It’s Cookie Time

Yes, it is that time of year when the girls of GSSJC canvas the entire Council taking orders for those delicious cookies. Before you send your girls out, please make sure you rehearse the safety tips associated with taking cookie orders. After receiving hints from several long time cookie volunteers the following tips were compiled.

Of course, we know that girls should not go out alone, but that safety tip, while always applied to Brownies, is sometimes overlooked by Cadettes and Seniors. The buddy system is not only for camp, it applies to all aspects of Girl Scouting. A responsible adult should be accompanying all girls.
We know there is a parent agreement that must be signed before girls are allowed to sell cookies, but did you know that you need a separate permission slip to have girls at each cookie shop? As an adult in charge of Girl Scouts away from a troop meeting, you want to have the written permission of the parents while you are responsible for that girl.

At your cookie shop, you need to make sure the girls are well supervised. You should always have two adults at a cookie shop, just as you should at any Girl Scout activity. If your cookie shop site has more than one entrance, make sure there are adults at both entrances. We don’t want our girls at one door with the adults sitting at another. We also want to make sure the girls understand that there are boundaries they must stay within. Draw an imaginary line around the area of the girls’ shop, and make sure your girls all understand where those boundaries are. Too many times little girls get excited about getting the next customer and step out of the safety zone of the sidewalk and end up on the curb or in the parking lot or street. It’s our job to make sure they are kept safe.

Please, when making plans for shops, remember that the girls don’t need to be out selling cookies in the late evening. People have noted really tired little Brownies in front of stores at times. We want them to enjoy their selling experiences and a tired Brownie is no fun, for sure!

Things you need to have with you at a shop are: permission slip for that activity, medical forms, and first aid kit, in addition to the paperwork required to run a cookie shop.

We want our girls that are selling cookies to be good representatives of Girl Scouting. They need to be recognized as Girl Scouts by wearing their uniforms if at all possible. Girls will always sell more cookies if they are in uniform. If not in a uniform, please make sure they are wearing their sash or vest. But as a safety precaution, make sure they are not wearing anything with their names on it.

As you train your girls on the safety rules, make sure you cover the behavior rules as well. Showing respect to the businesses that let us come in and sell our cookies will help insure that we are able to return to that business the following year. Always ask the manager of the policy before letting girls go into a store for a bathroom break. Make sure the girls are supervised when inside a store, also. As previously stated, we want to give a good impression of Girl Scouting in our community.

Whew! And you thought it was just a matter of taking orders and collecting money!