Beacon Hill Girl Scout troop sells more than 12,000 boxes of cookies

The girls work really hard on this stuff. They're the ones going out in the cold standing in front of grocery stores and hauling wagons door to door. They're the ones emailing non-local family members to get online orders. Do the parents help? Of course they do. But it's the girls driving the business rather than just asking their parents to pony up a check to pay for everything.

There's high and low finance and way and more ways to figure it, according to people who have researched it. From what I can see, for the majority of cookies that cost $4 a box, the baker gets about $1. The $3 goes to the Council (a district or county group of troops), From that, they givvy up the net per their agreement with their troops. It seems to be between 50¢ and 70¢, most leaning toward to lower end.

Cookies are $5 a box and the cut for the troop is $.90. The rest is split between the bakery and the Girl Scouts of Eastern MA & GSUSA.

(Source: My daughter's troop.)

"Troop 65321 is donating part its cookie proceeds to Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker’s Wonderfund, supporting local children in the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families"

So some of the money from cookies goes to the local council. Our council turns around and supports girls in need with financial assistance with dues and program fees and camp scholarships, including some for girls in foster care.

Also, girls are selling these to the public, not just within their family and friends circle. My own troop has been 100% self sustaining since the girls were in 2nd grade (they're now in high school). Through their efforts selling cookies, we've paid for their uniforms, badges and insignia, annual dues, and trips and activities, including going surfing down the Cape, bike trips, camping, rope climbing, service projects, and tons of crafts.

It's not just a transaction thing. They are learning life skills. They are learning entrepreneurship. Here, read what they are learning.

In my day we worked to earn things. Now there are people who think they there is no value in working to earn things. Sad.