'Oh, Cookies! Yay!': Colorado Girl Scout Helps Make Sales Safer
LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4) - With some changes in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Girl Scouts across Colorado are bringing back some normalcy with annual cookie sales.
"We weren't sure we were going to sell cookies this year due to COVID, but then they said cookie season was happening, and I don't want to be left out," said Zelia Stillson at her stand in Loveland.
Stillson worked with her dad to create a massive table-length sneeze guard for increased protection during sales this year.
"We wanted to make something so we were safe and nobody felt anxious. So we built an extra barrier to help us," She said.
Sunday, sales began. Stillson was alongside her friend Autumn Johnson and the pair said, despite increased safety procedures, their sales were like years past.
"There were some people like, 'Oh cookies, yay,'" Stillson said.
"I think it's about the same. They just come up to the booth we sell them cookies they leave happily," said Johnson.
Last year's cookie season wrapped up right before the pandemic reached Colorado. This year's cookie sales are a welcome distraction and return to order for the girls.
"Now coming back this year, to be able to sell more it's like, it reminds me of stuff when it was normal," Johnson said. "It teaches me business ethics and how to sell stuff. I keep hearing more compliments of like, 'Oh that's a good sales pitch.' Because we'll just say stuff that we've learned over the years."
Some Girl Scouts are picking other ways to deliver their treats. Drive-up cookie orders are being filled along with delivery service. Some are even working through websites they've set up on their own.
Girl Scouts of Colorado shared other ways to order:
- You can text COOKIES to 59618 (message and data rates may apply) or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app for free on iOS or Android devices to find booths in your area.
- Making porch drop-offs to friends and family.
- Creating their own websites using the Digital Cookie platform to take online orders. If you know a registered Girl Scout, reach out to her to get the link to her website. If you don't know a Girl Scout, visit www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/cookies on February 1 to purchase cookies from a local troop for direct shipment to your home or donate to local non-profits or the military.
- Starting Feb.12, a new national collaboration with Grubhub will allow girls in select Colorado locations to take contact-free pickup and delivery orders. A hands-on experience in managing e-commerce, Girl Scouts will track and fulfill orders placed at www.grubhub.com/food/girl_scouts, manage inventory, and more, all using Grubhub's back-end technology. As always, proceeds stay in Colorado. Girl Scouts of Colorado (GSCO) and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) are grateful to Grubhub for waiving all fees for the organization to make this new delivery option feasible for sales without reducing proceeds.
