Tag: Gift of Caring

Bristol’s Sweet Success: Selling 100,000 Girl Scout Cookie Boxes and Making a Difference, One Box at a Time

Every Girl Scout Cookie box sold creates opportunities for Girl Scouts to learn, grow, and thrive. Each box is packed with leadership and life skills. Take the power of one box and multiply that times 100,000 and just think about the difference cookie boxes can make in the world. For one Girl Scout, she was on a mission to do just that.

Meet Bristol, from Troop 75466, who, on March 20, 2024, sold her 100,000th cookie box over her seven years as a Girl Scout. As part of her thank you gift to the customer who purchased the 100,000th box, Bristol created a special basket containing Girl Scout Cookies, cookie rewards that Bristol had earned, and a handwritten thank you note. 

“I love being a Girl Scout because I love making the world a better place,” said Bristol. “I hand-deliver every box I sell, and I especially love hand-delivering to our hometown heroes.”

Bristol has been a trailblazer throughout her journey in Girl Scouts. She has been a Cookie CEO (top 5 cookie sellers in the council) each year she has been a Girl Scout. Every cookie season, Bristol raises her cookie goal and proves to herself that she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.

So how did she sell 100,000 boxes?

With the support from her family, Bristol dedicates over 40 hours a week to reaching new customers. She spends 12 hours a day on Saturdays and Sundays at her cookie booth and reaches new customers by selling at high traffic truck stops providing the sweetest on-the-road snacks for travelers. With every cookie box sold, Bristol also takes time to engage with the customer and asks them if they would like to donate a box to hometown heroes.

From previous cookie season sales, Bristol and her troop used some of their proceeds to give back to the community. The troop funded the cost needed to provide a service dog for a veteran battling PTSD. We’re excited to see how Bristol and her troop plan to use their troop funds from this year!

Congratulations, Bristol, on this tremendous accomplishment. Way to Own Your Magic this cookie season.

Click here to view Bristol’s journey to 100,000 boxes covered by our local media outlets.







Girl Scouts Donate Nearly 200K Boxes of Cookies to Military Personnel

Girl Scouts Donate Nearly 200K Boxes of Cookies to Military Personnel

Giving back to the community is in every Girl Scout’s DNA, which is why Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana’s Gift of Caring program is such a success. This year, more than 14,600 girls donated one or more boxes of the iconic Girl Scout Cookies for a total of 199,780 packages of Gift of Caring boxes sold, exceeding the goal of 160,000 boxes.

“Gift of Caring donations provide twice the benefits with one simple purchase,” said Carl Canale, director of product program for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

“Girls learn life skills, local Girl Scout troops find their activities, community organizations benefit from the program, and the women and men serving in the armed forces get a great tasting reminder of home,” said Susan Rakis, who is also a director of product program for GSGCNWI.

Last year, nearly 153,700 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies were donated to military personnel through the council’s Gift of Caring program, which sends cookies to organizations that bring comfort to women and men serving in the armed forces. Some of those organizations include the Illinois National Guard, Manteno Veterans’ Home and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

“We get thank-you cards and letters and everything from these guys who receive Girl Scout Cookies,” said Linda Krone, a member of Johnson-Phelps VFW Post #5220 in Oak Lawn, Illinois. “The program works out really well and we get a lot of help from the girls.”

The program is especially important to Giada Gambatese, an 8-year-old Girl Scout Brownie who is GSGCNWI’s top cookie seller with more than 13,000 boxes sold, 12,000 of which benefited Gift of Caring.

“It’s important because we care about soldiers,” Giada, whose grandfather was in the Marines, explained.

Nina Grotto, a 17-year-old Girl Scout Ambassador, is also passionate Gift of Caring.

“My father and both of my grandfathers are veterans, so it was really important to me to participate in Gift of Caring on a personal level,” Nina said.

Nearly 40,000 Girl Scouts sold 4.6 million packages of cookies in greater Chicago and northwest Indiana during the 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program. Next year marks the centennial celebration of the Girl Scout Cookie.

Girl Scouts Take Over Downtown Chicago During Loop Site Day

Girl Scouts Take Over Downtown Chicago During Loop Site Day

If your commute was a little sweeter this week, you can thank a Girl Scout.

On Wednesday, March 23, Girl Scouts took over downtown Chicago for the first of four Loop Site Days this spring. During Loop Site Days, girls sell Girl Scout Cookies in the lobbies of downtown businesses.

Ryeleigh M., 6, and Fabiola V., 5, both Girl Scout Daisies from Troop 55190 in Algonquin, Illinois were excited for their first Loop Site Day.

“We’re saving our cookie money to go to Build-a-Bear,” Ryeleigh said.

“And buying crafts for children at the Ronald McDonald’s House,” added Fabiola.

12898236_10153539457897709_9129322370687462259_o (1)
Ryeleigh (left) and Fabiola (right) created signs to promote their cookie business.

Meanwhile, Caity S., 10, Zoe V. , 9, and Stephanie B., 10, Girl Scout Juniors from Troop 40306 from Mundelein, Illinois plan to use their cookie money to go camping at Camp Juniper Knoll in East Troy, Wisconsin.

“It feels so grownup to sell cookies and it’s just so amazing that adults are trusting us to do this,” shared Zoe.

Stephanie agreed.

“It’s great because we’re cookie bosses and we can decide what to do with the money and where we want to go on trips,” she said.

10329196_10153539367577709_7077368341584995569_n
(From left to right): Zoe, Caity and Stephanie from Troop 40306

 

In addition to meeting new people and learning new business skills, Cara C. an 11-year-old Girl Scout Junior in Troop 41101 from Lake Villa, Illinois enjoys helping people while selling Girl Scout Cookies.

“During our site sales at grocery stores, we offer to help people take their groceries to their car,” she said. “It feels good to give back.”

Missed the first round of Loop Site sales? Be sure to get your fix at downtown Chicago businesses on March 31, April 7 and April 19!