Friday, January 13, 2012

Girl Scout Troops Boycott Their Own Cookie Sales

AURORA, Ohio?

The decision to sell several Girl Scout camps in northeast Ohio has prompted some local Girl Scout troops to boycott cookie sales.

"The mission of Girl Scouts is to build girls of confidence, courage and character. We do that largely through camping and high adventure," said Marie Cassidy.

Cassidy is a former Girl Scout and local leader of troop #391 in Aurora.

She said because of the camp closures, this year her daughter and the 15 other registered members will not be taking part in the annual cookie fundraiser.

"One of the camps, Camp Crowell/Hilaka, that they're selling has a high ropes, zip-lining course. They would love to camp there and be able to do that but they won't be able to do that because they're selling it," Cassidy explained.

Earlier this year, the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio decided to sell four camps in an 18-county area. Since 2007, the number of camps has dwindled from 14 to 3.

"They only make about 15-20% on the cookie sales. They don't make a lot. They've always seen it as a fundraiser for council and they did it to support the camps," said Cassidy.

CEO of Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio Daisy Alford-Smith argued, "What you're really doing is saying, 'I'm not going to sell cookies because I want to hurt the girls further and I want to prevent them from having a Girl Scout experience.'"

Alford-Smith said because of low utilization and safety concerns, the future of the camps will remain unchanged.

"Of the 40,000 girl scouts that we have in northeast Ohio, I would say 10 or 15% are those who use the camps," said Alford-Smith.

Cookie sales are the primary fundraiser for Girl Scouts.

Alford-Smith said last year, over $2 million generated in cookie sales went directly to the troops.

"The money we make from the sale of the cookies are directed for the girls in terms of all their experiences in girl scouting, particularly the education, the programs and the camping," said Alford-Smith.

"The troops that survive past elementary school are the ones that camp together. It's the only thing that makes Girl Scouts unique from than any other organization you could belong to," said Cassidy.

Source: http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-girl-scout-cookie-boycott-camps-closing-ea-txt,0,5567618.story?track=rss

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