Girl Scouts of the USA Kicks Off Next Century of Female Entrepreneurs with 2018 Girl Scout Cookie Season

Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) today enters its second century of Girl Scouts selling cookies. Given that more than half (57 percent) of Girl Scout alumnae in business fields credit the Girl Scout Cookie Program with developing skills they use today including money management, goal setting, and public speaking selling Girl Scout Cookies has helped millions of female entrepreneurs over the past 100 years spark their careers.

During Girl Scout Cookie season, participating Girl Scouts across the country show their G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) spirit as they sell delicious cookies, building essential entrepreneurial and other business skills along the way that are imperative to leadership and future success. And the funds from every cookie purchase power amazing experiences for girls year-round.

This season, troops nationwide are welcoming the return of the Girl Scout S'mores cookie, the most popular flavor to launch in the 101 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies. Consumers can fuel transformative leadership experiences for girls and help build the next generation of female entrepreneurs by purchasing Girl Scout S'mores as well as classic favorites like Thin Mints and Caramel deLites /Samoas .

Over 1 million Girl Scouts participate in the cookie program each year, and all of the net revenue from cookie sales100 percent of itstays within a Girl Scout council's local area to benefit girls and their council. Councils depend on cookie earnings to run their programming, which supports incredible experiences for girls, and girls decide how to invest their troop's portion of the earnings in impactful community projects and personal enrichment opportunities. Bringing in close to $800 million in total sales over the course of a cookie season, the cookie program enables girls nationwide to think big as they take action in their communities on issues they're passionate about. However, cookie earnings alone aren't enough to power and expand the reach of Girl Scoutslarge-scale investment in Girl Scout programming is crucial during cookie season and year-round, if the organization is to grant girls unparalleled leadership development experiences.

"The most valuable business lesson I ever learned was thanks to the Girl Scout Cookie Program," said GSUSA CEO and rocket scientist Sylvia Acevedo. "I learned not to take 'no' for an answer, and as a young woman pursuing a career in STEM, I heard 'no' all the time. The skills I gained from selling Girl Scout Cookies pushed me to excel in a career that was outside the norm for girls like me. And many of our more than 59 million alumnae credit their career success to skills they learned selling cookies. After all, a Girl Scout Cookie purchase is more than just a delicious treatit's an investment in girl entrepreneurs who will grow up to be the female business leaders of the future."

Last year, GSUSA debuted two versions of the Girl Scout S'mores cookiea crispy graham cookie double-dipped in a crme icing and enrobed in a chocolatey coating, and a crunchy graham sandwich cookie with a chocolate and marshmallowy filling and embossed with designs honoring Girl Scouts' Outdoor badges. They're sure to be best-sellers again this year!

For the current cookie season, girls will sell cookies door-to-door and at cookie booths, as well as through the Digital Cookie platform, an innovative and educational web-based addition to the cookie program that helps girls run and manage their Girl Scout Cookie businesses online. Now in its fourth year, the Digital Cookie platform continues to keep Girl Scout programming current and relevant to today's girls, including by providing them with valuable business and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills that prepare them for 21st-century leadership.

Additionally, Girl Scouts will celebrate the next century of female entrepreneurs during National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend 2018! February 2325, Girl Scout councils nationwide will host exciting events and set up booths so that cookie enthusiasts can get their hands on the iconic treats and join in on the fun. To find Girl Scouts selling cookies near you, visit www.girlscoutcookies.org or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app, free on iOS and Android devices.

We're Girl Scouts of the USA
We're 2.6 million strong1.8 million girls and 800,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) to change the world. Our extraordinary journey began more than 100 years ago with the original G.I.R.L., Juliette Gordon "Daisy" Low. On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, she organized the very first Girl Scout troop, and every year since, we've honored her vision and legacy, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We're the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs from coast to coast and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visitwww.girlscouts.org.

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