Cookie Season

Sophie Jackson (left) and Ella Leggett sold cookies at the Media Acme on a snowy, cold Saturday. When a woman passed out in the store, the Swarthmore fire department was immediately on the scene to provide emergency medical services. Troop members not pictured: Annika Slootmaker, Magnolia Brown, Charlotte Hull, Lauren Davis, Kathleen Kelly, and Julia Smirnova. Troop leaders are Jen Armstrong and Kathleen Davis. Photo: Jen Armstrong

People are always really nice during cookie season (my favorite season). One windy afternoon, my neighbor and I walked around the neighborhood with my cookie cart. It was fun, but when we got home, we found that the money was short. The next morning, my mom got a text that a neighbor who’d bought cookies had found $20 in his yard and thought it might be my cookie money. It was! 

This year, we had just finished setting up our first booth of the season, on January 18, when it began to snow. Customers were worried about us being cold (especially a woman from Florida who said it wasn’t fair that Florida Girl Scouts get to sell in shorts). Whenever we needed to warm up, we danced and skipped around the table singing about the cookies. 

The cookie sale funds most of our troop’s activities, including camping. This year, we are doing winter cabin camping, with snow tubing and snowshoeing, as well as tent camping trips in May and September. Cookie money also goes toward our community projects. In 2018, we renovated the Sparrow House at SRS for our bronze award, and we are now planning our silver award projects.

Last year, I sold more than 1,000 boxes of cookies and won a trip to New York City, where I met female business and community leaders at Girl Scout headquarters. I was so inspired! I want to own a business when I am older, and I’ve learned from the cookie sale that I can achieve my goals with a plan and hard work.

The most popular cookie is by far the Thin Mint (my personal favorite), with the Caramel Delights close behind. 

The next time you are in Swarthmore, stop by Executive Cleaners on S. Chester Road or GSM Advisory Group’s office on Park Avenue to find your favorite flavors and support our Cadette troop! 

Sophie Jackson is a 6th-grader at Strath Haven Middle School.