Why are more kids joining Girl Scouts this year? 

Simple, because most sports and after school activities are no longer available. Many kids are stuck at home looking for new and safe activities to do outside.

Although the troop members are unable to do any of the trips available last year, like going to the zoo or amusement park, they are still finding ways to safely meet up. Some socially distanced activities for younger troop members looking to get outside included meeting up on the playground, studying nature or doing an art project together. 

“We have gone on hikes with our troops and meetings outdoors,” sixth grade Girl Scout Ava Spencer said. “And we do online meetings  once every other week. We haven’t really done many activities, but we’re still, like, donating food and helping at food pantries.” 

With not being able to do cookie booth sales this year, the troops are overcoming the obstacle and are finding other ways to sell cookies all over the country.

“We had to do everything online and that was our easiest way to sell it,” local scout parent Sarah Leon said. 

Now, almost all of the cookies are being sold on the Girl Scouts Homepage. Each scout helps by making a video of themselves promoting the cookies and sending it to friends and family members over social media. 

“You can send emails, and we’ll ask them if they would like to purchase Girl Scout cookies,” sixth grader and scout brownie Eliza Burgess said. “It’s basically like going door to door, but it’s an online platform.” 

Results are not the same as previous years. Some scouts have had more luck in the new cookie selling business than others.

“I’ve noticed that actually I’ve gotten a lot more sales this year virtually then going door to door,” Burgess said. “There’s a larger time period.” 

All boxes are still marketed the same, at five dollars a box, but now may have extra fees for shipping and handling.

“They can get them shipped right to their house in Texas or in Connecticut or Boston, wherever they are,” Leon said. “When ordering on the website there’s also an option to either get the cookies shipped through the mail, or to have them hand delivered by the scout you bought them from. This adds a level of genuinity that was lost with the break from booths and door to door selling. “

Last year the Girl Scouts accumulated about five million dollars from cookie sales. Along with this money, they also get donations from companies. The companies donate money for advertisement reasons.

Some companies who have donated to the Girl Scouts before sponsored fundraisers in the past. People who paid to participate in the event received lunch as part of the deal. The money raised goes to paying for the activities.

 This year, the Girl Scouts capital in DC held a socially distanced golf tournament. The event raised more than  $120,000, and is projected to be an event held at Army Navy every year in Arlington. 

“They would pay to have a badge created with their logo on it and then it would be pushed out to all the girls across the country to be able to earn that badge,” Carolyn Thompson, Co-Chair of Major Donors Comm said. “They then would do the program associated with the learning and then receive the badge.” 

Though many companies who have previously donated to Girl Scouts have gone under, some new ones have taken their place. This shows new hope for the Girl Scouts next year. Although, cookie sales are down due to decreased demand while everyone is home.

 “The number of boxes they’re going to sell is going to be less, so there’s going to have less funding for their troop activities,” said Thompson. “Which ultimately will translate into less opportunity for them to help other people who might be in need in their individual communities.” 

With the less demand for activities, there will be no camps this summer. Instead, they have decided to refurnish the camps and get them ready for next year. There have been a lot of setbacks and change, but the Girl Scouts are working to create a better, and safer environment for future scouts and make it just as enjoyable for scouts who have been part of the program for a long time. 

“Change comes with a lot of innovation,” Thompson said. “We might not have had a great system in the past for shipping cookies, but now we do. We might not have had great online ordering, but now we do.”