By Aubrie Sisk
Photographer
@aubrie_sisk
Saturday morning, Girl Scout Troop 4887 heads out to Tom Thumb to sell Girl Scout Cookies. Most shoppers are accustomed to buying these treats and do not notice the price increase. They just buy them to support the Girl Scouts and for the desserts.
This year the price for one box of cookies raised to $4 from their original price of $3.50, which means 50 cents go back to the girls. Over the years, the price has slowly risen but many people don’t want the price to go over the current $4.
Although some people are unhappy about the higher prices, Coppell High School sophomore Taylor Dubey has a different opinion.
“When I buy Girl Scout cookies, I don’t feel that I’m just paying $4 for a box of cookies, but I’m also giving money to the troop,” Dubey said. “My younger sister was a Girl Scout so I know how much it means to them.”
Dubey is not alone as many others feel the same way.
“It’s a tradition for my family to buy Girl Scout cookies every year, we couldn’t just break the tradition because the prices raised. My family doesn’t mind too much,” sophomore Maydha Kohli.
The Scout’s cookies are much different than the store bought desserts. They are like an extra treat that also supports a worthwhile organization.
“People are willing to pay more for Girl Scout cookies than store-bought cookies because they only come once a year, but they also know it’s for a good cause and that the girls are learning how to speak up and to learn as a team,” parent volunteer Elsa Reynolds said. “Lots of people can relate because either they used to be in girl scouts or their kids were.”
New types of cookies were added to the list this year. Toffee Tastic, is a gluten free cookie with toffee pieces. Trios is also gluten free and contains chocolate chips, peanut butter and whole grain oats. Rah-Rah Raisin, another new addition, is oatmeal raisin with greek yogurt mixed in.
Based on a recent poll done by the Girl Scouts, America’s favorite cookie is the Samoa which was chosen by 30 percent (47,933) of those asked. Ranking second is Thin Mints with a close 27 percent (42,396) and third place goes to Tagalongs which fell a little behind with 13 percent (20,520).
The Girl Scouts use five major skills to sell their cookies: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.
Goal setting is the most important, because without a goal you don’t know what you are looking for. The Scouts need a personal motivation, according to the essential five skills for Girl Scouts.
“The girls have set individual goals that they have mainly met but we haven’t decided where the money will go,” Reynolds said.
Decision making is also a much needed skill because once the Girl Scouts have collected all the money, they need to know what to do with it. People have different opinions and they need to know which idea will help themselves and their community best.
Some of the money that the girls raise will go to the Girl Scouts but most of the money will go to that certain troop number. Troop 989 has not decided what they are going to use the money for.
Money management is a beneficial skill to have because the Girl Scouts need to know exactly how much change to give back to the customer. If a customer requests a certain amount of change in a specific amount of different bills, then the Girl Scout needs to know how to do that.
People skills are a necessity because with a friendly transaction people tend to buy more cookies. Business ethics teach the Girl Scouts about honesty in selling.
