By Kassie Simmons | January 25, 2021 at 3:30 PM EST – Updated January 25 at 8:00 PM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Girl Scouts are learning a new skill this season: adaptability.
It’s the first cookie season the troops will have to make changes to the way they reach customers—or else they might not hit their goals. Normally, the focus is on money management and learning to run their own business. This year, things are a bit different.
“This year, we have to social distance and be better with hand sanitation,” said 11-year-old Girl Scout Katelyn Hill.
The changes don’t stop there. The girls deliver cookies to buyers by basket, sanitize after every sale and even set up a barrier between them and potential customers.
“There’s a second table in front of the sideways table so the person we’re taking the order from has to stand at the end of the table,” said 10-year-old Sophie Colley-Boros, a member of Troop 2346.
There’s no shortage of safety measures or cookies, but one thing is lacking—the customers.
“I started when the pandemic wasn’t happening,” said Colley-Boros. “At my first booth, we definitely had a lot of sales but now that the pandemic is happening, I’ve definitely seen some things drop.”
“There’s not as many people out on the sidewalks,” said Troop Leader Kristen Corley. “We can’t be at the grocery stores like we normally are, so we’re really scrambling to find places to have cookie booths.”
Going door-to-door isn’t an option, so the Girl Scouts are taking to the internet and making sales through social media.
“I’ve reached out to friends—even from high school, so long ago,” said Corley. “They’re not even in the state and they’re supporting my troop by buying Girl Scout cookies online.”
The effort is working. Just a week into the season, the girls are already halfway to their goal.
“They’re doing a great job. They’re not letting these restrictions slow them down. They’re driven to get their goal sold.”
Corley and the girls say Girl Scout troops across the country are all relying on online sales this year. However, girls are still setting up booths in local areas.
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