Our favorite time of year is here - Girl Scout Cookie Season! As those taste bud tempting treats are calling your name, please know that there's more to Girl Scout cookies than what is in the box.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl run business in the world with nearly $800 million in annual revenue. As girls participate, they are learning five skills that last a lifetime; goal setting, money management, decision making, people skills and business ethics.
Your support of Cookie Program gives girls like Rebecca McCreight from Spring Hill, Kansas an opportunity to put these skills into action. Rebecca set her personal cookie goal at 135 packages, enough to earn the stuffed animal. As she was telling her brothers her
 |
|
Rebecca McCreight
|
initial goal, they challenged her to aim higher. They told her that if she developed a great plan that the top reward, an iPod would be possible. With the support of her family, Rebecca developed her plan and put it into action. At the end of the Cookie Program, Rebecca had sold 2,003 packages and was our council's top seller!
Though mom and dad encouraged her, it was Rebecca that made the sales pitch. Of course earning all the rewards was fantastic for Rebecca, but it was the positive accolades she received that made it all worthwhile. Her dad complimented her on how she overcame her shyness to interact with others and persevered until she met her goal.
There are thousands of Girl Scouts just like Rebecca building their business skills and working toward their personal and troop goals right now. Thank you for supporting their efforts!
More than just cookies
With the Cookie Program in full swing, I can't help but think of the importance of teaching girls money management skills. The world's current economic challenges have made one thing clear: financial literacy matters now more than ever. And research shows that girls need and want these skills to help them achieve their dreams
One program that focuses on financial literacy and is near and dear to my heart is our Outreach Program which brings Girl Scouting to girls in underserved areas of Kansas City. This year, 1,100 girls in 74 troops are participating in the Outreach Program.
Just like our troops in volunteer-led programs, girls in our Outreach Program participate in the Cookie Program. Next month they will begin an eight-week curriculum designed to help them develop money
 |
|
Outreach Program Girl Scouts
|
management skills early in life. Interactive lessons demonstrate how to increase their income, become responsible consumers, create a budget, build and manage credit, and save and invest for their futures.
This program is so important to these girls, me, and our entire Council. We know that Girl Scouting works and we must work to bring it to girls in underserved communities. And it is because of generous foundations, corporations, and individuals like you that we can do this. You make it possible for all girls to realize the Girl Scout mission: to become girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.
Sincerely,
Joy Wheeler
