Girl Scouts launch Cleveland County cookie sales

Feb. 6—Cleveland County residents may have noticed young girls in green and brown knocking on doors or posting videos to social media to solicit cookie sales.

The Girl Scouts organization launched its annual premiere fundraising event Jan. 23, and it will last until March 19.

Judi Startzman is the chief product program and marketing officer for the Western Oklahoma Council, based out of Oklahoma City but covers 39 counties in Oklahoma.

All the money raised by Girl Scouts will stay locally to support the girls who are selling the cookies, Startsman said.

The money also supports residents in the community who have no affiliation with Girl Scouts.

Service is a key component to the Girl Scouts program, so some sales will be returned to the community in some form.

"They may adopt a charity. They may plant trees in an area that needs it. They may use the money to donate school supplies to a district that needs it," Startzman said.

Jocelyn Kriete is a Girl Scout from Noble, and she said that last year the troop used proceeds from cookie sales to make improvements to Slaughterville City Park.

The troop worked with Oklahoma State University's Oklahoma City Extension to identify different trees and place informational labels on them so arbor enthusiasts will be able to learn about the kinds of local fauna for generations to come. It spent about $630 for posts and signage, which came from cookie sales.

Candy Kriete, service unit manager for the Norman area, said that selling cookies also helps Girl Scouts to earn awards and raise money for camp and special trips.

"I know for our girls, specifically in our troop, a lot of them are excited we get to do certain badges, like archery," said Kriete.

Girl Scouts offers an avenue for scouts to develop skills that they will use throughout their lives.

"The reason why I like the scouts is because I get to travel and I get to make a lot of friends. I learn about leadership and how to communicate with people," Jocelyn said.

She said that through Girl Scouts, she has learned how to plan events for younger members of her troop.

"For that, I try to make it interactive with the little girls when I am helping out with them. When they get excited about something, they are more motivated to complete it," Jocelyn said. "It takes a lot of planning and organization and time and practice to slow down and go with the flow."

Startzman said that learning to sell cookies helps the girls to prepare for a changing world, and that Girl Scouts has changed the way it sells cookies to keep up with the times.

"We really focus on helping them learn life skills that will benefit them throughout their years," Startzman said. "Everything from goal setting, decision making, money management, communication skills — those are all the core skills they benefit from by having a cookie business."

This year, Girl Scouts are selling door-to-door, but by Feb. 10, they will start selling at booths at local retailers at different times at Freddys Frozen Custard, 2403 W. Main #110; Homeland, 2600 W. Robinson; Homeland, 1251 Alameda; Walmart Supercenter, 333 N. Interstate Dr.; Ace Hardware, 1209 E. Alameda St.; Rudy's BBQ, 3540 Chautauqua Ave.; Sam's Club, 3400 W. Main St.; and Atwoods, 1719 24th Ave. SW.

Cookie buyers can find times and dates of Norman sales online at girlscoutcookiesnearme.org and search by zip code.

Startzman said that this year, she expects girls to sell a lot of Thin Mints and peanut butter flavors, including Tagalongs and Peanut Butter Sandwiches.

Currently, Girl Scouts offers 10 different flavors, including its newest offering, Raspberry Rallys, which Startzman described as a Thin Mint with raspberry flavoring without the mint.

The Raspberry Rally is only for sale online, and Startzman said that this is on purpose because Girl Scouts are encouraged to build an online presence.

"You can order that online starting Feb. 27 and have it shipped to your house," she said. "The reason why that one is online is only because it's really to help these girls venture out in their business and to teach them how to run it.

"It's really with the intention to grow their digital cookie sales. Just like in any business, you have to evolve with the times."

This year, she said that Girl Scouts are required to create their own cookie link and video to post to social media.

If cookie buyers live in town, the Girl Scout they buy from will deliver them to their house. If the buyer lives far away, they can choose to have them delivered.

Those who don't eat cookies but want to support Girl Scouts can ask a seller how to purchase cookies to be delivered to active duty military who are serving abroad.

Startzman said that the Girl Scout cookie program is the largest girl-led big business in the world, and while the Girl Scouts started in Savannah, Georgia, the cookie program has local roots.

"Fun fact: the first Girl Scout cookies ever made were from Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1917," Startzman said.

Currently, there are 22 troops in Cleveland County and 469 girls, according to Startzman.