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Brittiany Pittman, 10, distracted eight of her fellow Girl Scout junior cadets Saturday as she paraded through an Evans neighborhood in a Girl Scout cookie mascot uniform.
Brittiany Pittman, 10, (from left), Raven Brooks, 9, and Shawna Ames, 10, all Troop 228 Girl Scout junior cadets, describe each type of Girl Scout cookies to an Evans resident.
Photo by Quandra Collins
"I'm getting hungry!'' several junior cadets yelled to Brittiany.
It was all part of Troop 228's involvement in the Girl Scouts' annual cookie-selling drive, which officially started Saturday. The troop, which is part of the Evans Service Unit and includes about 20 members, took to the streets Saturday afternoon, knocking on more than 15 doors in 50-degree weather.
Pam Brooks, the troop's leader, said cookie booth sales that are held at shopping centers, malls and throughout town will begin Feb. 16. The cookies, however, will not be delivered to the Girl Scouts' Central Savannah River Council site on Greene Street until Feb. 18. The cookie sale, she said, is slated to end March 12.
"Five percent of all cookies consumed in the United States are Girl Scout cookies," said Susan Simmons, the public relations director for the Central Savannah River Council. "Girl Scouts are the No. 1 cookie brand in the U.S., exceeding Oreos."
For every case of 12 boxes of cookies sold, each troop will earn $5.16. Money earned from the sale is then used to sponsor trips and activities for each troop. The remaining proceeds stay in the CSRA to fund a variety of programs for Girl Scouts. Each box of cookies costs $3.
Brooks said her group is already making plans to spend the money it earns on trips to several destinations, such as the Atlanta Zoo and the Charleston Aquarium.
In 2004, Simmons said, more than 46,000 cases of Girl Scout cookies were sold in the Augusta area, totaling 93 million cookies.
Raven Brooks, 9, said the main reason people buy cookies from the group is because of the presentation.
"Some people buy cookies from us because they think we're cute," she said with a smile.
Sandra Ellis said the girls also learn lifelong skills.
"They learn about self-control, confidence and values," said Ellis, the troop's co-leader.