Get your Thin Mints as Girl Scout Cookie season kicks off
Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and Girl Scouts of the USA recently kicked off the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season nationally.
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, girls are adapting their sales methods to share the joy of Girl Scout Cookies through the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program — including taking contact-free pickup and delivery orders through a new national collaboration with GrubHub.
Additionally, GCNWI has made online cookie ordering available so consumers who don't know a Girl Scout can still purchase cookies from a local troop for direct shipment to their homes or donation to local organizations.
All varieties of cookies are $5 per box. Flavors are Lemon-ups, Di-Si-Dos, Tagalongs, Samoas, Trefoils, Thin Mints, Toffee-tastic (gluten free), and S'mores.
Innovative sales methods
The Girl Scout Cookie Program has long taught girls how to run a business via in-person booths, door-to-door activity, and the Digital Cookie platform online, which GSUSA launched in 2014.
When COVID-19 hit in the middle of the 2020 season, girls were faced with the same challenges as other small businesses. Girls in the area have quickly pivoted their sales methods. From running virtual cookie booths on social media, to setting up drive-through locations, to facilitating orders that ship directly to customers' doors, girls as young as 5 years old are continuing to embrace their entrepreneurial spirits.
The proceeds from every purchase stay local with the troop and its council to power Girl Scouts' essential leadership programming.
“Girl Scouts are innovators. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, our troops and teams are creating new ways to engage girls in Girl Scouting,” said Nancy Wright, CEO of Girl Scouts GCNWI.
“In a year where everything looks different, people will savor the simple joy of eating their favorite Girl Scout Cookies and smile, knowing they are investing in the future of girls at this critical time.”
This year, Girl Scouts is also providing new materials as part of their cookie badge program to support girls as they run their cookie business online and via social media, helping them be best equipped to sell during these times.
Order delivery
This season, Girl Scouts of GCNWI is participating in a national collaboration with food ordering and delivery platform GrubHub so girls have an additional way to facilitate contact-free cookie orders.
Throughout the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana, consumers can order Girl Scout Cookies for pickup or delivery on Grubhub.com or the GrubHub app. A hands-on experience in managing e-commerce, local Girl Scouts will track and fulfill orders, manage inventory and more, all using Grubhub's back-end technology.
This method will be available throughout the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana starting Feb. 19.
GSUSA is grateful to GrubHub for waiving all fees for the organization to make this new delivery option feasible for sales without reducing troops' and councils' proceeds.
Online ordering
Girl Scouts GCNWI is making it possible for local consumers who don't already know a Girl Scout to purchase Girl Scout Cookies online for shipment to their door.
Customers can use the Girl Scout Cookie Virtual Pop-Up Shop to find a local troop to purchase from through the Digital Cookie platform for direct shipment or donation to local organizations.
This additional contact-free method supports local girls while keeping their safety and skill building top of mind.
Safely purchase cookies
Girl Scout Cookie season is recognized in Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana from Dec. 14, 2020, through March 22. Consumers can support Girl Scouts by purchasing cookies in a few different ways:
• 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.
• If you don't know a Girl Scout, visit the virtual pop-up shop at www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/cookies, where you can purchase from Girl Scout troops local to your ZIP code.
• Beginning Feb. 1, text COOKIES to 59618 (message and data rates may apply. Text STOPGS for STOP, HELPGS for help), or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app for free on iOS or Android devices to find socially distant or contact-free cookie booths if they are available in your area.
• More details will be shared in February about how to order contact-free delivery from GrubHub in Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana impacts the lives of nearly 50,000 girls and more than 16,000 adult members.
Girls Scouts GCNWI serves 245 communities in six Illinois counties (Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Lake, and Will) and four Indiana counties (Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter).
For information, visit www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org or call (855) 456-8347.