Anonymous wrote:It's hard enough being a Girl Scout leader without having people telling you you're doing it all wrong. Why can't we agree that there are different ways to be an effective leader?

Agree and disagree. You make a promise and oath to be the best scout leader, to guide the girls. If you ask parents for $60, decide every meeting, badge and field trip, isn't it just a basic play group?

Forgot to mention that my scouts also learned to sew as a result of cookie sales b/c I taught them to sew a felt banner for the booth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

We had 12 girls and made just over $2000 on cookies last year... mostly from doing booths. That gave us enough money to do a day trip to Massanutten water park, various service projects and donations to the GS Share Fund, an outdoor low ropes course, a family picnic, fall camping trip and troop tshirts, and we still had about $50 left per girl that we are using for leader training fees (certification for ropes course, archery and canoeing) and the cost to rent those facilities.

If you don't think the cookie sale matters, you are mistaken.

Glad to hear that. In our Troop we just pay as we go. To each his own.

Girls learn absolutely nothing from mommy and daddy paying for X, Y and Z. The parents in our troop could pay for these events, but the whole point of cookies is to learn that effort begets rewards. In addition, they learn the cost of things, and how to make trade offs based on a budget. I used to totally hate the idea of fund-raising by kids, but the kids LOVE to work the booths (i.e. take other people's money!). But, it does require the parents to engage in the process (we have the parents with the kids at the booths). If the parents don't "buy into" the concept, then it is a huge drag on the leaders and probably shouldn't be pursued. (As an aside, the parent pay for other smaller "optional" events through the year that are offered by the service unit or council. So, it's not an entirely cookie-funded troop. But, the girls get to decide how to use the cookie money, so it usually involves some of their bigger fun ideas.)

My girls, having taken a math class, found out that at a profit of 50 cents per box, that not much got accomplished.
Girl Scout cookies by the numbers: Just where do all those ...
www.dailyfinance.com/.../girl-scout-cookies-by-the-numbers-just-where-...
Feb 6, 2010 - Out of the remaining $2.65, 50 to 57 cents goes to the selling troop, which ... Prizes can cost anywhere from 5 to 7 cents per box, says Ceravolo...

but if you want to teach your girls to slave away for pennies, go right ahead. I am sure they will learn something (like that they hate GS)

wow. Bitter much? Or just willfully ignorant? First, you either aren't from the DC area, or you are truly ignorant b/c your profit numbers are wrong. We get at least 65 cents per box if you take the rewards, 70 cents if you don't, and an extra 3 cents if you sell over 1300. So we get either 68 cents or 73 cents per box. And with girls working 2 or 3 booths each plus their friends and family sales usually ranging from 25 to 300 boxes (most are around 50-75 boxes), we made $ 2000. The girls also learned to speak up to people they don't know (which takes some confidence and initiative), how to count money and calculate the customer's costs, how to set a realistic goal, to give a sales report to the troop, to set up and take down their booth, to prioritize their wants, to stick it out when the weather is crappy, and to give back to those in need. And as for the $2.50 that goes to the council, we understand that it takes money to run an organization, to maintain campgrounds, and provide training to leaders and financial aid to those who can't afford uniforms and badges. So, yep, we'll be out there come Feb. earning our pennies that add up to hundreds and thousands. If you don't want to participate that's fine but don't think you're wiser than the rest of us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

We had 12 girls and made just over $2000 on cookies last year... mostly from doing booths. That gave us enough money to do a day trip to Massanutten water park, various service projects and donations to the GS Share Fund, an outdoor low ropes course, a family picnic, fall camping trip and troop tshirts, and we still had about $50 left per girl that we are using for leader training fees (certification for ropes course, archery and canoeing) and the cost to rent those facilities.

If you don't think the cookie sale matters, you are mistaken.

Glad to hear that. In our Troop we just pay as we go. To each his own.

Girls learn absolutely nothing from mommy and daddy paying for X, Y and Z. The parents in our troop could pay for these events, but the whole point of cookies is to learn that effort begets rewards. In addition, they learn the cost of things, and how to make trade offs based on a budget. I used to totally hate the idea of fund-raising by kids, but the kids LOVE to work the booths (i.e. take other people's money!). But, it does require the parents to engage in the process (we have the parents with the kids at the booths). If the parents don't "buy into" the concept, then it is a huge drag on the leaders and probably shouldn't be pursued. (As an aside, the parent pay for other smaller "optional" events through the year that are offered by the service unit or council. So, it's not an entirely cookie-funded troop. But, the girls get to decide how to use the cookie money, so it usually involves some of their bigger fun ideas.)

