什麼是女童子軍餅乾? Girl Scout Cookies

The Girl Scout Cookies are a familiar part of American culture. For more than 90 years, Girl Scouts, with the enthusiastic support of their families, have helped ensure the success of local Girl Scout Cookie activities. From its earliest beginnings to its current popularity, the sale of cookies has helped Girl Scout Brownies, Juniors, and Girl Scouts 11-17 have fun, develop valuable life skills, and make the world a better place by helping to support Girl Scouting in their communities. Girls are proud that their efforts provide resources for their local Girl Scout councils and for their own Girl Scout troops/groups.

Basically, Girl Scout cookies are cookies sold by Girl Scouts of America as a fundraiser for their local scout units. Each box of Girl Scout cookies is priced at $4 per box. $0.75 from each box of cookies sold by a Girl Scou will go back to the Troop that Girl Scout belongs to. Top-selling girls can earn prizes for their efforts. There are also unit incentives if the unit as a whole does well. In 2005, over 200 million boxes were sold.

For the last 2 years, as the parent of a Junior Scout, I accompanied my daughter when she went door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies for her troop. This is the first year that she didn't sell door-to-door. She simply did not have the time to do it anymore. I ended up buying 20 boxes and supported her troop that way. I know it defeats the spirit of the Girl Scout cookies for me to buy the cookies, but she happened to have school projects due during the 3 weeks she was allowed to sell the Girl Scout cookies. It was simply too time-consuming for my daughter to sell Girl Scout cookies door-to-door this year.

First, she needs to pre-sell the cookies door-to-door. She has to ask the people who responded to the door whether they want any Girl Scout cookies, then she needs to take the orders down and make sure the Troop's cookie mom get the order and the money (Yes, the Troop collects the money from the girls/parents first so they can pay the Girl Scout organization when the cookie moms pick up the cookies). Then when the cookies arrive, she needs to deliver the cookies to the people on her order list and collects the money. In many incidences, she had to go back to the same address several times because people were not home for the delivery to be made.

I do think the experience of selling Girl Scout Cookies is a valuable one, especially for shy girls. At 6 years old, my daughter learned that selling door-to-door is not as easy as it looks, especially when the product she is selling is slightly more expensive than its counterparts at supermarkets. She had to learn about rejections and the joy of making a sale. It's very "real world".

Selling door-to-door presented a challenge for us as well weather-wise each year. Although the weather in southern California is better than most other states, early- to mid-February (when the cookies pre-sale takes place) is usually when our worst weather presents itself. I don't let my daughter out to do any door-to-door sales when it's raining outside. In our neighborhood, where the roads are windy and have no sidewalks, rain usually means poor visibility. It's just not safe for anyone to walk outside in the rain, let alone a small child selling cookies door-to-door, even if she's accompanied by her parent.
Although we didn't participate in the door-to-door selling of Girl Scout cookies this year, we will be at the Troop's cookies booth sale at 2 local grocery stores in March. That's when each Girl Scout Troop takes turns staking out in front of grocery stores, trying to get people who walk by to buy Girl Scout Cookies.

每年二月至三月是美國女童子軍賣餅乾的季節。所有的女童子軍會到自家附近去賣餅乾。在家長陪同下,小女童子軍必需要到陌生人家去按門鈴。當有人開門時,小女童子軍就要問開門的人要不要買“Girl Scout Cookies”。美國人很好,通常一半以上的人都會買。一盒女童子軍餅乾並不便宜。一盒要賣四元美金,但是買餅乾的人都知道這些餅乾錢是要用來贊助女童子軍的,所以一點都不吝嗇。但是賣女童子軍餅乾是一件很辛苦的事情。每個女童子軍得挨家挨戶地按門鈴詢問買餅乾的意願。確定要買之後,小女童子軍就要把買方的姓名、地址、電話抄下來方便一個月後交貨。回到家後,小女童子軍要算出每個餅乾口味賣出幾盒以及賣出的餅乾之總盒數。算好之後,把總盒數及支票(賣出的金額)交給負責餅乾業務的媽媽們,好讓她們有錢去女童子軍的餅乾總部提貨。收到餅乾之後,小女童子軍又得挨家挨戶地去送貨、要錢。我和我的女兒常常碰到買主剛好不在家而讓我們多跑好幾趟才如願交貨、收到錢。

今年我的女兒實在太忙了。在二月初她剛好連續有好幾個週末都在趕功課,無法出去賣餅乾。為了減少女兒的負擔,我買了二十盒女童子軍餅乾留給親朋好友吃。雖然這不是女童子軍賣餅乾的基本精神,但是小孩子實在是太累了,只好這樣子了。不過我的女兒在前二年的確曾經挨家挨戶地、按步就班的學著賣餅乾。她的最高記錄是賣過125盒女童子軍餅乾。雖然今年她無法挨家挨戶地去賣餅乾,她在三月十五日及三月二十二日會去她的女童子軍團的攤位賣餅乾。