Working all afternoon on your feet might be tiresome for anyone — even more so when you’re 8 years old.
Working all afternoon on your feet might be tiresome for anyone — even more so when you’re 8 years old.
But Gabby Penn and Maile Autrata, both 8, showed no signs of waning Saturday afternoon, about an hour into their six-hour Girl Scout cookie selling shift outside the Wal-Mart in Hilo.
“Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?” the girls chimed in unison, shuffling around in a two-person homemade sign that read “Got Cookies?”
Not everyone was receptive.
Some power walked by with minimal eye contact, or smiled politely and told the girls a simple “No thank you.”
But for Gabby and Maile, both members of Girl Scout Troop 254, it’s all part of the fun of cookie season. Their troop, one of about 25 Big Island troops participating in the national Girl Scout Cookie Program this year, is known for its high-energy and enthusiasm. Its strategy is simple.
“It’s big or go home,” said 13-year-old troop member Zoe Jones, one of five girls selling that afternoon at Wal-Mart. “Most troops are (more on the) down low, but we’re loud, in our visuals appearance and voices. And we like having lots of signs because that’s how you get people to look.”
The program gets underway each year in January, with Scouts soliciting individual pre-sale cookie orders that count toward individual prize rewards. The program continues through the end of this month, with troop members outside local storefronts around the island each weekend, selling as many boxes of the popular American sweet treats as they can.
Hawaii Island troops are expected to sell about 50,000 boxes of cookies this year, according to Marci Manker, membership and program services coordinator for the statewide Girl Scouts of Hawaii. Most proceeds are split between the statewide program and the local troops’ fund, which uses money to pay for activities throughout the year.
Selling is optional, but Manker said the majority of the island’s 225 Scouts choose to participate.
“The goal of the program is to teach girls business skills,” Manker said. “They’re learning goal setting, decision making, business ethics, money management and people skills. And in the course of that, it does help support the troop efforts and (Girl Scouts of Hawaii’s) efforts to deliver the entire Girl Scout program. We don’t require any troop to participate, but it’s a good program and a great product that’s welcomed once per year.”
The national cookie program is nearly as old as the Girl Scouts itself. Information from the Girl Scouts of the United States of America website shows the first cookies were made by an Oklahoma troop in 1917 and sold in a high school cafeteria as a service project.
These days, there are at least eight different flavors, including Toffee-Tastic, which is a gluten-free cookie for customers with special dietary needs. Folks can also order cookies online, or locate the nearest cookie selling booth through a new Girl Scout Cookie locator smartphone app.
But Thin Mints, one of the oldest cookies, is still the most popular flavor by far. When Thin Mint stocks run dry, the Scouts get creative.
“(When that happens) our sales do drop because most people are here for the Thin Mints,” said 9-year-old Emily Larzalere. “But we tell (customers) what the second-best and third-best flavors are. Or we’ll tell them another troop will be here tomorrow — but it’s not going to be us.”
Troop 254 is aiming to sell more than 2,000 boxes of cookies collectively this year, with the money raised from those sales used to fund its yearly activities including hiking, camping trips and even a portion for a local food program to help community members in need.
This past year, proceeds allowed the troop to participate in the national VEX Robotics program. Troop members made it to the statewide competition and placed 10th.
For the Scouts, it’s more than just cookies.
“When people think of a Girl Scout, they think of the cookies and us trying to win the prizes in the end,” Zoe said. “But we do a lot of other things. Girl Scout cookie season allows us to sell cookies and use the money that comes out of it to do things for our community. And it’s a whole lot of fun.”
To get involved in the local Girl Scouts program, contact Manker at 966-9376.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.