Raspberry Rally added to Girl Scouts cookie lineup
If you like raspberries and you like chocolate and you like Girl Scouts cookies, then you'll really like the new Raspberry Rally cookies.The Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania kicked off the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie season which features the new Raspberry Rally cookie joining the nationwide lineup. The thin, crispy cookie is a sister cookie to Thin Mints®. It is infused with raspberry flavor instead of mint and dipped in the same chocolaty coating.
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Cookie season is an annual event for Girl Scouts across the nation. Proceeds raised from in-person and online cookie orders directly benefit local councils and troops. When Girl Scouts run their own cookie business, they are a part of the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world.Girl Scouts learn leadership, problem-solving and community building through the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Every package of cookies sold provides unique experiences for Girl Scouts such as service projects, troop travel and summer camp for girls in the region.
“The iconic Girl Scout Cookie Program teaches girls invaluable skills for a lifetime of leadership and success,” said Patricia A. Burkart, CEO of Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania. “When you purchase cookies from a Girl Scout, you are helping to fund her future adventures including troop activities and community service projects.”Erin Blubaugh has been leading Troop 46468 of Berlin since 2014.
"We are very excited about Cookie Season," she said in an email. "Last year we had multiple girls reach Super Seller Status, selling a total of 600 or more boxes of cookies. We even had two girls who sold 1,000 boxes each."
Cookie program
“Our iconic cookie program is a fun, real-world business experience that girls can only get in Girl Scouts,” said Burkart. “The program also helps families give their girls amazing adventures by funding the activities they want to try, from archery to ziplining. There are thousands of activities for girls to choose from in STEM, outdoors, the arts, sports, travel and more, and the Girl Scout Cookie Program helps make them all possible.”
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Blubaugh said the girls work hard to sell the cookies because they have a specific goal in mind."We worked very hard last year because we were saving for a trip to Savannah, Georgia," she said. "The trip was a blast! We visited the home of our founder, Juliette Gordon Low and really gained a new appreciation for her and the efforts she made to provide these opportunities to girls across America. We had so much fun on the trip that we decided to plan a trip every summer. This year we are going to Washington, D.C. for three nights in June."She said the Girl Scouts also use the cookie proceeds for community service projects and camping three to four times each year.
Whether the Scouts are working toward earning their Cookie Goal Setter badge as a Daisy or their My Cookie Business Resume badge as an Ambassador, Girl Scouts are learning qualities crucial for all forms of leadership and life-skills. Cookie Business badges range anywhere from goal setting to learning effective in-person and online sales pitches, using market research, creating business plans and implementing digital marketing campaigns."I have seen several of my scouts grow from being shy kindergarteners into the goal-achieving middle schoolers they are today," Blubaugh said. "The cookie sale is especially great for our troop, as we are a multi-level troop. Our girls range from first through ninth grade. The older girls really shine when they help our younger girls at booth sales and the younger girls benefit from having older girls to look up to."
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How to purchase Girl Scout Cookies this year
If you know a registered Girl Scout, reach out to her to find out how she's selling cookies in ways that meet local and state safety protocols. Or for those who don't know a Girl Scout, go online and use the Cookie Finder to see where cookies will be available on any given weekend.Blubaugh said customers in Somerset County will be able to find local Girl Scouts selling cookies at Walmart, Lowes, Tractor Supply and the Johnstown Galleria beginning in March. After Feb. 17, this link (https://www.gswpa.org/en/cookies/find-cookies.html) will also show troops that are selling online for shipping directly to your home.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Girl Scouts kicking off 2023 cookie season with Raspberry Rally
