Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Cookie commitments

Cookie sales officially start Friday, January 22.  The first two weeks are dedicated to cookie commitments, or pre-sales.  During this period the girls can take orders for cookies, which are delivered later.

Here are some reminders about this portion of the cookie sales:

  • If you were unable to sign the parent financial agreement and scout selling agreement at our last meeting, please sign those and return them to use before your girl sells cookies.  You can get the forms to us at drop-off/pick-up on Thursday or Friday, or drop them by one of our houses whenever you like.
  • Right now girls take order or buying commitments.  They do not collect money until the cookies are delivered, which should happen during the first week of March.  (We expect to get the cookies on February 27th.  Your girl will be able to deliver them after that.)
  • We are selling six kinds of cookies:  Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Do-si-dos, Samoas, Savannah Smiles, and Trefoils.  You can find out more about these cookies (such as complete allergy information), here:  http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/ .  You may get questions about Rah-rah-raisins (our council decided not to sell that flavor this year), or the gluten-free Toffee-tastic (which we will sell, during the direct sales period, but not as pre-orders.  Customers can order toffee-tastic through digital cookie at any time).  You may also wish to know that Thin Mints are vegan, Thin Mints and Trefoils are nut free, no cookies contain high-fructose corn syrup, and that Little Brownie uses a mass-balance plan to responsibly source palm oil.
  • If a customer places an order FOR OPERATION COOKIE DROP ONLY, your girl may collect the money at this time.
  • All orders should be recorded on the cookie order form.
  • Your girl may sell cookies starting January 22.  We need to place our orders on February 8th.  We would like you to email your girls totals to Megan <meganursula@gmail.com> on Sunday February 7th.  
  • The girls agreed, as a troop, that there will be NO SELLING AT SCHOOL during pre-orders.  We will arrange a time for girls to sell later in the season, and any sales from the school will be divided evenly among all the girls in the troop.
  • Please follow safety precautions - girls should sell during daylight, girls should have an adult with them, girls shouldn't enter a customer's house or car.   

Here are some tips for happy selling:

  • This is a great time for your girl to accompany a parent to work, and pick up orders from your colleagues.   If your girl can't come into the office, consider having her write a note to put out with the order form.
  • Similarly, its a good time to call family members or family friends.
  • Girls may enjoy selling with a friend - consider allowing your girl to team up with a troop-mate.   They can take turns house by house, or alternate neighborhoods.
  • Remind your girl that she can take orders for cookies, or for Operation Cookie Drop (donations for the troops).  
  • Customers tend to be repeat customers - a good starting list for neighbors to visit is on last year's order form.
  • On Friday the digital cookie sites are active, so your girl may also begin to use her digital cookie web site to sell cookies.  (You should have received email with instructions for setting it up if you would like to use it.)

As always all questions welcome,

Good luck,
and Happy selling!

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Save the Date: Encamporee

We've got the dates and a confirmation that we have spaced reserved for this year's encamporee, at River Ranch.  (Encamporee is a weekend that the service unit - a.k.a. all the troops in North Seattle - reserves the girl scout camp.  Our girls will stay in one of the units, there are some activities during the days, and my hope is to work on getting the outdoors badge this year.  It is one of the big things we're saving for with cookie money.)

Dates are:

April 22 - 24.

More info later, but I figured you'd want it on your calendars.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Girl Scout Camp

Beyond cookies, another great Girl Scout experience is CAMP.  This one was awesome last year, and  I know at least my girl wants to go back:


Sunday, January 10, 2016

Cookie, Cookie, COOKIE!

Ask any Girl Scout what they remember about scouting, and they'll come around to cookies.  (Songs, sure, camp, hopefully, cookies, definitely!)  For that matter, ask any non-Girl Scout what they know about Girl Scouts, and they'll come around to cookies.  So, guess what time it is?  That's right, 
COOKIE TIME!

This year's cookie sale begins on January 22.  Actually, many folks have already been working behind to the scenes to get things rolling (Sue, Martha, and Lynne all attended training in December), but, for your girl's purposes, the day is January 22nd.

We will be 'training' the girls for this year's cookie sales in the meeting Monday (January 11).  We will talk to them about their responsibilities, as well as discuss reasonable goals for participation.  While we do not require girls to sell cookies, we do use the proceeds for troop activities, so we encourage the girls to participate at their comfort level.

