On Thursday, September 19, nearly 300 attendees gathered at the Ivy Room in downtown Chicago for an evening of beverages, bites, and food science exploration at our annual Associate Board led fall fundraiser, Smart Cookies: Savoring Science!
Emceed by pastry whiz and owner of Bon Vivant Cakes Emily Nejad, and Girl Scout Cadette co-host and sous-chef Natalia, the evening was full of sweet and savory experimentation.
Culinary Chemists
At this year’s event, Girl Scouts showcased their expert food-science knowledge with attendees from the opportunities they had with innovative program partners Ingredion and RXBAR. These girls each walked away with a deeper interest in STEM, stronger entrepreneurial skills, and some unique, delicious creations!
Ingredion recently hosted Girl Scouts at The Hatchery Chicago for a day of food-science investigation. The girls, led by Ingredion Chef Nelson Serrano-Bahri and two culinary entrepreneurs, broke down the anatomy of a chocolate chip cookie, and replaced different ingredients to see the effect it would have on the cookie. Abigail C., one of the Girl Scouts participated in the program enthusiastically described the day of interactive learning: “It was fun! Our cookies ended up looking like melting blobs of dough.”
The other girls featured at this year’s Smart Cookies were Ava and Carlie, the Girl Scouts who participated in the visited the RXBAR program in August. Both girls were especially impressed by the women-run aspect of the experience–– Carlie said it was inspiring to see “intelligent, nice, meticulous women” who have “care, heart, and motivation.” The girls took home their own creations of RXBARS, and a sparked interest in entrepreneurship and culinary science.
Let’s Get Cooking!
The evening featured on-site fundrasing from a call to action to a silent auction. Representatives from the Associate Board did the ask of attendees to donate on the spot–– with every $500 donated, they lit up LED bracelets all around the room that changed colors!
The total raised prior to the event and on-site was more than $100,000 for our council!
With the funds raised this year, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana will continue to provide exciting and cutting edge learning opportunities like these Smart Cookies: Savoring Science programs.
The Girl Scouts provides a wealth of opportunities to experience STEM first hand, opening up the doors for the next generation of women leaders. Whether its robotic programming or environmental stewardship, these programs are just one of many ways Girl Scouts can get a kick-start in STEM–– and there is so much more to explore! Isn’t STEM pretty sweet?
Thank you to our sponsors and donors, the Associate Board, our hosts and staff, and our platinum sponsor, Diner’s Club International, a part of the Discover Global Network. A special thanks to the Girl Scouts who showcased their stories!
Support Our Smart Cookies
We are so appreciate of all support and generosity as a result of Smart Cookies: Savoring Science. If you’re interested in participating in our silent auction, we have some items available for purchase.
You can also support Girl Scouts GCNWI by donating here!