Great news about our favorite cookies: For the first time ever we may be able to purchase Girl Scout cookies online! For the first time ever we'll get the chance to order Samoas and Thin Mints in the middle of the night in our pajamas thanks to the magic of what the organization is calling "Digital Cookie." We have only two questions: What took them so long? And how soon can we order our Tagalongs online?
The trick for Girl Scouts of America was figuring out how to keep cookie sales personal for the scouts but keep it safe for them, too. "We spend a lot of time thinking how do we make this safe, scalable and smart," says Kelly M. Parisi, chief communications executive for Girl Scouts of the USA.
Sales will work on one of two digital platforms. A Girl Scout may invite you via email to purchase cookies via her personalized cookie website. Or, you could purchase cookies in-person from a Scout using a special mobile app that processes your credit card and arranges direct shipping of the cookies.
As a parent I'm glad to know ordering cookies in the most convenient way possible won't come at the expense of Scouts' safety. The organization requires Scouts and their parents to take an Internet safety pledge -- and parents are required to help supervise those personalized cookie pages.
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So yeah, safety, bla bla bla. But can we get back to what's really important? WHEN? When may I order my cookies? WHEN???
It depends! Digital Cookie launched today. But in my area the sales season doesn't start for another 10 days.
Also, I don't happen to know any Girl Scouts personally at the moment. I have a son, and his closest pals are all guys. BUT! Digital Cookie will still help me out by helping me locating my closest cookie booth.
It's still not as convenient for us as ordering cookies from Amazon. But that's not what buying Girl Scout cookies is supposed to be about anyway -- it's not even about the yummy coconut-chocolatey Samoas. It's about empowering girls, teaching them to set goals and learn entrepreneurial skills. It's about supporting an organization that creates leaders.
Oh who are we kidding? It's totally about the coconut-chocolatey Samoas!
Seriously, though, GSA could have sold its soul and set up online cookie sales and raked in mountains of proceeds. But the way they're doing it, keeping sales in the hands of individual girls, is so smart. They're keeping up with technology while upholding their goals and ideals. And while that may mean I still can't order Girl Scout cookies in my pajamas at midnight, yet (gotta find out which of my friends' daughters are Scouts and get on their mailing lists ASAP!), I think that personal side of the cookie sales makes them all the more special. Don't you think?
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How do you feel about buying Girl Scout cookies online?
Image via Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar/Flickr