What's Your Favorite Girl Scout Cookie?

Girl Scouts sell cookies primarily to fund their own activities and to participate in a massive entrepreneurial training program that teaches essential life skills.

1. Funding Local Activities

100% of the net proceeds from cookie sales stay within the local Girl Scout council and the specific troop that made the sale. This money is used for: 

• Troop Adventures: Funding trips, camping, horseback riding, and STEAM projects.
• Community Service: Buying supplies for local projects, such as donating to animal shelters or food pantries.
• Council Operations: Maintaining Girl Scout camps and properties, and providing financial aid for membership dues or uniforms for families in need. 

2. Developing “The 5 Skills”

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. It is designed to teach five core business and leadership skills: 

• Goal Setting: Planning how many cookies to sell and what to do with the money.
• Decision Making: Working as a team to decide where to sell and how to spend earnings.
• Money Management: Handling customer money and creating budgets.
• People Skills: Finding their voice and building confidence through direct customer interaction.
• Business Ethics: Learning to act honestly and responsibly in business dealings. 

3. Historical Origins

The tradition began in 1917 with the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The girls baked cookies at home and sold them in their high school cafeteria to fund a service project. This grassroots effort eventually grew into the nationwide commercial program it is today, with the first licensed commercial bakers starting in the mid-1930s. 

What's Your Favorite Girl Scout Cookie? was originally published on majicatl.com