Girl Scouts Of Eastern Pennsylvania Kicks Off ‘Cookies From Home’ During Annual Army-Navy Rivalry

Donations through adjunct Girl Scout Cookie program directly support cookie shipments to military personnel serving overseas

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In partnership with the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and Operation Gratitude, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP) is kicking off its Council-wide Cookies from Home program, as the Army-Navy rivalry returns to Philadelphia for its annual football match-up.

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Although its 2009-10 Cookie Program doesn’t officially begin until January 14, GSEP is using the 2009 Army-Navy football game to showcase Cookies from Home .  The program is an initiative of Girl Scouts of the USA that GSEP conducts Council-wide to encourage monetary donations that support shipment of Girl Scout Cookies to military personnel serving overseas.  

A portion of the proceeds from the Army-Navy Cookies from Home kick-off will be used to help send daughters of active military personnel to Girl Scout Camp next summer.  Through the regular Cookie Program, Girl Scouts typically accrue and apply proceeds from their Cookie sales to a range of individual or troop-based incentives.

GSEP will get a jump-start on its goal of selling 5,000 cases—60,000 boxes—for Cookies from Home by staffing booths with uniformed Girl Scouts at three game-related events:

• Army-Navy Pep Rally—12- 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11 :  With an expected crowd of 1,000 Army-Navy football fans, Girl Scouts will have a captive opportunity to promote Cookies from Home .
• Army-Navy Gala—7- 11 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11 :  Girl Scouts will encourage donations from the hundreds of guests at this invitation-only event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
• 2009 Army-Navy Game—8 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12 :  Local Girl Scouts will work alongside representatives from Operation Gratitude at the Comcast Gate (11th and Pattison Streets) at Lincoln Financial Field to collect contributions.  Additional Girl Scouts will be dispatched among the crowd of game-fans to share Cookies from Home information and encourage additional donations.

Based on Cookies from Home sales generated December 11-12, GSEP will ship the corresponding number of cases of Girl Scout Cookies to Operation Gratitude’s packaging facility in Van Nuys, California.  The shipment will coincide with GSEP’s Cookie Program kick-off January 14.

In 2009, GSEP Girl Scouts sold more than 315,000 cases of cookies (more than 3.8 million boxes) to trigger an 11 percent increase over 2008 sales and far exceed the Council goal of 3 percent growth.  GSEP’s 2009 cookie sales were in dramatic contrast to most national Girl Scouts councils, many of whose sales were down by as much as 5 percent.

The Girl Scout Cookie program is the largest girl-led business in the country and generates more than $700 million for girls and communities nationwide.  Through the Cookie Program, girls develop five essential skills: goal-setting, decision-making, money management, people skills and business ethics.  Many successful business women today say they got their start selling Girl Scout Cookies.  All proceeds from a local council's Cookie activities remain in its service area to benefit girls’ troop activities and subsidize the cost of providing local Girl Scout programming.