We are hoping to avoid a parent meeting because we are sensitive to everyone's tight time.  In lieu, we are asking all parents to pick up their girl's packet, including the order form, reference booklet, and some paper work we need signed. Paper work must be signed before your girl can sell cookies.  We will be providing information in the form of email, and with some of the materials provided in the packet.  Please do take some time to read the materials in the next week or so.  And please do ask any questions you may have! 


1.  We do not require participation, although we do encourage it.  Girl Scouts USA has a thoughtful program where girls learn about finances, public interaction, philanthropy through cookie sales.  We also use the proceeds to fund our activities.  Finally, and no less important to the girls, they earn prizes for meeting different sales goals.  (Prizes pictured on the back of the sales order form.)

2.  We are selling, for $4 per box, through out the cookie sale:
  • Thin Mints
  • Samoas
  • Tagalongs
  • Trefoils
  • Do-si-dos
  • Savanna Smiles lemon cookies
We will also have Toffe Tastic gluten free cookies available through Digital Cookie and during booth sales, for $5.50 per box.

Finally, patrons can buy boxes for 'Operation Cooke Drop'.  The way this works, someone buys a number of boxes, but instead of specifying a type and taking delivery, all the OCD cookes are shipped to active military recipients at the end of the sales period.  (This is a way for someone to 'make a donation' without buying boxes.)

3.  We do both pre-sales (girls go door-to-door with order forms and take commitments.  They do not collect money at this time), direct sales (girls can carry boxes around and sell them directly, they collect money as they sell), and booth sales (girls work in a team to sell cookies directly at a booth).

The girls have decided that there will BE NO SELLING AT SCHOOL during the pre-sale period.  We will organize a 'booth' day for girls to sell at school together, and all schools based sales will be divided evenly between the girls.  This is to prevent pressure on teachers or staff who may have relationships with many of our girls.

4.  Once your girl has taken possession of cookies she (you) are financially liable for them.  They can not be returned to the council.  If you think your girls can't sell all the cookies she has taken into her possession, please let us know - we can probably place them with someone who needs extra boxes.
You will be liable for the cost of the cookies.  Initial money is due on 3/7, and all the funds are due to the troop by 3/22.

5.  Important dates summarized:

1/11 - Packet pick up date
1/18 - No meeting (MLK day)
1/22 - Cookie sales start
2/7 - Pre-order sales due
2/28 - initial cookie shipment recieved
3/4 - 3/20 - booth sales
3/7 - initial money return due
3/22 - all money due

6.  Etiquette and safety - We will be discussing these issues on an on-going basis with the girls.  It is important for them to follow the safety rules laid out in the cookie booklet, and to observe Girl Scout etiquette guidelines.

7.  Girls should wear some part of their uniform during cookies sales.  The bare minimum is their brownie pin, but sashes, beanies, etc. are encouraged.  

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Getting ready to represent

Cookie sales are coming up, so I figured it was about time to update M's sash.  Official troop designation, membership stars, and badges earned for projects go on the front.  The top set of badges is the World of Water journey set, and the bottom ones are stand-alone badges.


Patches from fun activities, or other small rewards go on the back.  Most of these are from cookie sales or summer camp.

Things I have learned:

1.  We're a little conservative in what we ask the girls to put on their uniforms.  This sash, for example, doesn't have a flag.  Madeleine doesn't have extra reward pins.  (She should have one more membership star, though.)  We don't have a troop crest.  She is still running out of room.  I mean, that's cool - that a bunch of badges for a year and a half in Brownies.

1b.  But sashes - they kind suck.  Maybe back int eh day when the badges were smaller and circular, but these triangular things are hard to get on there looking organized and neat.  If the troop earns all the badges I think they should earn by the end of the year, I'm not sure they will all fit.
I think the vests also just stay on the girls better - they are much easier to wear.
From here on out, it is vests!

2.  Badge magic seems to work.  (Badge magic is like double-sided sticky tape for badges.)  The badges seem secure, although we'll have to see how they wear.  A down side is, you can't combine ironing and badge-magic, because you aren't supposed to iron badge-magic, so now that I've started down this path I'm sort of stuck.
I think sewing is probably the best way, but I don't like sewing through the iron-on adhesive that comes on the badges.

I'm sort of proud of our girls, though - look at all that stuff they've done!