Girl Scout Cookie Season Kicks off in Central and Eastern North Carolina, Bringing Joy During Challenging Times | Beaufort County Now | Girl Scout entrepreneurs are selling cookies like the new Toast-Yay!™, in safe, creative, and socially distant ways. | girl scouts, new cookie, cookie season, cookie program, january 12, 2021

Press Release:

    Raleigh, N.C.     North Carolina Coastal Pines (GS-NCCP) is kicking off the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie Program on Saturday, January 16, 2021. Girl Scouts are selling in creative, socially distant, and contact-free ways to keep themselves and their customers safe. Even in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, girls are adapting their sales methods to share the joy of Girl Scout cookies through the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program. Additionally, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is making online cookie ordering available nationwide on February 1 so consumers who don't know a Girl Scout can still purchase cookies from a local troop for direct shipment to their homes or donation to local organizations.

    GS-NCCP is excited to offer the new Toast-Yay!™ cookie, a French toast-inspired cookie dipped in delicious icing and full of flavor in every bite. Toast-Yay! gives consumers a new way to celebrate moments of joy alongside other favorites, like Thin Mints® and Caramel deLites®. And though social distancing measures may keep families and friends apart, cookie customers can share joy and stay connected this season through a gift-box option that ships directly to others via the Digital Cookie platform.

    Innovative Girl-led Sales Methods

    The Girl Scout Cookie Program has long taught girls how to run a business via in-person booths, door-to-door activity, and the Digital Cookie® platform online, which GSUSA launched in 2014. This year, Girl Scouts can participate in a variety of ways like in-person cookie booths following specific safety guidelines, virtual cookie booths on social media, and setting up drive-through locations to facilitating orders that ship directly to customers' doors. Girls of all ages are continuing to embrace their entrepreneurial spirits, stay connected to their communities, and have fun by participating in the Cookie Program. Proceeds from each purchase stay local with the troop and the local council to power Girl Scouts' essential leadership programming.

    "The Girl Scout Cookie Program is a long-cherished tradition among Girl Scouts and cookie customers, and it is sure to bring moments of joy during this time of uncertainty," said Lisa Jones, Chief Executive Officer of GS-NCCP. "We are excited to support our girls as they learn important skills like goal setting and business ethics while earning proceeds for their troop."

    This year, Girl Scouts is also providing new materials as part of their cookie badge program to support girls as they run their cookie business online and via social media, helping them be best equipped to sell during these times.

    Online Ordering Available Nationwide February 1

    GSUSA is making it possible for all consumers nationwide who do not know a Girl Scout to purchase Girl Scout Cookies online for shipment to their door. Beginning February 1, customers can enter their zip code into the Girl Scout Cookie Finder to find a local troop to purchase from through the Digital Cookie platform for direct shipment or donation to local organizations.

    How to Safely Purchase Girl Scout Cookies This Season

    The 2021 Girl Scout Cookie Program will take place from January 16 – March 7. Consumers can support Girl Scouts by purchasing Thin Mints®, Peanut Butter Patties®, Shortbread, and more in a few different ways:

• If you know a registered Girl Scout, reach out to her to find out how she's selling cookies in ways that meet local and state safety protocols.
• If you don't know a Girl Scout, visit HERE, text COOKIES to 59618 (message and data rates may apply. Text STOPGS for STOP, HELPGS for help), or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app for free on iOS or Android devices to find socially distant or contact-free cookie booths if they are available in your area.
• GS-NCCP is grateful to local companies for opening space outside their retail locations for Girl Scouts to sell cookies in a safe and socially distant manner, when allowed by local COVID-19 guidelines. Find cookie booths near you using our Cookie Booth Finder.
• Beginning February 1, enter your zip code into the Girl Scout Cookie Finder HERE to purchase from a local Girl Scout troop online for shipment to your door or to donate cookies to first responders and local causes.