One Tough Cookie

PHOTO BY JUSTINE O’NEIL

Girl Scouts and Thin Mints Forever

BY ARIANNA CRETEAU

If there’s one season that everyone can agree to love, it’s Girl Scout cookie season. From Thin Mints to Caramel Delites, millions of Americans look forward to the few weeks a year when we’re all greeted by cheery little girls dressed in patch-filled vests, selling stacks of our personal favorite cookies.

As iconic as they are, however, Girl Scouts deserve to be known for more than just their beloved treats. Revamped and well-rounded, today’s Girl Scouts aren’t the troops you may remember.

“Girl Scouts isn’t just about selling cookies for money. It’s learning about a lot of the basic skills you need for life,” said Susanna Biggs, 13, a veteran of girl scouting. “It’s hard when you’re basically running your own business once a year.”

Susanna, and Maya Withers, 14, attest that the skills they’ve developed, the goals they’ve achieved, and the memories they’ve made as Girl Scouts have gone far beyond their expectations.

“Girl scouts has been a pretty big thing for me. It’s definitely helped me with leadership, business, and learning,” said Withers.

The two girls are in the same troop among many hosted by the Girl Scouts of the Silver Sage. Girl Scouts of the Silver Sage focuses on serving girls in southern Idaho, northern Nevada, and eastern Oregon. The first troop in the Silver Sage area started exactly 100 years ago and today, there are about 3,100 current Girl Scouts—the largest class of new members since 2017.

What began in 1912 with 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia has grown to over 2.5 million active Girl Scouts nationwide. Since being founded by Juliette Gordon Low, the group quickly grew to be one of the most recognizable and credible nonprofit organizations in America. Girl Scouts and their cookies are as iconic as their notable alumni—Taylor Swift, Venus and Serena Williams, Barbara Walters, and Katie Couric.

Taylen O’Neil on the road again with cookies to sell.

Photo by Justine O'Neil

Throughout its history, the Girl Scouts organization has always responded and evolved to changing times. Members helped with World War I efforts to raise money. In 1970, they participated in the first Earth Day. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, Girl Scouts used technology to connect and keep their community safe.

“I was surprised at how much we overcame and adapted during the pandemic so that we could meet up again. We started with Zoom meetings and then later, social distancing with masks on,” said Biggs.

Mattie Honea, the Silver Sage Program Manager, worked to reconstruct those programs and staffing models digitally during the pandemic.

“Girl Scouts is a ‘choose your own adventure’,” said Honea. “When I talk to girls who say they want to get involved, it leads to the bigger question of what are they interested in? Girl Scouts is a place where they can learn and discover their passions. But it’s also a place for them to then divulge and really have fun exploring those passions.” Honea runs all the programs except for the cookies. Before her role as Program Manager, she started as the STEM Specialist, which has become a hyper-focus of the organization.

“We have different outreach programs that take STEM programming out to rural communities in Idaho and serve girls that otherwise couldn’t come to our events. That’s my personal favorite. It’s really cute and fun,” said Honea. “There are just so many ways to participate.”

These programs also serve those interested in becoming a Girl Scout, though participation in these rural events is also open to non-members.

“The mission of Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character and that looks like something totally different for every girl,” said Honea. Every year, new badges are added to the Girl Scouts’ legendary catalog. Colored or styled vests and sashes signify whether girls are a Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior, or Ambassador. Grade levels also decide what type of badges they can earn and what tasks must be completed to earn and wear them proudly.

With hundreds of options, newer badges like Coding for Good, Cybersecurity, STEM Career Explorations, Entrepreneurship, and Mechanical Engineering reflect pertinent and engaging 21st century experiences for girls. Don’t worry—camping, first aid, and arts and crafts are still an essential part of being a Girl Scout, but the world keeps changing and so does the scouting experience. To promote diversity and inclusion, new badges have been added to teach values.

“I’ve noticed that some of the badges have become a lot more progressive. I personally have a patch that says that there’s no racism here in Girl Scouts. And I really appreciate the steps that they’ve taken to move forward,” said Biggs. She’s referring to the Anti-Racism Patch, which is one of the first from a series created to highlight Girl Scout values.

In order to earn badges, girls must complete certain activities created with the purpose to teach them how to be leaders, speak up, take action, and employ empathy. As one badge states, the purpose is “to arm them with the courage, confidence, and character they need to make the world a better place.”

CEO of Girl Scouts of the Silver Sage, Jason Burnette, notes that they are always looking to refine programs and badges.“In the end, we ensure that we are girl-lead and girl-focused more than we’ve ever been,” said Burnette. “We’ve progressed our program to ensure that girls can go and have the option to essentially explore so many different ways. I think we’ve done a great job trying to keep up with what girls need.”

Camping is still an essential Girl Scout experience.

Photo by Justine O'Neil

Badges, programs, meetings, camps, and awards provide girls with opportunities to grow outside of their comfort zone and discover who they are. The bronze, silver, and gold awards have very specific requirements that allow girls to showcase how they can uniquely shine. The highest achievement to earn is a gold award.

“The gold award is kind of similar to an Eagle Scout, except it’s even harder,” said Withers. This prestigious award is a community project that has to be sustainable, address community issues, be long-term, creative, and goal fulfilling. The completion of a gold award also comes with scholarships. Projects can vary greatly from educational campaigns, publishing books, and creating databases to changing state laws.

Justine O’Neil is a former Girl Scout, a Girl Scout parent, and an employee of the organization. An obvious enthusiast, O’Neil said that much has changed since she was earning her badges—but in a good way.

“When I started working with Girl Scouts, I saw these girls completing awards and going on these trips to other countries. It was amazing,” O’Neil said. “The girls are phenomenal and so are their accomplishments. I had no idea that all of it was possible.”

O’Neil has had fun watching her five-year-old daughter Taylen join Girl Scouts. “All of her shyness has just melted away,” said O’Neil. “I think the best part was when my husband said that he knows Girl Scouts are amazing, but it didn’t really impact him until watching our daughter do it.”

The cookie program teaches money management, business, communication, and sales to all those persistent little girls in your grocery store parking lot. It’s no wonder that roughly 200 million boxes are sold each cookie season. And while it’s deliciously clear that we can’t escape Girl Scouts and their cookies, remember that each girl is also impacting the world in ways her female predecessors could only dream of.

When Girl Scouts was founded, women in the United States did not have the right to vote, but today, scouting offers badges in public policy. The future will surely tell what current Girl Scouts can achieve with the old and new skills acquired by earning their badges. Who knows—maybe America’s first female president will credit her achievement to the organization.

“I have met all types of people while being in Girl Scouts. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter where you come from; everyone is welcome,” said Biggs.