Cara Gillion wore her cookie costume with pride.
The 9-year-old Girl Scout dressed up as a thin mint to sell cookies for her troop in front of Wachovia on Furys Ferry Road.
Though times are tough, people made detours to buy Girl Scout cookies.
"Cookies make people happy. Some people said to keep the change when they gave us twenties," Cara said.
"Our orders have gone up 20 percent this year. Our goal is to sell 5,000 boxes," said Eleonora Gillion, a co-leader for Troop 20387 at Lakeside Service Center.
The troop has already sold more than 4,000 boxes, she said.
Robert Allred bought a case of cookies from Cara's troop -- that's 12 boxes. He's been buying Girl Scout cookies for more than 10 years.
"As long as they're selling, then we'll probably be buying them," Mr. Allred said.
It might seem like child's play, but Girl Scout cookie sales are big business. Last year, Augusta-area troops sold 2.4 million boxes, said Earnie Moore, a sales specialist for Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia in Augusta. Three weeks into this year's sale, troops in the council that includes Augusta, Albany, Athens, Columbus, Macon and Savannah have sold 1.9 million boxes.
At $3.50 a box, the dollars quickly add up.
"I think people just love Girl Scout cookies. We get calls year-round. The economy made a difference, but things are still going well," Ms. Moore said.
"We're really optimistic because we have reached 77 percent of our goal. We know that a lot of people are struggling, but we think that people love Girl Scout cookies enough to help us out," said Lindsey Rivers, a communications representative for Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia.
About 150 local Girl Scouts are participating in the sale, which ends March 22. The Scouts sell seven types of cookies. Thin Mints lead the pack, followed by Samoas (Caramel deLites) and Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties), Ms. Gillion said.
"We've had good booth sales. Sales in general started out a little slow, but things are picking up," said Keisha Martin, a parent volunteer with Troop 27376, which sold cookies at Kroger on Washington Road last weekend.
It isn't only about selling cookies.
"It's more than a fundraiser to us. It's more about business literacy for girls. We are one of the only girls organizations that teaches these types of skills," Ms. Rivers said.
Girl Scouts, who range from kindergarten to high school age, learn entrepreneurial skills, money management and goal setting, she said. The funds are used for supplies, trips and support of charitable causes.
Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.
WANT COOKIES?
Girl Scout troops will be selling cookies from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at:
- Kmart at 1647 Gordon Highway
- All Lowe's and Wal-Mart stores in the Augusta area
- Sam's Club at 596 Bobby Jones Expressway
- Borders at 257 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway
Comments
The cookies taste good and buying them from a little girl makes you feel like you're helping. My daughter is a Girl Scout and we KNOW that the money is going for good activities that will help her and those in her troop be better people. Remember, all of that money doesn't go to the troop, just a small portion...so every sale helps them!
I was a girl scout and I love those cookies.. they bring back happy memories which nowadays does not happen much..
Definitely a win-win situation...when I was a troop leader, the girls learned how to approcah potential cookie customers, learned about each cookie, and practiced different situations. They also sharpened their math skills as well. To the girls, it is much more than earning a badge-they knew they were earning money (and yes, they earn only a percentage for the troop) to pay for arts, crafts, trips, etc. One year, they earned enough to go to Savannah to the Juliette Low home, see the first Girl Scout headquarters, and much more! GO GIRL SCOUTS!!
My daughter has sold about 1200 boxes herself this year so far! Her troop has sold about 5000 boxes this year. Above their goal.
I bet if the public knew how little the girls get a box they may think twice about buying. Girl Scouts uses the girls to push cookies like a dealer with drugs. They continually drop the percentage the girls get (.40 up to .55 a box only if every girl sells at least 235) but yet they make sure they get their profit at 1.50 a box. They do not support the volunteer leaders with any of that money they get but the leaders/parents are financially responsible for those cookies whether they are sold or not and we have to take money out of our own pocket for gas to deliver those cookies, not to mention time. We make more money on car washes and yard sales. Then we have to pay for every girl to go on the trip whether they sell or not. We also have to use the money to pay for badges and activities throughout the year. I am taking my daughter out this year. I have had enough of the child slave labor to fund the corporate monster.
Perhaps you should.
wow, girlscoutmom is bitter! Maybe she should consider how much her daughter loves (or maybe hates) being a girl scout before she does what will make her (the mom) happy. If the child enjoys it she should consider making some sacrafices for her daughter. If the daughter does hate it then mom should have taken her out of it a long time ago!
My daughter loves girl scouts. I love our troop and service unit; however, the politics of girl scouts and the lack of support from council has put a bad taste in my mouth. Council promotes scouting as "for the girls" when in fact they are just using the girls to make money for people who run the show that do nothing "for the girls". I have been a leader for many years and have grown "bitter" as Freeka said because I am tired and burned out of trying to run a troop that will be fun and educational for all of the girls but the financial part of it makes it hard to do anything. We work ourselves to death for council and we get less and less in return. Their profit stays the same, our amount of profit drops every year. We pay for community service projects, badges/uniforms at a high profit, council events at a high profit, cpr/first aid training which is required, the activities to earn the badges, etc, and MAYBE trips. The leaders donate a lot of their own money running the troop, including gas toting those cookies. Council gets their profit, even when the troop can't sell the cookies, but the leader/cookie mom is held financial responsible. Council is worse than the IRS.
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