Disclaimer :: Current Girl Scout Nicole wrote this sponsored post for the Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains. So thrilled to have her in the spotlight on the blog!
As a Girl Scout, I have learned many things over the course of my journey, like teamwork, photography, horseback riding, and cooking. My troop and I get a lot of things out of selling cookies, like people skills, money management skills, and inventive ways to put ourselves out there to attract more sales. I believe this really helps shy Scouts to come out of their shell a little bit, and it gives the younger girls opportunities to learn about selling and buying things.
As for our troop goal this season, we are planning to donate some of our cookie money to a local charity, use some of it for special events and programs, and use the rest to accomplish troop goals for badges, patches, Bronze and Silver Awards, and our TAPs (Take Action Projects). We chose these goals in part because we care deeply about our community. We like to help out however and whenever we can with things like our local Trash Bash, Easter baskets to the homeless, and helping out at one of the two senior living places we visit often. (They are all grandmas and grandpas to us and we love to visit.) The less fortunate always need help, and this is just a few of the many ways for us to show that we care. It feels really good to help and give back to the communities we live in.
When I started selling cookies, I wasn’t the most social person. My mom said I was really shy, and I didn’t really see the point in selling cookies, other than getting cool prizes. Now that I’m older I love to sell cookies and meet my cookie sales goals so that our troop will have money for all of our charity donations and supplies. Cookie sales have also helped me earn the funds for my Summer Girl Scout Equestrian Camp, our troop day trips to places like the Cowgirl Museum’s special Girl Scout Swap-It (Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere), and my Silver Award project.
I am definitely much more confident than I was when I began. I am very proud of how far I have come through Girl Scouts, where I first started as that shy little Daisy in kindergarten. I have definitely learned a lot along the way and have many more social skills from being in Girl Scouts and from selling cookies than I would have by not being a Girl Scout or selling cookies. I can say with great pride that it’s definitely improved my life.
I enjoy selling cookies a bunch, not to mention it’s given me some better cold resistance, ha-ha! Yes, I sat through freezing weather, rain, and a light snow once selling Girl Scout cookies, and instead of not liking it, those were the best times because we received special parental or leader treatment after! When I asked a fellow Scout how she felt about confidence and selling cookies, she told me, “Girl Scouts has definitely made me more confident from when I started. I’ve learned to be more out-there, and I’ve learned a lot of valuable social skills from it too! It’s a super fun experience and I love it whole-heartedly.”
I also became much better at event planning from setting up cookie booths and making signs. I’ve learned a lot about financing by figuring out how to manage the troop’s money, especially by using Sage to take credit card sales from customers. I’ve been able to make better plans for meeting with my friends, and even how to better manage my schoolwork thanks to cookie sales. Selling cookies with my troop has also helped me to manage my allowance money better.
Working in our cookie booths has given me money handling experience similar to running a cash register. When I am in high school and old enough to have a job, I will already have a lot of money handling and customer service experience that will help me to stand above the other job applicants, and may even allow me to start in a higher paying job than most.
Nicole B. loves Girl Scouts! She is a 14 year-old, third year Cadette in the eighth grade who is earning her Equestrian Certification through her Girl Scout Summer Camp’s Equestrian program. She is certified in adult & pediatric CPR, First Aid, and a Certified Babysitter through her Girl Scout’s Red Cross program. She plays the trumpet and is 1st chair in her school’s concert band. When Nicole isn’t engaged in Girl Scout activities, she loves to play video games and watch her favorite TV shows Steven Universe and Gravity Falls. When she gets older, she would like to be a kindergarten teacher.
