Girl Scout Cookies are now in Town!

While some may be disputing the advent of Spring, there’s no question Girl Scout cookies have arrived in West Orange. If you’re one of the thousands of residents who pre-purchased Thin Mints, Samoas or another variety from a local scout, you should have received or will be receiving your cookies very soon.

But if you hadn’t the opportunity to order last month, don’t despair.  From now until Sunday, April 21, Girl Scouts are out and about selling cookies in a variety of ways. 

Every weekend between now and the sale’s end, scout troops will be at different locations around town hawking cookies at “booth sales.”  There you may buy any quantity of your favorites on a “cash and carry” basis, paying $4 per box and taking them home with you. 

To find booth sale locations, please go to the Cookie Locator page on the Girl Scout Heart of New Jersey website. By typing in the West Orange zip code, 07052, you’ll be sent to a monthly calendar. Click on the name of a location to get the exact time and address of the sale. The site is continually updated, so sales may be added to the calendar between now and April 21.

Individual Girl Scouts are also taking cookie re-orders, so you still may be solicited by a scout who lives in your neighborhood. And if you personally know a Girl Scout, just ask her about purchasing some boxes. Quantities of cookies have already been delivered to the local troops, so she should be able to fill your order within a few days.

One further incentive to stock up on cookies (they do freeze well) is Strive for Five, a special promotion from the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Council. Customers who buy five or more boxes of cookies will be entered into a drawing to win an iPad. One entry is awarded for every five boxes purchased; for example 15 boxes would allow three entries. Customers need only provide the scout with their first name and contact information. The winner will be randomly selected from all entries in the council -- which comprises six counties in northern and central New Jersey -- by May 3.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the cookie sale benefits Girl Scouts financially and, just as importantly, helps the girls develop important business and people skills.

Hopefully you have all the information and incentive you need to be a Girl Scout cookie customer in 2013. But if you do have questions, please contact West Orange Service Unit Manager Rachelle Brown or visit the council website. Thanks for your support!

Clare Silvestri Krakoviak is leader of West Orange Girl Scout Troop 20723.