Cookie Rally - Volunteer Connect

Guide
What Can a Girl Do?
Anything they set their mind to! Cookie Rallies build excitement about the
Cookie Program for girls and parents across the Council, in a region, or in
a service area. Girls of all ages learn by doing while completing these fun,
interactive business-building stations.
The 5 W’s of a Cookie Rally
1. WHAT is a Cookie Rally?
A Cookie Rally is the kickoff event to the Girl Scout Cookie Program and a
great way to get girls excited to sell cookies and earn recognitions. Part of
getting the girls excited is letting them try their hand at things they might
experience during the Cookie Program. This packet should help with
making this happen!
2. WHY host a Cookie Rally?
• To provide a fun event for girls to preview what makes a great Girl
Scout Cookie Program.
• To teach girls the value of the Cookie Program.
• To help girls build skills they can use for the rest of their lives.
• To generate enthusiasm and support for the Cookie Program among
adults and girls.
• To teach girls about goal-setting, decision-making, money
management, people skills, and business ethics.
3. WHERE should a Cookie Rally be held?
Consider the activities you want to do, the number of girls that may be
attending, parking, accessibility, comfort, and cost. One suggestion may
be to hold the rally in the school cafeteria, gym, or a local church.
4. WHEN should a Cookie Rally be held?
Some Service Areas choose to have their Cookie Rallies the night sales
start to hand out order cards, while other Service Areas hold theirs a
week or two before the sale starts to get girls pumped up. The goal of a
rally is to help generate more enthusiasm, however and whenever you
feel your Service Area can make that happen is what’s best! The length
of the event will vary depending on the number of activities you want to
do and the number of girls you predict will attend.
What You’ll Need
v Tables for stations
v Chairs
v Volunteers for stations
v Supplies for each station
v Door prizes
v Girl Scout cookies to sample
v Rally patches
v Cookie costumes (optional)
GSNWGL will provide cookies and rally
patches for your Cookie Rally! Contact
your Community Development staff or
the Product Program Department to
request these items.
5. WHO should be invited to the Cookie Rally?
Invite Girl Scout troops in your Service Area, Juliettes within your Service
Area, Girl Scout volunteers to help supervise stations, parents to get
involved with their daughters’ cookie sales, and older Girl Scouts who
may not want to participate in activities but rather lead activities.
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How Cookie Rallies Work
• Recruit volunteers to help. Break jobs into small
responsibilities that people can easily do. Invite teen Girl
Scouts to help as well!
• Work the theme of “What Can a Girl Do?” and financial
literacy throughout the event.
• Incorporate the five business-building skills that
girls learn through the Girl Scout Cookie Program
into activities: goal-setting, decision-making, money
management, people skills, and business ethics.
• Encourage the girls to interact and share ideas.
• If planning a Cookie Rally with a “round robin” format,
use a horn or whistle to signal when it’s time to move to
the next station (usually about 15 minutes per station).
• Be creative and have fun!
• Allow 10–15 minutes at the end for evaluations, final
announcements, and closing activities.
• Allow approximately 45 minutes at the end for cleanup.
• Begin setting up and preparing supplies at least 90
minutes before the event. Everything should be ready to
go at least 30 minutes before the event is scheduled to
start.
• Participants often begin arriving 30 minutes before the
event is scheduled to begin. This is a good time to begin
check-in so the event can start on time. Plan for simple
activities to be offered such as songs or ice breakers
before the Cookie Rally begins.
• Divide the girls into manageable groups.
• Explain how the event will run.
Badge-Earning Activities
Many of the activities in this guide align with requirements to earn badges. If girls complete badge work at the rally, send
them home with a slip of paper (sample included in this packet) indicating which requirements they have completed so
they can finish the rest at home or with their troop.
Grade Level
Badge
Requirements that could be met with activities from this packet
1. Find out how much cookies cost
2. Learn about the different kinds of Girl Scout cookies
3. Set a sales goal
Daisy
Count It Up
Daisy
Talk It Up 2. Learn how cookie money can help others
3. Inspire others!
Brownie
Meet My Customers
1. Find out where customers are
2. Talk to customers
3. Practice handling money
4. Role-play customer relations
5. Thank customers
Brownie
Give Back
5. Tell customers how they’ve helped
Junior
Cookie CEO
1. Set a group goal
4. Learn to make a good impression
Junior
Customer Insights
5. Listen for clues
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In this guide, each station has a number of suggested activities you may be interested in for your Cookie Rally. Choose the
ones that work best for you, or feel free to substitute other activities if you wish.
Get the Party Started!
1
Use these activities to get girls get ready for a fun rally
and get them excited for the upcoming sale!
Sing it Loud, Sing it Proud!
Goal: Get the girls excited about the sale!
