Cookie Kickoff 2013

2013 Cookie Kickoffs

Cookie Program Kickoff--Lehigh Valley!
Mark your calendars to attend the Cookie Kickoff in Lehigh Valley!  

          What: Rock Climbing, Cookie Box Sculpture Building, Roller Skating, and more!
          Where: Independence Family Fun Center, 4345 Independence Dr, Schnecksville, PA 18078
          When: January 13, 2013 
          Time: Daisy's, Brownies, and Juniors: 12:00PM-2:00PM
                     Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors: 2:30PM-4:30PM
          Cost: Free and no pre-registration! Please note that if you’d like to participate in roller skating, there is a small fee for skate rental: $2.50 for roller skates and $3.50 for inline skates.

Participate in at least two activities at the kickoff and receive a Cookie Rally patch! The Independence Family Fun Center asks that you not bring any food into their building, but they will be offering concession food for purchase.



Cookie Program Kickoff--Philly! 
Mark your calendars to attend the Cookie Kickoff in Philadelphia!  

          When: Thursday, January 17, 2013  
          Time: 9:00am – 2:00pm  
           This is a large scale cookie booth created to help bring awareness to the public that our Cookie Program has begun. If you have older girls interested in participating please let the Product Program Department know. This kickoff is held on a week day during school hours so it will require girls to be out of school for the day. Proceeds from this event go to the GSBB program. 


Cookie Program Kickoff--Reading! 
Mark your calendars to attend the Cookie Kickoff in Reading!  

          When: Saturday, January 19, 2013  
          Time: 11:00am – 2:00pm  
          Cost: Free admission for Girl Scouts in uniform and no pre-registration; 
          Regular Museum  admission for other visitors

Join the Reading Public Museum and the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania as we help kick-off the 2013 Cookie Season! Tour the Museum and recieve a Cookie Rally Patch! 

Updating Troop Information!

As Troop Cookie Managers, it is very important that your correct contact information is listed in Snap. If a member of the Product Program team is trying to contact you, this is the first place they'll look.  

If you're unsure how to update your information in Snap, please review the video below.

Entering Initial Orders

Entering Initial Orders

Initial orders are due in SNAP by December 10, 2012. 

For more information on how to enter an initial order, this video tutorial will help! 

Stay Connected

Newsbytes: During the Cookie Program, any volunteer can elect to receive our Newsytes newsletter. Just visit www.gsep.org and click on the eNews sign up on the bottom of the home page. You'll be prompted to enter your email address. Make sure to check “Newsbytes: Product Program Newsletter.”

SUCM Memos: During the Cookie Program, Service Unit Cookie Managers can expect emails to come to them directly from their respective Product Program Manager. These emails will contain information that is not necessarily pertinent for anyone outside of this position. 

Facebook: GSEP Thin Mints: This is our Facebook group where you can post photographs from the 2012 Cookie Program and communicate with other volunteers! Just login to Facebook and add “GSEP Thin Mints” as a friend.

Twitter: @GSEPThinMints: Are you on Twitter? So are we! Receive updates on the Cookie Program by following @GSEPThinMints.

www.gsep.org: Find forms, links and resources for the 2012 Cookie Program under “Cookies and More.” You can also check out our “Cookie Alerts” page to find out about reorder station closings.

Council Sponsored Booth Lottery!

The Council-sponsored Cookie Booth opened today November 29th and will run until  to December 6, 2012. The actual lottery will run on December 7, 2012. Please view the Council-sponsored Cookie Booth Lottery Information Worksheet for step by step instructions and important tips.

This power point will also provide information on how to enter the booth lottery and set up your troops booths into the Cookie Booth Finder: Cookie Booth Tutorial

Also check out our Council-Sponsored Cookie Booth Lottery video to learn how to enter. Remember, the lottery is open for all troops wishing to participate!

2013 Incentive Plans

Through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, girls can earn personal incentives while raising money for their troop. Listed below are the various incentive plans offered to individual girls. Are there specific incentives that your Girl Scout hopes to earn?

Cumulative Plan—open to all Girl Scouts  
The Cumulative Plan allows individual girls to receive items such as a stuffed penguin, a yearly Girl Scout Membership voucher and other fun items for girls. These items are cumulative and are based on the number of packages sold by the individual girl (e.g. if a girl sells 300 packages of Girl Scout Cookies, then she will receive a Theme Patch, a 300+ Achievement Bar and all cumulative items up to the 300 package level). This incentive plan includes a Membership Voucher at 200 packages that will expire on October 31, 2013

Adventure Credit Plan—open to all Girl Scouts  
This plan is not cumulative and does include all patches that individual girls have earned. Adventure Credits come in the form of a voucher that can be used toward purchases in GSEP Retail Shops, GSEP Programs/Events, GSEP Summer Camps or Service Unit Neighborhood Day camps. An individual girl must sell at least 200 packages in order to be eligible to receive Adventure Credits. Adventure Credits for the 2012 Cookie Program will expire on October 31, 2013.

Older Girl Travel Plan—open to Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors  
This incentive plan is not cumulative, but does include all patches that individual girls have earned. Qualifying girls will still be invited to the Mystery Tour and the 500 Club Picnics. This plan enables older girls to earn travel money for troop-based programs, trips or Destinations. These monies may be banked and used within two years. Girls must sell at least 500 packages in order to be eligible to receive this incentive option. If your troop is planning to use this incentive, the following must be submitted to Susan Schmalzried by January 1, 2012 at sschmalzried@gsep.org:

• Letter of Intent 
• Number of girls attending  
• Budget  
• Additional money-earning endeavors

Older Girl Extra 5 Cents Proceed Plan—open to Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Troops  
This troop proceed plan should be voted on by the entire troop. If the entire troop elects to receive the Older Girl Proceed Plan, the troop will forego all other incentives other than the patches that the girls have earned. These girls must have a troop PGA of 160 to earn the extra $.05/pkg. Qualifying girls will still be invited to the Mystery Tour and the 500 Club Picnics.

Troop Proceeds  
There are six troop proceed levels based on the average number of packages sold by the total number of girls in the troop. This is known as the per girl average, or PGA.

1 – 129 = $.60/package

130 – 159 = $.65/package

160 – 199 = $.75/package

200 – 299 = $.75/package

200 – 299 = $..80/package 

300+ & up = $.85/package

New cookies

Girls Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania offers eight varieties of Girl Scout Cookies. Here’s this year’s line-up:

Thin Mints: Thin chocolate wafers dipped in a chocolaty coating with a burst of peppermint. 

Peanut Butter Patties®: Crispy vanilla cookies layered with real peanut butter and blanketed with a chocolaty coating.

Caramel deLites®: Vanilla cookies drenched in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and drizzled with cocoa stripes. 

Peanut Butter Sandwich: Smooth peanut butter sandwiched between crunchy oatmeal cookies.

Thanks-A-Lot™: Shortbread cookies dipped in rich fudge and topped with an embossed “Thank You” message in one of five languages.

Lemonades™: Shortbread cookies with a refreshingly tangy lemon icing.

Shortbread: A traditional favorite with a buttery, light flavor.

Mango Cremes™: A coconut sandwhich cookie filled with a mango creme