The 2020-2021 Cookie Program showed that girls and volunteers are resilient !
In mid-November , GSSNE celebrated 104 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies at the annual Service Team Cookie Kickoff with many of our volunteers and we shared some of the amazing accomplishments achieved by girls , caregivers , and volunteers that are made possible by the Girl Scout Cookie Program . Our 2021 Honorary Cookie Chair was Shannon Sullivan , the CEO of Women and Infants Hospital who is also a Girl Scout alum and former cookie seller .
In January we hosted our first virtual cookie rally with girls throughout the council learning cookie selling tips and participating in activities to help them get excited about the program . These activities focused on the 5 Essential Skills that girls learn through participation in the Cookie Program :
• Business Ethics
• Decision Making
• Goal Setting
• Money Management
• People Skills
The Girl Scout Cookie Program allows girls to manage their own cookie businesses and be part of the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world . The Cookie Program is more than just a money earning opportunity , and proceeds from the sale remain in the local community to help fund troop trips and activities , community service projects , and more .
The 2020-2021 Girl Scout program presented us with challenges and opportunities , and when Girl Scouts put their minds to it , they can achieve great things . The imagination and creativity gave us drive-thru booths , touchless payment transactions , girl delivered pre-paid orders , increases in online sales , use of the direct ship cookie link , and more ! GSSNE provided a variety of options for girls to participate safely and still have fun and earn proceeds for their troop .
Each year , GSSNE selects a local organization to be the recipient of the annual Cookie
Program Community Service Project to teach girls the importance of giving back to the community and to learn about the work that other non-profits in the area are doing . In 2021 the recipient was the Providence Animal Rescue League ( PARL ). PARL is a nonprofit organization dedicated to pets and the people who love them ! Programs include cat , dog , and small animal adoptions and low-cost spay / neuter , pet food assistance , and vaccine services for community pets . Troops donated $ 2,067.74 to help support the animal rescue .