My girls, having taken a math class, found out that at a profit of 50 cents per box, that not much got accomplished.
Girl Scout cookies by the numbers: Just where do all those ...
www.dailyfinance.com/.../girl-scout-cookies-by-the-numbers-just-where-...
Feb 6, 2010 - Out of the remaining $2.65, 50 to 57 cents goes to the selling troop, which ... Prizes can cost anywhere from 5 to 7 cents per box, says Ceravolo...

but if you want to teach your girls to slave away for pennies, go right ahead. I am sure they will learn something (like that they hate GS)

First of all, it is 65 cents in our Council, 70 cents if you waive the incentives.

Second of all, far more of the money goes towards supporting the Council. This keeps the camp properties maintained, it keeps the resident camp fees lower than the actual cost per girl, and it generally helps keep the Council afloat financially. Other Councils are selling off their camp properties. Cookie sales benefit the girls far beyond the dollars that stay in their troop.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

We had 12 girls and made just over $2000 on cookies last year... mostly from doing booths. That gave us enough money to do a day trip to Massanutten water park, various service projects and donations to the GS Share Fund, an outdoor low ropes course, a family picnic, fall camping trip and troop tshirts, and we still had about $50 left per girl that we are using for leader training fees (certification for ropes course, archery and canoeing) and the cost to rent those facilities.

If you don't think the cookie sale matters, you are mistaken.

Glad to hear that. In our Troop we just pay as we go. To each his own.

Girls learn absolutely nothing from mommy and daddy paying for X, Y and Z. The parents in our troop could pay for these events, but the whole point of cookies is to learn that effort begets rewards. In addition, they learn the cost of things, and how to make trade offs based on a budget. I used to totally hate the idea of fund-raising by kids, but the kids LOVE to work the booths (i.e. take other people's money!). But, it does require the parents to engage in the process (we have the parents with the kids at the booths). If the parents don't "buy into" the concept, then it is a huge drag on the leaders and probably shouldn't be pursued. (As an aside, the parent pay for other smaller "optional" events through the year that are offered by the service unit or council. So, it's not an entirely cookie-funded troop. But, the girls get to decide how to use the cookie money, so it usually involves some of their bigger fun ideas.)

My girls, having taken a math class, found out that at a profit of 50 cents per box, that not much got accomplished.
Girl Scout cookies by the numbers: Just where do all those ...
www.dailyfinance.com/.../girl-scout-cookies-by-the-numbers-just-where-...
Feb 6, 2010 - Out of the remaining $2.65, 50 to 57 cents goes to the selling troop, which ... Prizes can cost anywhere from 5 to 7 cents per box, says Ceravolo...

but if you want to teach your girls to slave away for pennies, go right ahead. I am sure they will learn something (like that they hate GS)

It's hard enough being a Girl Scout leader without having people telling you you're doing it all wrong. Why can't we agree that there are different ways to be an effective leader?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

We had 12 girls and made just over $2000 on cookies last year... mostly from doing booths. That gave us enough money to do a day trip to Massanutten water park, various service projects and donations to the GS Share Fund, an outdoor low ropes course, a family picnic, fall camping trip and troop tshirts, and we still had about $50 left per girl that we are using for leader training fees (certification for ropes course, archery and canoeing) and the cost to rent those facilities.

If you don't think the cookie sale matters, you are mistaken.

Glad to hear that. In our Troop we just pay as we go. To each his own.

Girls learn absolutely nothing from mommy and daddy paying for X, Y and Z. The parents in our troop could pay for these events, but the whole point of cookies is to learn that effort begets rewards. In addition, they learn the cost of things, and how to make trade offs based on a budget. I used to totally hate the idea of fund-raising by kids, but the kids LOVE to work the booths (i.e. take other people's money!). But, it does require the parents to engage in the process (we have the parents with the kids at the booths). If the parents don't "buy into" the concept, then it is a huge drag on the leaders and probably shouldn't be pursued. (As an aside, the parent pay for other smaller "optional" events through the year that are offered by the service unit or council. So, it's not an entirely cookie-funded troop. But, the girls get to decide how to use the cookie money, so it usually involves some of their bigger fun ideas.)

+1 DD didn't want to do any cookie sales but did enjoy working at the troop's cookie booth. The troop just had a day trip this past weekend paid for with their cookie money and she's now feeling a lot more enthusiastic about participating in the cookie sales. I think it was good for her to see that the effort = doing something fun.

Anonymous wrote:The key to cookie sales is to get the right cookie booths on the right days/times. We have sold over 200 boxes in 1.5hrs at certain locations. Our largest profit year was $1350

We also don't do door to door or preorders as it is a huge waste of time. We just order one big shipment for our booths and then ask families/friends immediately if you want them once we have them in hand. There are always cookie hubs to return closed cases of cookies.

The other thing about Girl Scouts is it should be girl-led. Many of these troop leaders and parents really have a hard time with that. They are too rigid and structured and inpatient to be a true girl scout leader. The whole point is to let the girls decide, talk, learn, manage etc... It takes 4x longer to get anything done but these are life skills that truly do help them.

