Cookie Questions – Did you know?

Q: What are the top selling cookies in the Tarheel Triad?

A: In 2006 the Thin Mints and Caramel deLites accounted for a total of 40% of our cookie program in the Tarheel Triad Council.

Q: Why are the cookie names and/or prices different from others?

A: There are two companies licensed to bake Girl Scout cookies. While certain varieties of cookies are common to both bakers; other varieties are made by only one of these bakers. For example: Lemonades, Cartwheels, and Thanks-A-Lot are cookies that are only carried by ABC. Also, the bakers do not necessarily call their cookie varieties the same names. While in our council we have Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbread and Peanut Butter Sandwiches among others the other baker calls these cookies Samoas, Tagalongs, Trefoils and Dosidos.

In the USA there are well over 300 councils. In North Carolina, the Tarheel Triad Council is one of seven councils in the state. Serving Alamance, Alleghany, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties. Each council contracts independently with a baker. The Tarheel Triad currently works with ABC bakers(http://www.girlscoutcookiesabc.com). Each council will also set their own per-box prices and recognition programs, depending on the council’s budgetary needs.

In the Tarheel Triad cookies sell for $3.50 a box. The Tarheel Triad Council is also the only council in North Carolina that only holds one annual fundraiser – the Cookie Program. We hope this year you will help us Join the Fun! in Girl Scouting by supporting your local troops and council with the purchase of Girl Scout cookies.

Q: When and Where can I buy Girl Scout cookies?

A: Did you miss out on buying from a Girl Scout in your community? Or do you not have a Girl Scout in your neighborhood?
Cookies are available for ordering December 22, 2006 until March 2007!
Cookie Shops: In addition to door to door selling Troops may also set up a Cookie Shop in locations across the Tarheel Triad’s 13-county area with the gracious permission of local businesses, shopping centers and offices. A complete list of cookie shops is available by town and date by visiting http://www.tarheeltriad.org/cookie shop.htm . *Please note: this list is as accurate as we can make it, but we cannot guarantee sales will occur as listed. You may also email us at Jatkins@TarheelTriad.org or call 1-800-672-2148
Online Ordering: Cookies are not available for purchase online due to the January 2001 Girl Scouts of the USA policy. For more about this policy please visit www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/faqs.asp#cookies_on_internet

Q: Are Girl Scout Cookies Trans fat free?

A: We at Girl Scouts are concerned about Trans fats and are working diligently with our bakers to eliminate Trans fats from all Girl Scout cookies. This process takes time, but our baker in the Tarheel Triad, ABC, will have all 8 of our cookie choices Trans Fat Free per serving in 2006-2007 cookie program.

Girl Scout leaders are parents, too, and we care about this issue personally as well as professionally. As we move forward in eliminating trans fats, we ask for continued support of the Girl Scout cookie program, which not only funds essential services for Girl Scout troops, groups and 2.7 million individual girls but provides girls with hands-on experience in many life skills that they will need and use throughout their lives, including team work, goal-setting, money management, oral presentation skills and customer service.

For more information about Trans fats, go to: http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/Americas_Best_Cookies/healthy_lifestyles.asp

Q: Cookie Revenue…where does it go?

A: In addition to developing and strengthening skills, the Cookie Program revenue helps Tarheel Triad Council supply essential services to troops, groups and individual girl. We provide program resources and communication support, adult volunteer training and special events for girls and adults.

Proceeds from last year’s cookie program enabled the Tarheel Triad Council to maintain properties and support council programs such as ones offered at The Learning Center, and to offer individual financial support to ensure that Girl Scouting at the troop/group level or at summer camp is available to all girls, no matter financial ability.

In addition, the cookie proceeds helped troops to cover the cost of troop program supplies, to buy recognitions earned by the girls, and to provide funding for special troop activities such as trips, community service and camping. A few examples of what troops did and how they reflect the Girl Scout Mission:
• Donated money earned through the Cookie Program to relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina (“make the world a better place”).
• Bought canned goods to donate to homeless shelters (“make the world a better place”).
• Traveled to Savannah and to Atlanta, to learn about Juliette Low and about U.S. history and diversity. (“Character”)
• Traveled to the NC Zoo to complete the Zoo Badge Program for Girl Scouts and to study zoology and examine careers for an ongoing career profiles project (“confidence”).
• Donated unsold Girl Scout Cookies to a local church for use in its nursery (“make the world a better place”).
• Went on their first camping trip, where girls learned about wilderness survival, using compasses and forest nightlife (both “courage” and “confidence.”)

For more information on our annual Girl Scout Cookie Program, which begins every January and runs through mid-March, or other ways you can help girls navigate the mystifying path to adulthood, contact Tarheel Triad Council at 336-274-8491 or send an email to misc@tarheeltriad.org.

