WESTFIELD-What started as a clever fundraising idea for the Girl Scout Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Ok., in 1917, has blossomed during the past 100 years into a nationwide movement that now boasts eight scrumptious cookie selections.
As Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts (GSCWM), based in Holyoke, kick off the centennial celebration of Girl Scout Cookies with the debut of the new Girl Scout S’mores CookieT®, girls across the region will be setting up their cookie booths at local businesses to sell their classic cookies.
While the S’mores are a crunchy graham sandwich cookie with creamy chocolate and marshmallow filling, other offerings include Toffee-tastic®, a gluten-free, buttery cookie packed with golden toffee bits; Do-Si-Dos®, a crunchy oatmeal sandwich cookie with creamy peanut butter filling; Savannah Smiles®, a crisp, zesty lemon wedge cookie dusted with powdered sugar; Tagalongs®, crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolate coating; Trefoils®, delicate-tasting shortbread; Thin Mints®, crisp wafers covered in a chocolate coating and made with a natural oil of peppermint, and Samoas®, crisp cookies coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut, and striped with a dark chocolate coating.
Sisters Morgan and Heather O’Connor of Westfield will be selling Girl Scout cookies this weekend at Walmart in Westfield.
A century ago, girls started participating in what would evolve into the largest entrepreneurial training program for girls in the world – the Girl Scout Cookie Program®, through which girls learn the essential skills they need to become effective leaders, manage finances, and gain self-sufficiency and confidence in handling money.
“This year GSCWM is introducing the new cookie, a time honored campfire treat made with natural flavors and specialty ingredients which has outdoor badge artwork on the graham cracker crust,” said Dana Carnegie, community relations manager, GSCWM.
Carnegie noted that local Girl Scout troops are now taking orders since cookies were delivered earlier this week and today marks the beginning of cookie booth sales. Cookies range in price from $5 for Samoas, Trefoils, Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, and Savannah Smiles, to $6 for the limited edition S’mores CookieT and Toffee-tastics.
Heather O’Connor, 16, a student at Westfield High School, is a member of Troop 40230 in Westfield, and will be among the many Girl Scouts in our area selling boxes of cookies over the next two months. Her troop, based at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, will be outside of the Walmart in Westfield on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
“I enjoy selling Girl Scout cookies because it helps me with people skills,” said Heather O’Connor adding “plus cookies make everyone happy.”
Her sister, Morgan O’Connor, 15, a student at Westfield Technical Academy, echoed those sentiments.
“I enjoy engaging with customers and especially talking to young girls about Girl Scouts,” said Morgan O’Connor, noting her Troop 40222, also based at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, will be selling cookies outside of Walmart on Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.
Their mother, Pat O’Connor, serves as troop leader for both groups and echoed their sentiments.
“The girls get very excited during cookie sale days,” said Pat O’Connor. “They also enjoy making community contacts and talking to people.”
One of the projects that the girls are proud of is participating in the Girl Scouts Gift of Caring program.
“If we are overpaid by customers or if we are given extra money, we put all of the money toward buying boxes of cookies for local hospitals,” said Morgan O’Connor, noting that Troop 40222 donates more than a hundred boxes each year to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, and Troop 40230 donates more than a hundred boxes of cookies to Western Massachusetts Hospital in Westfield.
The girls added that their troop members all enjoy Broadway shows and hope to raise enough money through cookie sales so they can visit New York City later this year and see a show.
To locate a Girl Scout cookie booth in the coming weeks, visit www.girlscoutcookies.org. This year’s cookie program runs through early March.
Carnegie noted that Girl Scout troops will be at the Walmart in Westfield on weekends through March 5.
In Southwick, troops plan to sell cookies at the Powder Mill School on Jan. 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jan. 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m . Also, sales in Southwick are planned at the Rec Center on Jan. 14 from 8:30 to 11 a.m., and at the Mobil Gas Station on College Highway on Jan. 21 from noon to 4 p.m.
Sisters Heather and Morgan O’Connor check their inventory of Girl Scout cookies.
For more information, contact GSCWM at (413) 584-2602 or visit www.gscwm.org.
In our region, GSCWM serves more than 8,000 girls in Grades K through 12 with the strong support of 3,800 adult volunteers in 186 towns and cities in central and western Massachusetts, according to Carnegie.
“Today, Girl Scouts is, as it always has been, the organization best positioned to help girls develop important leadership skills they need to become successful adults,” said Carnegie. “When you buy Girl Scout cookies, you make adventures possible with every box.”