The Journeys suck. We by old badges online and work on them. I have old badge books and they are so much more fun than the Journeys.

My DD is starting her first year as a Jr., having started as a Daisy in K and I've been very happy with our leaders and how they've gradually promoted more girl-led activities. The 2nd Brownie year was especially well run -- at the start of the year the girls voted on which badges they wanted to do, pulled from a variety of activities in a couple different "Journeys." Once they selected the badges, girls signed up for which ones they wanted to lead (a team of 2-3 girls per badge). Each team then had one parent volunteer to help coordinate the activity with much encouragement to have the girls do as much of the decision making and work as possible. They decided on activities to meet the badge requirements and then led it in their meeting with the rest of the troop. DD had a lot of fun and is excited for the new year. The just met this week to talk about what they will do for the coming year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

We had 12 girls and made just over $2000 on cookies last year... mostly from doing booths. That gave us enough money to do a day trip to Massanutten water park, various service projects and donations to the GS Share Fund, an outdoor low ropes course, a family picnic, fall camping trip and troop tshirts, and we still had about $50 left per girl that we are using for leader training fees (certification for ropes course, archery and canoeing) and the cost to rent those facilities.

If you don't think the cookie sale matters, you are mistaken.

Glad to hear that. In our Troop we just pay as we go. To each his own.

Girls learn absolutely nothing from mommy and daddy paying for X, Y and Z. The parents in our troop could pay for these events, but the whole point of cookies is to learn that effort begets rewards. In addition, they learn the cost of things, and how to make trade offs based on a budget. I used to totally hate the idea of fund-raising by kids, but the kids LOVE to work the booths (i.e. take other people's money!). But, it does require the parents to engage in the process (we have the parents with the kids at the booths). If the parents don't "buy into" the concept, then it is a huge drag on the leaders and probably shouldn't be pursued. (As an aside, the parent pay for other smaller "optional" events through the year that are offered by the service unit or council. So, it's not an entirely cookie-funded troop. But, the girls get to decide how to use the cookie money, so it usually involves some of their bigger fun ideas.)

The key to cookie sales is to get the right cookie booths on the right days/times. We have sold over 200 boxes in 1.5hrs at certain locations. Our largest profit year was $1350

We also don't do door to door or preorders as it is a huge waste of time. We just order one big shipment for our booths and then ask families/friends immediately if you want them once we have them in hand. There are always cookie hubs to return closed cases of cookies.

The other thing about Girl Scouts is it should be girl-led. Many of these troop leaders and parents really have a hard time with that. They are too rigid and structured and inpatient to be a true girl scout leader. The whole point is to let the girls decide, talk, learn, manage etc... It takes 4x longer to get anything done but these are life skills that truly do help them.

The Journeys suck. We by old badges online and work on them. I have old badge books and they are so much more fun than the Journeys.

The cookie sale is good for the girls to learn interpersonal skills as well as money handling. However, I think it can become a beast of it's own if you let it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

We had 12 girls and made just over $2000 on cookies last year... mostly from doing booths. That gave us enough money to do a day trip to Massanutten water park, various service projects and donations to the GS Share Fund, an outdoor low ropes course, a family picnic, fall camping trip and troop tshirts, and we still had about $50 left per girl that we are using for leader training fees (certification for ropes course, archery and canoeing) and the cost to rent those facilities.

If you don't think the cookie sale matters, you are mistaken.

Glad to hear that. In our Troop we just pay as we go. To each his own.

Anonymous wrote:PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

We had 12 girls and made just over $2000 on cookies last year... mostly from doing booths. That gave us enough money to do a day trip to Massanutten water park, various service projects and donations to the GS Share Fund, an outdoor low ropes course, a family picnic, fall camping trip and troop tshirts, and we still had about $50 left per girl that we are using for leader training fees (certification for ropes course, archery and canoeing) and the cost to rent those facilities.

If you don't think the cookie sale matters, you are mistaken.

PP We also down played the cookie thing. The girls and troop get so little for each box that we do not depend on income from the cookies. We have dues, and then we pay each time for the activities.

OP We were in a troop for years. The success of our troop was this: Every mom did something: cookie mom, driving moms, co leaders, activity moms. One person cannot do everything, and believe it or not, the other moms would like to help out. If they don't, rethink your troop. as the girls get older, they hate the uniforms. So we only wore them when we had to. Mostly they are stored in the closet. To succeed and enjoy yourself, you need to have your own perspective on how you want to run your troop. Many of the ideas have to be adjusted to the time frame allowed by living in this area. GS is a national organization and some of the ideas are far more suitable to an area where people have loads of free time. That is not how it is in the DC area, so plan accordingly. And GL!