SACRAMENTO, Calif — Across the country, young girls are participating in the annual Girl Scout Cookie Program, one of the largest girl-led entrepreneurial programs in the world. The public knows it all too well as the time of year when Girl Scouts set-up booths at community hubs to sell Girl Scout cookies including fan favorites like Thin Mints, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties.
“Girl Scout cookies only $6 a pop!”
With pompoms in hand, that was the spirited chant echoed by students at Garden Valley Elementary School in Sacramento at their cookie booth.
They are part of a Community Troop Program dedicated to creating opportunities to help make Girl Scout programming more accessible and equitable for young girls from diverse backgrounds throughout Northern and Central California.
The Girl Scouts Heart of Central California (GSHCC), who serves nearly 20,000 girl and adult members across 18 counties, created the program in 2018 and it is specific to their council. They partner with after school programs at Title I funded schools, a federal grant program serving students from low-income backgrounds, to facilitate free programming and reduce transportation barriers.
Camilo Montoya, a Girl Scout at Garden Valley Elementary, was excited for the opportunity.
“We get to cheer and we also get to sell cookies,” said Montoya.
Garden Valley Elementary launched its Community Troop Program last year. Young girls from Middle Eastern, Asian, Latin, Black and Caucasian communities comprise Troop 7084.
"We just try our best to make sure that everyone is welcome and they feel like they belong just because I feel like we all need that when we're kids, right?” said Itzalitl Martinez Nolazcl, the after-school program manager at Garden Valley Elementary.
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While many Girl Scouts sell cookies at booths outside grocery stores and retail storefronts, troops in this program predominately sell cookies on campus after school. Martinez Nolazcl says they're intentional about making the program as accommodating as possible for both the students and parents.
“We have the customers, we have the community, the parents already come and pick up the girls and it's safer. It makes the [students] feel more confident to be able to make the sales that they need,” said Martinez Nolazcl.
GSHCC started the program to address the barriers young girls from underserved communities face that can hinder their success in education and life. Their council hopes every member can have the “Girl Scout Advantage.”
Samantha Secundino, a community troop leader at Garden Valley Elementary school, had a similar upbringing to many of the students she mentors and understands why a program like this is so important.
“Because these girls don't get the opportunity, they get dismissed all the time, their emotions dismissed based on their skin tone, ethnicity, they kind of have to grow up a little more. So, within this space they get to just be a child so it's important to be inclusive,” said Secundino. “And with all that, especially in the Title I schools because they crave those opportunities, experiences and events. That's why it's so important to have Girl Scouts because it creates a foundation that can go on to later life.”
The girls have been preparing for the event for almost a month through an early entrepreneurship CEO unit that is part of the national Girl Scout Cookie Program. During the course, they learned goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. The unit is meant to help them build their entrepreneurial skills.
“It just gives the girls more confidence,” said Martinez Nolazcl.
Each cookie box is $6 and for every box sold, $1 will go toward helping pay for Troop 7084’s upcoming camping trips.
“The support in the community is so valued and important, because the girls see that and they'll be like, ‘Wow, we are important, we are needed [and] they see what we work hard for,’” said Secundino.
Martinez Nolazcl believes the experiences and skills of being a Girl Scout will ultimately open doors for the girls in the future thanks to the strong sisterhood. There are over 50 million Girl Scout alums, according to a 2021 report by the Girl Scout Research Institute.
The Girl Scouts at Garden Valley Elementary School will also learn about life skills, science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and the outdoors.
"Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout, so it's really nice to know that once the girls grow up, maybe they'll continue this outside of Garden Valley,” said Martinez Nolazcl.
Troops with the Girl Scouts Heart of Central California will lead cookie booths at schools across Northern and Central California until March 15. More information below.
- Friday, March 1 at 2:45 p.m. at Ridgepoint Elementary (4680 Monument Dr, Sacramento, CA 95842)
- Monday, March 4 at 2:10 p.m. at John Sloat Elementary (7525 Candlewood Way, Sacramento, CA 95822)
- Monday, March 4 at 2:55 p.m. at Creative Connections Arts Academy (7201 Arutas Dr, North Highlands, CA 95660)
- Tuesday, March 5 at 2:20 p.m. at John Reith Elementary (8401 Valley Lark Dr, Sacramento, CA 95823)
- Tuesday, March 5 at 2:25 p.m. at Fern Bacon Middle (4140 Cuny Ave, Sacramento, CA 95823)
- Wednesday, March 6 at 2:10 p.m. at Father Keith B Kenny Elementary (3525 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95817)
- Wednesday, March 6 at 3:15 p.m. at Northwood Elementary (2630 Taft St, Sacramento, CA 95815)
- Wednesday, March 6 at 3:10 p.m. at Robla Elementary (5200 Marysville Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95838)
- Thursday, March 7 at 1:30 p.m. at Glenwood Elementary (201 Jessie Ave, Sacramento, CA 95838)
- Thursday, March 7 at 1:30 p.m. at Gateway International School (900 Morse Ave, Sacramento, CA 95864)
- Thursday, March 7 at 1:50 p.m. at Raymond Case Elementary (8565 Shasta Lily Dr, Elk Grove, CA 95624)
- Friday, March 8 at 3:15 p.m. at La Familia Counseling Center (5523 34th St, Sacramento, CA 95820)
- Friday, March 8 at 2:45 p.m. at Matsuyama Elementary (7680 Windbridge Dr, Sacramento, CA 95831)
- Friday, March 8 at 1:50 p.m. at OW Erlewine Elementary (2441 Stansberry Way, Sacramento, CA 95826)
- Monday, March 11 at 2:05 p.m. at Elder Creek Elementary (7934 Lemon Hill Ave, Sacramento, CA 95824)
- Monday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. at Del Paso Heights Elementary (590 Morey Ave. Sacramento, CA 95838)
- Monday, March 11 at 3:10 p.m. at Isador Cohen Elementary (9025 Salmon Falls Dr, Sacramento, CA 95826)
- Tuesday, March 12 at 3:10 p.m. at Suy:u Elementary (6032 36th Ave, Sacramento, CA 95824)
- Tuesday, March 12 at 1:55 p.m. at Bannon Creek Elementary (2775 Millcreek Dr, Sacramento, CA 95833)
- Wednesday, March 13 at 3:15 p.m. at Northwood Elementary (2630 Taft St, Sacramento, CA 95815)
- Wednesday, March 13 at 12:30 p.m. at Hazel Strauch Elementary (3141 Northstead Dr, Sacramento, CA 95833)
- Wednesday, March 13 at 1:10 p.m. at Westfield Village Elementary (508 Poplar Ave, West Sacramento, CA 95691)
- Thursday, March 14 at 1:20 p.m. at Bell Ave Elementary (1900 Bell Ave, Sacramento, CA 95838 )
- Thursday, March 14 at 2:45 p.m. at Woodridge Elementary (5761 Brett Dr, Sacramento, CA 95842 )
- Thursday, March 14 at 3 p.m. at Las Palmas Elementary (477 Las Palmas Ave, Sacramento, CA 95815 )
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