If your girls are skipping this step in their cookie training I highly suggest you go back and rethink that decision. Earning this pin involves more than "I sold cookies this year."
This is the first year that GSUSA has addressed the use of online marketing by troops and individual girls in the cookie campaign with the Activity Pin.
"2009-2010 Girl Scout Product Activities Get Ready, Get Set, Get Connected!"
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Every year at cookie time well meaning parents and older girls turn to the power of the Internet to boost cookie sales. Having been a leader and an Overseas Committee Chair I know first hand the concerns GSUSA has over Internet safety. This year the Cookie Activity Pin requirements not only address but focus on using the Internet.
I firmly believe that every girl should be required to earn this pin before they sell even one box of cookies.
"Stay Safe Online!
Before you begin Get Ready, Get Set, Get Connected! activities, girls should read and discuss the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge. Print out the pledge and ask girls and their parents (or guardians), to read and sign the pledge together.
Also, check out letmeknow.girlscouts.org (for adults) and lmk.girlscouts.org (for girls), our sites for general help on staying safe online.
Earning the Girl Scout Cookie Activity Pin
Girls can earn the Girl Scout Cookie Sale Activity Pin by completing at least two items from each of the categories (Gather, Store and Sort, and Share), or decide to do them all. If girls don't have access to a computer at home, help them find access in your community—at school, the library, a recreation center, or maybe even an office training area. It is more fun to work together, but girls can also do the activities under the supervision of parents at home.
The Role of Adults
Adults act as coaches who help girls develop leadership skills by using these three processes:
- Girl-led: Girls play an active part in figuring out the what, where, when, how, and why of their activities. They lead the planning and decision-making as much as possible.
- Learning by doing: Girls engage in continuous cycles of action and reflection that result in deeper understanding of concepts and mastery of practical skills.
- Cooperative learning: Girls work together toward shared goals in an atmosphere of respect and collaboration that encourages the sharing of skills, knowledge and learning.
This year's activities focus on getting connected through marketing. Concurrently, there are important updates to Safety-Wise and Volunteer Packet guidelines involving internet use for online marketing. As always, safety is our primary concern when girls are doing any activity, including using the Internet. Girls and their parents cannot make financial transactions online with Girl Scout product; however, girls can market product and ask for customer preferences, following up with the customer in person if indicate they want to purchase product. To find out how to navigate the new guidelines, read 411 on Online Product Marketing and the revised Safety-Wise standards below. Share them with adults and girls so we're all on the same page.
For more information read the Cookie Pin adult guides and cookie materials provided by your council and vendor. Attend cookie training at the council, service unit, or troop level, whether you are an adult working with girls or an adult volunteering to help the Girl Scout in your family meet her goals. In addition, check out your council's latest Volunteer Packet.
Note that Girl Scout Revised Safety Guidelines (2009) and the revised Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge apply to all council product sales (cookies, nuts and candy, magazines), with one exception. Customers may submit orders and online payment for magazines, because product is not handled directly by the girl. Girls send out e-mails to customers in a protected environment, who then choose magazines online. Offline sales materials are also available for magazines, as this function may not be available in your council."
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_activity.asp
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