Brighton area Girl Scouts to participate in largest virtual cookie party

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP– It’s billed as the world’s largest virtual Girl Scout cookie party and it’s happening this weekend at the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor Regional Center.

In honor of National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend, the shop at the regional center, at 444 James L. Hart Parkway, will have cookies available for purchase from  8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.  In the meantime area Girl Scouts are continuing to take orders for the cookies which customers should begin receiving after February 24.  Cookies also will be available for purchase at Cookie Booths which run from February 14-March 16.

“Girl Scout Cookie Weekend is a great opportunity to share the fun and excitement of the Girl Scout Cookie Program,” said Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. “As we celebrate the 97th anniversary of Girl Scout Cookies, it’s important to remember supporting the program helps girls build a lifetime of skills and confidence.”

Cookie fans and girls can join the festivities which take place Friday-Sunday by participating in national and regional celebrations, as well as via social media, including a Twitter party with Chávez, local Girl Scout councils around the United States, and Mom It Forward, a leading women’s social media community.

The annual sales of the iconic cookies is the world’s largest girl-led business with nearly $800 million in sales.  The goal of the cookie program is to teach girls five essential life skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, business ethics, and people skills.  This year Girl Scouts introduced the Strive for Five initiative which enters people who buy five boxes of cookies into a drawing to win five cases of the cookies of their choice.

Seventy-five percent of the sales from each box of cookies is used to provide programming and services for girls and adult volunteers.  The remaining 25 percent pays for the cost of the cookies.

“The simple act of buying Girl Scout cookies helps us to provide the types of programming and services that help us to fulfill our mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character who will make the world a better place,” said Jan Barker, GSHOM’s Chief Executive Officer.  “These girls are our future leaders and as the premier leadership organization for girls it is our job to make sure they have every possible opportunity available to them to succeed.”

As part of their experience in various Girl Scout activities, girls can earn official Girl Scout awards at every level of Girl Scouting, including cookie and financial literacy badges and an annual Girl Scout Cookie Activity pin. In celebration of this special weekend, a brand-new National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend patch is now available as well.

 To join the celebration and for additional information on events happening in your area, please visit www.girlscoutcookies.org or www.gshom.org and follow @girlscouts on Twitter.

 For ease of purchase, customers can find their Thin Mints, Samoas/Caramel deLites, and other favorite Girl Scout Cookies by using the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app, available free for iPhone or Android by visiting the GSHOM website at www.gshom.org.

About Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan

Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan was founded in 2008 as the result of a merger of five councils.  GSHOM’s service area includes 34 counties bordered by Roscommon to the north; St. Joseph to the south; Huron to the east; and Allegan to the west.  The council serves more than 20,000 girls and more than 5,000 adult volunteers through regional centers located in Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Saginaw, and Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor.  The organization’s mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character who will make the world a better place.