Parent Information

The #1 Reason for girls to participate in product sale programs is to learn skills.

With your support, your Girl Scout will develop valuable life skills such as:

• Responsibility…through gathering orders and turning information in on time.

• Communication skills…through talking to customers about the cookies/products and how the funds will be used.

• Financial and math skills…through adding orders, making change and tracking money.

• Entrepreneurial skills…through creating new ways to sell and distribute cookies/products.

• Teamwork…by working with others for the benefit of all.

• Goal setting and planning…through having a framework for meeting goals.

• Honesty and integrity…through using a meaningful set of values, the Girl Scout Promise and Law, to guide their actions.

Leadership Development

The Girl Scout cookie program has helped make Girl Scouting America’s premier leadership development experience for girls.

• 66% of Women of Professional Achievement were Girl Scouts at some point in their youth, compared with 41% of American Women (Defining Success: American Women, Achievement, the Girl Scouts – GSRI/Louis Harris, 1999)
• 71.4% of women in the U. S. Senate and 67.1% of the women in the House of Representatives today are Girl Scout alumnae (Congressional Research Service, August 2005)
• 82% of high-achieving Girl Scout alumnae believe that membership in Girl Scouting and other youth organizations influenced their success (Louis Harris, 1999)
• Alumnae credit Girl Scouting with helping them build leadership skills, moral values and self-confidence (Louis Harris, 1999 pending confirmation).

Here is how you can help

We know parents and guardians want to help, and we are pleased that you want to support your daughter’s Girl Scout activities. However, this is a valuable learning activity for each girl, so Girl Scouts of Shagbark Council encourages adults to support girls in this activity and not do the activity for them. Parents and guardians who wish to help their Girl Scout may consider:

• Girls, not adults, sell the cookies/products.
• Attend troop parent meeting.
• Turn-in signed Permission and Responsibility Form.
• Advise and encourage your daughter.
• Help your daughter set her personal goals.
• Practice sales techniques.
• Work in partnership with your daughter.
• Bring your daughter to the office so that co-workers can meet her and buy directly from her.
• Make sure she takes an active role in selling so she does not miss out on the learning opportunity.
• Help your daughter deliver cookies/products personally.
• Assist with money handling and record keeping.
• Volunteer with your daughter’s Girl Scout troop and assist with troop cookie/product delivery or booth sales or help the troop develop presentations or marketing and sales strategies.

For younger girls, parental help may be more hands-on but we urge all parents to structure involvement to ensure a real learning experience for your daughters.

Every Girl Scout should be able to:

• Introduce herself as a Girl Scout.
• State what she is selling (cookies, magazine subscriptions, nuts & candy and/or calendars).
• State her personal goal and/or troop goal for the sale.
• State what the troop will do with their earnings.
• Describe each cookie/product.
• Identify the product on the order form.
• Tell the customer the price of the cookies/products.
• Tell the customer when she will deliver the cookies/products.
• Collect money at the time of delivery.
• Communicate with last year’s customers.
• Be friendly, girls should thank every customer whether they buy cookies/products or not.

Safety First

Although participation in the Girl Scout Product Sale Programs is voluntary, the vast majority of girls enjoy these fun-filled learning experiences and participate each year. A signed Permission and Responsibility Form by a parent or guardian is required prior to participation. As with all Girl Scout activities, the health and safety of girls is the number one priority, so participating girls and adults must follow strict safety guidelines.

Learn and practice personal safety with your daughter:

• Remain outside the home of a stranger.
• Know who to contact in case of an emergency.
• Use safe pedestrian practices.
• Carry small amounts of money.
• Brownie & Junior Girl Scouts always sell with an adult.
• Teen Girl Scouts always use the buddy system.
• Always sell in daylight hours.
• Always wear a membership pin with the Girl Scout uniform, sash, vest or Girl Scout T-shirt.

Note: Girl Scouts may not sell cookies or other products using the Internet, including websites, chat rooms, auction sites or broadcast e-mails to solicit sales. However, they may send a personal e-mail to someone such as a grandparent or friend to let them know they are taking orders.

Available Resources:

Just for girls: http://www.gogirlsonly.org/

For girls and families: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/

Questions:
Please don’t hesitate to call your daughter’s Troop Leader or the Girl Scout Service Center.