Shawn Kirkpatrick
Opelika Observer
They’re delicious – chocolate over cool mint, lemonade, marshmallow, coconut, shortbread and toffee, the flavors of Girl Scout Cookies. “Sales are going good right now. We have girls every weekend at Lowes, Kroger, Wright’s Market, Piggly Wiggly and Walmart in Opelika,” said Julie Stanley, 7372 Troop Leader. “They’re $4 a box and sales end March 4.” New this year is the promotional, ‘Buy Five or More.’ If someone buys five or more boxes of cookies their name is put into a drawing to win a year worth of cookies.
Girl Scout cookies aren’t just scrumptious. The money that comes from purchases goes toward teaching the girls entrepreneurial and business practices for the future. “Each troop sets their own goals on what they do with their money. Our troop is going to go on a day trip somewhere. We have five places we are looking into,” Stanley said. “Our troop uses part of the money for a community project. We do one a month. Plus uniforms and badges.”
Stanley said each girl learns how to set a personal goal and sets the amount of boxes they want to sell and depending on their age, how to spend their money. “They also learn decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.”
The highest achievement for a girl scout is the Gold Award. It is comparable to the Eagle Scout award. The young women pick their Gold Award projects from the worlds of STEM, education, agriculture, medicine, and more on a local, national, and global level.
Stanley is asking if there are any local businesses that would like the Girls Scouts to set up in front of their store to sell cookies, please call. To buy cookies online go to the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama at www.Girlscoutssa.org.
Next up for Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama is a visit to the State House on March first. Girls from Lee County and across the state will meet with government leaders, observe lawmaking sessions and deliver cookies.