Girl Scouts can do incredible things, especially when they have the drive to do good and make the world a better place with ingenious and creative solutions. Girl Scout Senior Madison is one of these awesome Girl Scouts! Madison shared her story of developing the ThinMints4ThickSocks initiative, aimed at providing support and comfort to community members struggling with homelessness.
Read on to learn more about Madison’s story and her community service efforts, in her own words, and learn how Girl Scout Cookies do good for communities and more!
My Girl Scout origin story started when I was in pre-K. I frequently saw my sister, who is 8 years older than me, leave to go to Girl Scouts. I wanted to be a Girl Scout so desperately, I would often sit in the same room to watch their meeting.
Eventually, I was able to [be] a Daisy and it was the best day ever. I got to do cookie sales, meet new friends, do community service, and spend time with my peers at Girl Scouts. I’m continuing my Girl Scout journey in my freshman year of high school. Girl Scouts has been an enriching experience, providing me with an opportunity to fulfill my full potential in life.
According to several news articles and reports, socks aren’t frequently donated to homeless shelters and are often in high demand. ThinMints4Thicksocks is an initiative that I created to provide socks to the homeless by allowing the public to donate a new pack of tube socks in exchange for a box of Girl Scout Cookies. Rather than buying a box for five dollars, people bought a box by donating a pack of new socks. We then donated all the socks we collected and gave them to homeless shelters.
I created this project because the pandemic presented a challenge for the 2021 cookie season. Because I couldn’t conduct business as usual, I decided to think outside of the box and create a way to combine this cookie season with a charitable drive, assisting people impacted by the pandemic and driven to homelessness.
ThinMints4Thicksocks directly provided socks to the homeless, which aren’t in adequate supply in some homeless shelters locally and across the nation. I was motivated to pursue this project because I realized the positive benefit it would have in the community in helping disadvantaged people, like the residents of Chicago’s UCAN facility, which is social service agency serving over 10,000 individuals annually through compassionate healing, education, and empowerment.
By raising awareness of the shortage of socks, I believe ThinMints4ThickSocks will continue even after I’ve finished working on the project, by inspiring others to continue donating socks, and other much needed items, (like thermal underclothes, toiletry items, etc.). My plan was to plant a seed and my hope is that it will provide an abundant crop of caring.
I wish others knew about how Girl Scouts is preparing me, and other girls, to assume leadership roles in our future endeavors. Girl Scouting gives me a sense of responsibility and community. Girl Scouts is not just about selling cookies, or community service projects. Many of my closest friends are Girl Scouts. We’ve maintained our friendships through mutual respect, trust, and honesty, which are all promoted in Girl Scouting.
Thank you to Madison!
Learn About Cookies
Welcome to the Girl Scout Cookie Program, the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. The Girl Scout Cookie Program helps your girl succeed today and prepare for future success. With every box she sells, she builds on 5 essential leadership skills she can use for a lifetime.
Participating in the cookie program powers Girl Scouts’ adventures throughout the year as they learn key business skills to excel in future careers and in life. By participating in different sales methods, girls gain more skills, including: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.
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