Do-si-do and tagalong means it is cookie sale time

By Tricia Goecks

Editor

STATELINE – Thin Mints. Do-si-dos. Trefoils. Samoas. Tagalongs.

It can only mean one thing. It is Girl Scout cookie sale season. For the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois, the cookie sale campaign began on Jan. 9. New to the Girl Scout cookie line up is Rah-Rah Raisins, which feature whole grain oats and plump raisins. Girl Scout cookies are $4 per box. A gluten-free variety is available for $5 per box.

New to the cookie sale campaign is the addition of a digital sales platform which allows the girls to learn new business skills, money handling, and digital marketing. “We send them an e-mail and ask them and they can write back and tell us what they want,” Ruby Gundrum said. Ruby, a Brownie from Troop 316 at Rockford Christian Elementary School, is an emissary for her troop. “We can send it to them.”

As part of the Digital Cookie platform, Daisies, Brownies and Girl Scouts set up individual websites and send e-mails to friends and family members to invite them to their website from which they can order cookies through Mar. 9. To protect the girls, the only way to access a girl’s Digital Cookie website is via an e-mail invitation from the Girl Scout.

The cookies can be shipped anywhere throughout the country for an additional charge with payment made via secured credit card entry. Ruby’s parents Dan and Stephanie Gundrum from Belvidere have friends and family scattered throughout the United States. The Digital Cookie has allowed Ruby to increase her marketing success.

The Digital Cookie platform has not replaced the traditional door-to-door sales or the cookie booth sales outside of various businesses in the spring.

The net revenue from the cookie sales go to support the local Girl Scout council for the girl who sells the cookies. The girls decide how to use the money to fund troop activities, service projects and learning experiences. “Last year we got to go to the Winnebago County Animal Shelter,” Ruby said.  The troop donated supplies to the shelter. “We also went to Dairy Queen to decorate a cake.”

For people who have not been approached by a Girl Scout, they can e-mail [email protected] and their cookie order will be forwarded to a local Girl Scout.

As for Ruby, her favorite cookies are the Thin Mints. Her mom is partial to the Tagalongs