to the Silver Screen’s elite. With so many ladies and gentlemen in white shirts and gowns, I would have recommended the shortbread cookies. It can’t be easy getting chocolate fingerprints out of Armani.
Happy Monday,
~Mary
