Local Girl Scout council to pilot new snack bars
Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois was selected as one of only six councils nationwide to pilot two varieties of Girl Scout snack bars during this year’s Girl Scout Cookie Program.
Tagalongs Snack Bars feature rolled oats, cereal flakes, and chocolaty granola combined with peanut butter chips. Double Dutch Snack Bars are made of rolled oats, cereal flakes, and granola, sprinkled with dark chocolate chips and a chocolaty drizzle.
The snack bars are packaged five to a box.
Redesign
New this year are redesigned cookie boxes that capture the spirit of today’s Girl Scout, including what girls do in Girl Scouting, girls’ unique stories, the five skills girls learn from the cookie program, and ways for former Girl Scouts to reconnect with the organization.
GSNI also will participate in the “Super Six” program where girls will offer the six top-selling varieties of Girl Scout cookies, as opposed to the traditional eight. Successfully tested, Super Six provides a much easier inventory experience for GSNI’s cookie volunteers.
Local troops will take orders now through Jan. 27, with delivery in mid-February. Cookies also can be ordered at cookies4you@girlscoutsni.org via email. Information will be directed to local troops. The cost is $4 per box of cookies and $5 for a box of snack bars.
Old favorites
This year’s lineup includes Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs, Thin Mints, Trefoils, and Savannah Smiles.
Proceeds from the Girl Scout Cookie Program directly benefit girls in northern Illinois, supporting Girl Scout programs, camp scholarships, volunteer training, membership assistance, and outreach programs.
Why buy cookies?
Each troop receives a portion of the proceeds as discretionary funds for troop activities. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is one of the few youth-oriented programs in the country providing its participants the ability to decide how to direct the proceeds generated through their business activity.
Through Girl Scouting, girls become leaders in their daily lives and prepare for their futures. To millions of girls, Girl Scout Cookies provide an opportunity to travel, explore science and math, and learn about a career. The cookies are at the center of the largest business and economic literacy program for girls.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program provides an important ingredient for leadership by helping girls develop five key skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.
Through the cookie program, girls participate in carefully-developed, age-appropriate cookie activities that help develop these skills that they can apply throughout their lives. Even the youngest Girl Scouts gain self-confidence and poise by learning how to greet customers and offer cookies for purchase.
As girls grow, emphasis is placed on getting to know their product ingredients and calories, to designing innovative and creative marketing strategies and tools. Girls learn to plan, set goals, build teams, speak up, make decisions, solve problems. and manage resources. Over time, the skills girls gain set them on a path to be leaders, in their lives, and in their communities.
Girls also have the opportunity to give back to their community through the Girl Scout Cookie Program with the Gift of Caring: Cookies for the Military or the Community Gift of Caring. Girls can choose from offering customers the chance to purchase cookies for soldiers, or purchase cookies for a community organization designated by the troop.
Locally
Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois serves nearly 20,000 girls and 6,000 adult volunteers in several counties, including Carroll, Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside.
Through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, girls in grades kindergarten through 12th grade are engaged in discovering themselves, connecting with others, and taking action to make the world a better place.
Girls develop leadership potential by participating in age-appropriate activities that enable them to discover their values, skills, and the world around them. Activities in science and technology, business and economic literacy, and outdoor and environmental awareness provide girls with opportunities for fun and friendship while fostering the development of leadership skills and self-esteem.
For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois, visit the www.girlscoutni.org or call 800-242-5591.
