GIRL SCOUTS TURN ON THE LIGHTS FOR THE COOKIES

The regional Scout council has set aside a day for people to place their orders.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
enerally, if people are asked, they buy Girl Scout cookies," said Susan E. Paczak, director of training and communications for Girl Scouts of Lake to River Council.
And why don't people buy cookies? Because they weren't asked.
The council came up with a response to that situation with a day of order taking planned from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. People who want to order Girl Scout cookies should turn on porch and outside lights to signal their interest. The council has held this order-taking day for three years. "The weather usually is some gray January day," Paczak said, but the Scouts aren't deterred.
"It's a safe place to knock when the girls see the lights on," Paczak said. The door-to-door sales force is trained in various safety measures, she added. Scouts younger than 13 must be accompanied by adults, and those 13 and older must use the buddy system. Daisy Scouts, in kindergarten, do not sell cookies. Cookie-sellers are Brownies in second and third grades, Juniors in fourth through sixth grades, Cadettes in junior high grades, and seniors in ninth through 12th grades.
Last year, Paczak said, the initial order for the council was 481,644 boxes of cookies. "We base our budget on what we anticipate will be sales," Paczak said. The numbers fluctuate because membership and sales varies from year to year."
"It's mandated by the Girl Scout organization that cookies are sold within 90 days of baking," she said. "So really they are baked to order."
Though January is often seen as the month to start a diet or fitness program, a cookie sale may seem misplaced. "For people who'd rather not be eating cookies, we suggest buying a box to be donated to a food bank or nursing home," Paczak said. "It works as a service project. We haven't had a huge response but there has been some interest."
Incentives
One incentive to sell cookies among Girl Scouts is an after-hours shopping trip to Eastwood Mall. "If the average in the troop is 135 boxes per girl, the troop gets to participate. Last year about 1,500 scouts and adults were at Eastwood from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.," Paczak said. "The tween and teen stores stay open for us and some food places. We have a DJ and party," she said of the activity that has taken place for about seven years.
Even though many other groups have fund-raisers involving food, there's just something about Girl Scout cookies. "It's part of Americana," Paczak said. "Kind of like Mom, apple pie, Chevrolet and Girl Scout cookies.
"For some, it's a piece of home," Paczak said. "I used to send a case to my son when he was in the Marine Corps."
And grandparents and other relatives, who live elsewhere, often buy cookies from area Scouts. "It's a way of remembering people," Paczak said.
This year, Girl Scout cookies offers a new variety, Caf & eacute; Cookies, a crisp cookie caramelized with brown sugar and touch of cinnamon spice.
What's available
Returning favorites are:
UThin Mints, the best-selling cookie in the country. "They're the most popular here, too. People like to freeze them and eat them ... that cool mint taste," Paczak said. "All the cookies freeze well."
USamoas, caramel and coconut cookies. "In a couple of councils, samoas are getting as popular as Thin Mints," Paczak said.
UTrefoils, shortbread.
ULemon Coolers, reduced-fat cookies covered with powdered sugar.
UTagalongs, cookies topped with peanut butter and chocolate.
UDo-si-dos, peanut butter sandwich cookies.
UAll Abouts, shortbread with fudge coating.
To place an order, call the council office at (330) 652-5877 or (800) 362-9430. Orders will be taken until Feb. 5; delivery dates are the last week in February and the first week of March. During March and early April, Girl Scouts also will sell boxes of cookies at "cookie shops" at retail and community sites in the four-county area.
Each box of cookies costs $3, and 50 cents of that stays with the troop that sold the box. Less than one-third of the $3 goes to pay for the cookies. The remainder of the money benefits the local council and funds about 100 activities annually that the council sponsors. The sale proceeds provide Girl Scout services to some 6,000 girls and 2,500 adult volunteers in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.