SALT LAKE CITY -- For so many young women in the Beehive State, knocking on that first door is scary.
But, girls as young as five make Utah one of the top-selling states for Girl Scout cookies, and the lessons they take away are just plain sweet.
“Utah sold 1.4 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year,” said Amelia, a senior Girl Scout.
Aspen and Amelia are cookie bosses.
"I sold 500 Girl Scout cookies my first year, and I was able to use those cookie credits to go to camp,” Aspen said.
Cookie credits are not the only lesson about credit the girls learn.
“Girls as young as five, and all the way up to 18 years old, are learning the basic skills of running a business as well as financial literacy,” said Janet Frasier, CEO for Girl Scouts of Utah.
Tracking sales, delivering orders and helping in the warehouse, where most of the cookies for the Beehive State arrive, are all part of the process.
“This year I’m also going to Alaska with my cookie credits and to D.C.,” Amelia said.
Frasier said Utah stands above the rest in some respects.
“One thing that we’re particularly proud of here in the state of Utah is that we’ve consistently had the highest per-girl sales, so per-girl sales average, in the nation," Frasier said.
Amelia said for Girl Scouts, the cookie sales are, “The opportunity to lead, the opportunity to do what they want.”
For thousands of young women in Utah, Girl Scout cookies are a sweet lesson in success. Starting in mid-March, cookie booths will start popping up at grocery stores, libraries and other shopping hot spots.
But if you buy directly from a Girl Scout in your neighborhood, she earns a larger percentage of cookie points. For more information about the Girl Scouts of Utah, visit their website.
