Girl Scouts Celebrates National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend February 19–21 with Contact-Free Sales Options

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend typically marks a time when many cookie entrepreneurs across the United States sell to friends, family, and their communities via in-person booths, door-to-door activity, and the Digital Cookie^® platform online. This year, both the organization and our innovative girls are offering a number of ways consumers can still purchase Girl Scout Cookies in socially distant and contact-free ways:

• Many Girl Scouts have creatively changed their sales methods in light of COVID-19, from running virtual cookie booths on social media to setting up drive-through locations and marketing their business with door hangers. If you know a Girl Scout, reach out to her to find out how she’s selling cookies in ways that meet local and state safety protocols.
• Consumers who don’t already know a Girl Scout can visit www.girlscoutcookies.org, text COOKIES to 59618*, or download the free Girl Scout Cookie Finder app for iOS and Android to purchase from a local troop for direct shipment to their door or donation to local causes. 57% of consumers report that they are shopping online more than they did prior to the coronavirus outbreak, and this additional contact-free method enables people to invest in girls in their area while keeping girls’ safety and skill building top of mind. Through managing sales via the Digital Cookie platform, Girl Scouts are growing their businesses online while staying safe and learning skills such as goal setting, decision making, and money management.
• This season, GSUSA is collaborating with food ordering and delivery platform Grubhub so girls have another way to facilitate contact-free cookie orders. In select markets, with additional markets added throughout cookie season, 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. As always, the proceeds benefit the troop and council while providing another innovative way to safely run the cookie program virtually. 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.

Cookie customers not only can create joy for themselves during this difficult time by purchasing Thin Mints^®, Samoas^®/Caramel deLites^®, the new Toast-Yay!^TM, and other favorites—they can also create joy for essential workers, first responders, charities, the military, and more through their council or troop donation programs. And the earnings stay local: girls decide how to allocate their portion of the earnings for community projects, leadership opportunities, and exciting experiences. Each council depends on its earnings to run Girl Scout programming in every residential zip code in the United States.

If you don’t already know a Girl Scout, visit www.girlscoutcookies.org to purchase cookies online from a local troop for direct shipment or donation to local organizations. Girl Scout Cookie season is recognized nationally from January through April, but local timing and product availability varies, so contact your council for more information.

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Photo Credit: Rob Hainer / Shutterstock.com