The New Digital Girl Scout Cookie Program Begins January 9
December 29, 2014
SPARTANBURG, SC – Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands has announced that for the first time in its history, girls from local troops throughout its 22 counties will be part of Girl Scouts’ new national Digital Cookie platform, a revolutionary addition to the Girl Scout Cookie Program that enhances and expands the program’s ability to teach girls new skills for business and life. The groundbreaking platform adds a digital layer that broadens and strengthens the essential five skills girls learn in the traditional cookie program: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Digital Cookie introduces vital 21st-century lessons about online marketing, application use, and e-commerce to all the participating Girl Scout councils.
Digital Cookie follows Girl Scouts’ classic “hands on” approach to teaching girls new skills. Through the platform, local Girl Scouts will be able to take in-person cookie orders from customers and, for the first time, automate cookie shipments through a unique transaction application designed specifically for Girl Scouts. Customers who buy cookies from girls using the application will be able to have their order processed, paid for, and confirmed right in front of their eyes. The platform places an emphasis on the safety of girls and customers alike and offers an online experience that allows girls to learn about digital money management using dashboards to track their sales and goals, and teaches modern skills while aligning with the interests of today’s girls.
States Kim Hutzell, President/CEO, Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands, “Digital Cookie tailors the traditional Girl Scout Cookie Program to fit the fast-paced modern world, helping give more girls an important foundation in technology, while remaining true to Girl Scouts’ mission and values. Also, importantly, safeguards are in place to ensure no identifying information about the girls appears on their sites and that nothing can be traced back to them. Girl Scouts must initiate contact, and the link a girl sends to one customer cannot be forwarded to anyone else.
The returning popular cookies are: Caramel deLites, Cranberry Citrus Crisps, Lemonades, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Shortbread, Thin Mints, and Thanks-a-Lot. These remain priced at $3.50 per package.
New to the lineup are Trios, a gluten-free chocolate chip shortbread cookie available only through Digital Cookie sales and priced at $5.00 per package.
Over two-thirds of the female CEOs on the Fortune 500 list learned basic business acumen by selling Girl Scout Cookies, and are part of the more than 59 million living Girl Scout alumnae today. Yet only 21 percent of chief information officers at Fortune 100 companies are women, and an even smaller number are CEOs of firms engaged in science, engineering, technology, or mathematics (STEM) fields. Digital Cookie gives customers a new way to help girls learn 21st century skills that dovetail with traditional door-to-door and booth sales to combine customer relationship and interpersonal skills with e-commerce training.
As with the traditional cookie program, the net revenue earned from the cookie sale will remain within Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands. Girls decide how to spend their troop cookie money and reinvest it back into their neighborhoods through community service projects and learning experiences, like travel opportunities. Because 100 percent of the net revenue raised through the Girl Scout Cookie Program stays with the local council and troops, customers who purchase Girl Scout Cookies are not only getting a delightful treat—they are also making an important investment in their communities.
Digital cookie sales begin January 9 and end March 16, 2015. During that time, door-to-door orders will be taken from January 9 – 25, with delivery in mid-late February. Sales dates at local retail locations, when customers can buy directly, are weekends from February 20 through March 16.
About Girl Scouts
For nearly 103 years, Girl Scouting has helped girls develop positive values and become active, responsible leaders in their communities. With emphasis on personal growth and leadership development through service to others, Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands serves approximately 11,500 girls, grades K5-12, and 4,700 adults in 22 counties of central and western South Carolina, including Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, and Union.