Required supplies: Song sheets (available on Volunteer Connect,
or you can request copies from your Community Development staff person two weeks prior)
Optional supplies: Music player to play tune, microphone/megaphone for song leader, simple instruments to add in (i.e. tambourine, bells, drums)
Get the whole group jazzed up by starting with a few cookie songs and Percy the Pale Faced Polar Bear, a camp favorite and
a tribute to this year’s cookie mascot, Snowball the polar bear! We’ve included song sheets for you to pass out with lyrics. If
you are unfamiliar with any of the tunes, below are links to each song.
• Cookie Time (Tune: Chipmunk Song) http://youtu.be/x5e_vG2fLhA
• Buy Thin Mints (Tune: Jingle Bells) http://youtu.be/HCCERH2aams
• Girl Scout Cookies (Tune: Are You Sleeping) http://youtu.be/-vdnHErW624
• Percy, the Pale Faced Polar Bear (repeat-after-me song) http://youtu.be/FeRAFIFEECk
Polar Bear Shortbread Cookies
Goal: Recognize the theme and mascot for the 2015 cookie program
Required supplies: Shortbread cookies (1 per girl), can of white frosting, knives, napkins or
small plates, mini-marshmallows, m&m’s or chocolate chips
Give each girl a Shortbread on a paper plate or napkin. Frost the flat side of the cookie.
Cut a mini-marshmallow in half and place one half on each side of the cookie, near the
top, for ears. Place chocolate chips or M&M’s for eyes and a nose to create your own polar
bear treat! As the girls are working, mention that the theme for the cookie sale is “Lead the
Change.” Ask them what they think that means to start a conversation.
Face Painting
Goal: Get girls excited about the sale!
Required supplies: Face painting materials, water, paper towel or baby wipes, design examples idea sheet (sheet provided)
Offer a face painting station featuring designs related to the Cookie Program such as a cookie, trefoil, polar bear, etc. Face
painting is always very popular, so be sure you have plenty of painters on hand in case lines get lengthy!
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Product and Program Knowledge
2
Teach girls the basics of their product to give them
the confidence they need to go out and sell, sell, sell!
Creative Cookie
Goal: Have fun while learning about the different cookie varieties
Required supplies: Big sheets of paper, markers, Play-Doh, act/draw/sculpt cards, cookie cards (cards provided)
Have girls pick a card from the act/draw/sculpt pile and one from the cookie card pile. If they get “draw,” they have to draw
the cookie on their cookie card for others to guess. If they get “act,” they have to try to express the cookie on their card
charades-style. If they get “sculpt,” they have to make the cookie on their card out of play dough. For this activity, each girl
could be paired with another girl to be the guesser, or it could be done in a group.
Senses Cookie Game
Goal: Learn more about the cookies they are selling in a unique way!
Required supplies: Sample cookies, bowls, spoons, small paper bag, description sheet (sheet provided)
Have girls pick a face-down card (mouth card: taste; nose card: smell; ear card: hear) and guess what type of cookie it is
using only a specific sense.
• Mouth card: Take some of your sample cookies and smash them up into very tiny pieces in a bowl (one bowl per cookie
type). Have the girl close her eyes and place a small amount of crushed cookie in her hand. Have her taste it. Can she
guess what type just by tasting?
• Nose card: Using your sample cookies, take one of each type of cookie and put it in an opaque bag. Brown paper lunch
bags work well. Have her close her eyes and smell inside of the bag. Can she identify the cookie type just by smell?
• Ear card: Read a description of a cookie from the description sheet provided. Can she identify the cookie by
description?
Military Cards
Goal: Learn more about this year’s cookie share program, which will be sending cookies to military forces oversees.
Required supplies: Military card template (provided), crayons, pens, pencils, markers
Share the cookie love by encouraging girls to promote the cookie share program! This year, cookies purchased for cookie
share will be sent directly to the armed forces. Girls will be making cards to go with the donation. Have girls color and
decorate their cards. Collect all cards at the end of the event and turn them in to your Community Development staff
contact. They will make sure the cards are shipped with the donated cookies!
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Goal-Setting
3
These activities will help girls stay motivated
and on track to exceed their goals!
The Recognition is Right!
Goal: Show girls what recognitions they can earn at different levels
Required supplies: Order card with recognition items, sample set of recognitions (borrowed from Council)
Optional supplies: Stickers or other small prizes
Work with your Community Development staff contact to borrow a sample set of recognitions to display on a table. Mix
them up so they are not in cumulative order. Randomly select a recognition and ask girls to guess how many boxes need
to be sold in order to earn the recognition. Girls who guess correctly or closest without going over get a high-five or a
small prize.
