Girl Scouts put cookie sales earnings to good use

| January 29, 2020 | 1 Comment

DAISIES FROM TROOP 625: Sarah Saffron McCormick, Madeline Cheng, Byrdie Howe, Betty and Georgina Dentler and Lux Saevitz at last year’s cookie sales on Larchmont Boulevard.

It’s time! Time to clear out that pantry shelf you reserved for holiday treats to make room for all of those Girl Scout cookie boxes you’re about to buy. Yep, it’s Girl Scout cookie season!

From Sun., Jan. 26 to Sun., March 8, local Girl Scout troops, including St. James-based Troops #625 and #2115, Pilgrim School-based troop 85, Larchmont Village Girl Scouts (Ambassador troop 495) and their younger troop counterpart, the New Larchmont Village Girl Scouts (Senior Troop 615), will be setting up shop on Larchmont Boulevard in front of Trina Turk, Rite Aid and U.S. Bank, as well as coffee shops, farmers’ markets and grocery stores throughout local neighborhoods, to sell as many cookies as their parents’ car trunks can hold!

The flavors include all-time favorite Thin Mints (vegan), Samoas, Do-si-dos, Toffee-tastic (gluten-free), Shortbread Trefoils, Peanut Butter Patties / Tagalongs, Caramel Chocolate Chip (gluten-free), S’mores, and one new highly-anticipated flavor, Lemon-Ups, a citrus-flavored biscuit with a layer of sweet glaze on one side to balance out the lemony tartness. The Lemon-Ups feature inspiring messages from Girl Scout entrepreneurs, such as “I am a go-getter,” and “I am an innovator” — just two of eight phrases that are pressed into the cookies. The cookies range in price from $5 to $6 per box.

Multiple activities

Amy Miller, co-leader of Larchmont area troops 615 and 495, which include her own daughters Poppy and Bluesette, marvels at the decade that the girls have spent together so far.

“We’ve gone camping in Santa Cruz, Malibu, Crystal Cove, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Catalina… and during those trips the girls have learned how to build a campfire, cook over an open flame, set up and break down (which is the harder part, by the way!) tents, and they even have gone zip-lining and horseback riding.”

Amy is floored by the hard work, dedication and commitment that the 9th grade girls in senior-level Troop 615 and the 10th and 11th grade girls in Ambassador Troop 495, who are now working towards their Gold Star, bring toward service projects and community outreach.

“The girls in both troops helped create a sustainable urban garden in Compton, called Moonwater Farms, because they are very interested in projects that help people and the environment,” she says. “They have an awareness of their neighborhood, community and world and they see how it all fits together. They all go to different schools, but they can come together and talk and compare and realize that they are all concerned about the same issues.”

TROOPS 2115, 625: Back Row Olivia Carson, Leaders, Nicole Hamilton, Amber Carson, Christina Kim and Cecilia Lopez; Middle Row Gabriela Lopez, Frances McTee, Stella Pathak, Harper Monroe, Yeon-Ah Rutherford, Keira Schoenholz; Front row: Madison Lee, Phoebe Quinn, Jean Lee, Biloxi Ware, Rebecca Lopez, and Michaella Armour.

Cookies online

For cookie fanatics who aren’t able to visit the girls at the booths listed above, Girl Scouts offers a couple of digital methods to obtain your cookie fix. Buyers can download the Girl Scout Cookie Finder mobile app to their smartphones to locate nearby booths and access the complete listing of Girl Scout cookies available across the United States and Puerto Rico.

Another online service is The Digital Cookie platform, which allows a Girl Scout to manage her own online sales. Just tell a Girl Scout you know that you’re interested in buying her cookies online, and she’ll take it from there!

So, if you’re in the mood for a box of the Girl Scouts’ world-famous cookies, the time to buy is now. Not only will you satisfy your sweet tooth, you may quite possibly be changing the life of a young girl in your community.

“I love Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles,” says Miller. “These adventures that they undertake help create strong, independent and forward-thinking girls who are learning that they can accomplish whatever they want to do while knowing that they have the support of other strong girls.

“That’s the ultimate goal — to help these girls become women who support each other and lift each other up. I hope they carry that on into womanhood.”

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Category: Entertainment

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  1. Amy Kiehl Miller says:

    Thanks for this great article! I do want to say that my partner in crime, Alysoun Higgins, has been a fabulous GSGLA Leader of Troop 495, and a pleasure to co-lead with these past ten years. Best from, Amy Kiehl Miller

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