Q: What is the Cookie Cutter Club?

A: All girls, regardless of troop option chosen, that sell 500 boxes or more of cookies in a single year’s program will receive an invitation to join the Cookie Cutter Club in the summer of 2007! Cookie Cutter Club membership is good for one year (summer to summer) and is renewable by once again achieving the 500+ boxes sold in subsequent cookie programs. Cookie Cutter Club members are also Grant Representatives for the “CCC foundation”. The “CCC foundation” will award money raised during the Cookie Program Sale to fund special Girl Scout activities in the Tarheel Triad Council, Inc. For more information please visit www.tarheeltriad.org/cookie cutter club.htm

Q: Is my purchase of Girl Scout Cookies a tax deductible?

A: Yes and No. For more information please visit Girl Scouts of the USA at www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/faqs.asp#taxdeductible

Q: What do girls learn from participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program?

A: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Goal Setting, Business Skills, Decision Making, Planning, Money Management, Marketing, Self-Confidence, Responsibility, Teamwork, Community Involvement, as well as Communication Skills just to name a few of the amazing opportunities to learn and grow that the Girl Scout Cookie Program will provide to girls!
Check out the following Links for more great ideas and tips for the 2006-2007 Join the FUN! cookie program in the Tarheel Triad Council.

For more information on Join the FUN! selling ideas please visit:
http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/Unforgettable_Sales/

Tips on how to set Goals
http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/Unforgettable_Sales/Always_Set_Goals.asp

Tips on how to set up Cookie Shops from ABC
http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/Unforgettable_Sales/Do_Have_Cookie_Shops.asp

Troop Cookie Training Tips from ABC
http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/Unforgettable_Sales/Cookie_Training_Tips.asp

Download a copy of the 2006-2007 Join the Fun! Volunteer Newsletter
http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/VolunteerNewsletter.pdf

ABC’s Teen Page
http://www.abcsmartcookies.com/Be_a_Super_Seller/For_Teens_Only/default.asp

COOKIES, INC. for Girls 11-17 (Cadette, Seniors, and Studio 2B)
http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/Tools_and_Tips/CookiesInc2006.pdf

For safety tips from ABC
http://www.abccookievolunteers.com/Unforgettable_Sales/Safety_Job_Number_1.asp

Cooking with Cookies! It’s a great idea to have some recipes to handout with your orders.
http://www.girlscoutcookiesabc.com/atc/recipes/default.asp

Check out your Cookie IQ
http://www.girlscoutcookiesabc.com/friends/games/default.asp

Troop craft ideas such as Cookie Shop Table Cloths and Thank you cards
http://www.abcsmartcookies.com/Just_4_You/Great_Games/Design_Time/default.asp

For More information on the Cookie Program
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/

Parents: Frequently asked questions please visit
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/parenting_faqs/#cookies_havetosell

The History of the Girl Scout Cookie Program
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_history/early_years.asp

Cookie Program Related Awards
Brownies - Cookies Count & Smart Cookie http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/insignia/online/cookies/brownie_cookies_count.asp
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/insignia/online/cookies/brownie_smart_cookie.asp

Juniors – The Cookie Connection & CookieBiz
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/insignia/online/cookies/junior_cookie_connection.asp
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/insignia/online/cookies/junior_cookie_biz.asp

Girls 11-17 – Cookies & Dough
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/insignia/online/cookies/11_17_cookies_dough.asp
as well as On the Money: Cookies & Money insert guide available for purchase from the Girl Scout Shop (CouncilShopClerks@TarheelTriad.org)

2007 Cookie Activity Guide – For Brownies, Juniors, and Girls 11-17
Some of the highlights to look for in the 2006-07 Girl Scout Cookies® Activity Guide—

• Preliminary efforts to tie the cookie program into some aspects of the new Girl Scout leadership model. This year’s guide suggests ways for girls to build confidence as they explore their customer base (Discover), practice teaming up for success (Connect), and build an “idea bank” for community service projects they may want to do this year (Take Action).

• We especially encourage you to focus attention on “Take Action.” Girls often tell us they don’t know how to choose relevant community service projects. So the cookie activity allows opportunity for the girls to ask their customers to talk about the needs the customer sees in the community.

• While the activities in this guide provide what the girls will be doing; the adult tips focus on how to work with the girls. The volunteers act as coaches who develop leadership skills in girls by volunteer using these processes:
 By Girls, For Girls—all activities and service are girl driven
 Learning By Doing—Girls are the active participants in the cookie sale and so take time to reflect on what they are learning
 Cooperative Learning—girls act together with shared goals for the benefit of the group

The 2006-07 Girl Scout Cookie Program Activities guide gives girls just a taste of the new leadership framework. The cookie activity is an important one for setting the new Mission Statement in action—Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

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