Goal Getting Sticks
Goal: Help the girls set goals and monitor their progress
Required supplies: Polar bear goal chart template (available on Volunteer Connect, or you can request copies from your
Community Development staff person two weeks prior), wooden paint stir sticks (1 per girl), glue,
permanent marker, markers or crayons, scissors
Have the girls discuss their personal goal for the sale. Ask them what special activities they would like to help fund for
their troops. Field trips? Horseback riding? Water parks? Ask which recognitions they’d like to earn. They can use these
choices to set a personal goal. Most girls would like to shoot for at least 160 boxes to make sure they have the funds for
the troops’ needs for the year.
Give each girl a polar bear goal chart template and have them cut out and color the polar bear and the progress markers.
With a permanent marker, write their personal goal at the top of the stick and glue the polar bear at the bottom. Then
glue the progress markers at the appropriate places along the stick. Explain that as they sell boxes, they can use a marker
to color up to the level they are at to track their progress.
Cookie Dreams Quilt
Goal: Have girls think about opportunities and set goals
Required supplies: Quilt square sheets (available on Volunteer Connect, or you can request copies from your
Community Development staff person two weeks prior), scissors, decorating materials (could be as
simple as crayons, or as elaborate as glitter, sequins, ribbon, fabric pieces, etc.), tape
Have each girl decorate a quilt square. In the center of the square, she should write or draw what she dreams of doing
with her cookie program funds. Camping? Horseback riding? Kayaking? Going to Washington D.C. or Savannah? Going to
the pool? Having a pizza party? Have the girls add their completed quilt square to the wall to create one large “quilt.” See
if you can leave the quilt up or display it at a community site, such as a school or library.
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Super Sales
4
Activities designed to generate savvy,
smart, and safe sales!
Knock, Knock…
Goal: Get girls to practice their sales pitch and gain confidence
Required supplies: Door or curtain for customers to stand behind
Optional supplies: Bell to use as doorbell, props such as wigs, costumes, etc. for customers to wear to surprise girls
Ask parents, teachers, or even local celebrities such as the mayor, TV news people, sports teams, etc. to serve as
customers for girls to practice their sales pitches on. Prepare customers with questions a cookie customer might ask, such
as how much does a box cost? What are your favorites? And, what is your troop going to do with the funds?
Jump Rope Money Game
Goal: Understand cookie cost and practice making change
Required supplies: Jump rope, play money (provided), cookie cost chart (provided)
Have girls jump rope, singularly or with two people twirling. For as many times as they can jump without missing, they have
to say how much that amount of cookie boxes would cost. For example, if a girl jumps ten times in a row, she would figure
out how much it would cost to buy ten boxes of cookies ($35). Then a volunteer will pretend to be a customer, and they will
have to make change for their sale.
Cookie Ball Toss
Goal: Teach girls basic cookie sale and safety information
Required supplies: Five buckets (ice cream pails, sand buckets, or baskets) each labeled with a picture of a
cookie variety (pictures provided), five ping pong balls, bean bags or other small ball to throw.
Cookie questions (Sheet provided)
Have girls stand at a designated line. Give them each five balls/bean bags. Have them try to throw a ball into each bucket. If
they don’t get the ball in the bucket, they have to answer a cookie question for every one they miss, asked by the volunteer
running the station.
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Marketing
5
Sharpen girls’ marketing skills with games,
crafts, and even pictures!
Fun Photo Booth
Goal: Help girls market their sale
Required supplies: Cookie signs (provided)
Optional supplies: Cookie costumes, fun props such as wigs or sunglasses, digital camera
Take troop and/or individual girl photos in this fun photo booth. When the sale begins, girls can email them to family and
friends or even work with their parents to post them on social media to market their sale.
You can designate a rally photographer who can take pictures at the booth. A photographer’s assistant could gather names
and email addresses from parents or leaders and email the pictures to the troop leader or family after the event. Or you
could simply set up the station and have leaders or parents use the props to take pictures with their own phone or camera.
We have designed some awesome signs and pictures for you to use as props. If you have access to cookie costumes, you
could also use these for props. Consider bringing in other items such as sunglasses, mustaches, hats, etc.
All About Me Paper Doll
Goal: Make a creative sign to use as a sales tool
Required supplies: Paper doll templates (provided), crayons, markers, scissors, tape or glue stick
Have the girls decorate and cut out the paper doll templates. These can be used as a unique stand up sign if they are having
parents or grandparents bring cookie sales information or order sheets to work, church, etc.
Thank You Cards
Goal: To secure repeat customers and to show girls the importance of thanking their customers
Required supplies: Thank you card templates (provided), crayons, makers, pens, pencils
At this station, girls can create and decorate thank-you cards that they can give to their customers. Girls will take
completed cards home to distribute with their cookies at delivery.
www.gsnwgl.org � 888.747.6945 � productprograms@gsnwgl.org � www.facebook.com/GSNWGLProductPrograms