More Than Cookies: March Booth Sales Help Fund Local Girl Scout Experiences
March 01, 2024
Members of GSNYPENN Service Unit 140 in Cortland, N.Y., are using their cookie program proceeds to purchase supplies to make fleece blankets to put into baby baskets that will be donated to a local hospital.
Syracuse, N.Y. (March 1, 2024) — Troops and individual Girl Scouts in the NYPENN Pathways Council (GSNYPENN) are gearing up for the official start of community cookie booth sales. Use the Girl Scout Cookie Finder on the council’s season webpage at buygirlscoutcookiesnow.com to locate booths and support local Girl Scouts now through March 31.
The cookie program is the council’s largest annual fundraiser. Proceeds stay local, powering life-changing programming and volunteer support and building troop funds to explore new places, programs and more. Girl Scouts uses these cookie funds toward invaluable experiences like summer camp, trips, travel and service. As the community opens their favorite box of Girl Scout Cookies, they simultaneously open new doors for Girl Scouts to explore their leadership potential, build lifelong friendships and make the world a better place.
Many local Girl Scout Service Units and troops already have plans in place for their cookie program proceeds:
- Service Unit 512 - Fort Drum, N.Y. (Jefferson County)
Organizing a coat drive as a community service project, the girls enjoy shopping for items and are excited to distribute them - Troop 40206 – Waverly, N.Y. (Tioga County)
Holding a bingo food drive for a local pantry, organizing a bottle and can drive for wounded warriors, filling stockings for homeless veterans, helping a local church with a community dinner - Troop 60878 – Central Square, N.Y. (Oswego County)
Taking adventures (camping, skiing, indoor rock climbing, horseback riding, archery, etc.), making crafts and spending time with local senior citizens and veterans, organizing donation drives for animal rescues, cleaning up local parks - Troop 61172 – Walton, N.Y. (Delaware County)
Girls are always on the go, visiting the local animal shelter to help socialize dogs and cats and bringing along donations, spending time at the local nursing home during special holidays like Valentine’s Day, organizing a Mother & Daughter Tea and a Me & My Guy Dance, participating in an annual Girl Scout lock-in - Service Unit 140 – Cortland, N.Y. (Cortland County)
Making fleece blankets to put in baby baskets that will be donated to a local hospital - Troops 61094, 60222, 60227 & 60223 – Whitesville, N.Y. (Allegany County)
Raising funds for travel to Florida (previously visited Georgia, New York City and took local trips) and towards their Girl Scout Bronze Award to upgrade a community playground
Sweet Support Gift of Caring Service Project
For customers who don’t want to purchase cookies but still wish to support local Girl Scouts, purchases can be donated to assist designated community partners. The council gifts cookies to local organizations each year through its annual service project called Sweet Support Gift of Caring. This year’s partners are Food Bank of Central New York and Food Bank of the Southern Tier. Cookies are gifted at the end of the season.
Cookies are priced at $6 per package and varieties at local booths include:
- Samoas® - caramel, coconut and chocolate striped
- Tagalongs® - peanut butter with chocolate coating
- Do-si-dos® - oatmeal sandwich with peanut butter filling
- Lemon-Ups® - lemon-flavored, baked with inspiring messages
- Thin Mints® - chocolate dipped in mint chocolate coating
- Toffee-tastic® - gluten-free and buttery with crunchy toffee bits
- Trefoils® - shortbread and inspired by the original Girl Scout Cookie recipe
- Girl Scout S’mores® – graham sandwich with chocolate and marshmallow
- Adventurefuls® - brownie-inspired with caramel crème and a hint of sea salt
GSNYPENN covers 26 counties across the area with a footprint spanning Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne and Yates counties in New York and Bradford and Tioga counties in Pennsylvania.
(Media interested in covering March booth sales, please email jalvarez@gsnypenn.org or text 315.263.5957 for coordination with local troops.)
(All photos and graphics used with permission, courtesy of Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways)
