Welcome to the eighth edition of The Cookie Press for the 2025 Cookie Season!
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For Troop Leaders and Troop Cookie Managers
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Initial Cookie Orders Due This Friday, January 24 by 11:59pm
- Picking Up Additional Cookies After the Initial Cookie Order
- Digital Cookie Access for Troop Volunteers Begins Friday, January 24
- First-Come, First-Served Cookie Booth Rounds Continue
- Cookie Booths Outreach Updates
- Troop-Secured Booth Approvals in Progress
- Cookie Open House Events at Shops Begin this Saturday
- Next Cookie Chat January 28: Cookie Booths & Cupboards
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For Community-Area Product Leaders
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Troop Cookie Manager Responsibility Forms Due February 1
- Community Proceeds Training Completion Reminder
- Assisting Troops that Missed the Initial Cookie Order
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Initial Cookie Orders Due This Friday, January 24 by 11:59pm |
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Cookie exchanges will be available later this season at our cookie cupboards. Troops will be able to exchange full, bakery-sealed cases for other varieties. Exchange dates will be announced in The Cookie Press and on Cookie Central once the details are finalized. Gluten-free Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies are not eligible for exchanges.
- If your Troop placed a pre-order for gluten-free Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies, you must enter the cases in Smart Cookies along with the rest of your initial cookie order.
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If your Troop did not place a pre-order for gluten-free cookies and you need more than two cases, complete the Gluten-Free Exception Form by January 24 AND enter the number of cases you wish to receive along with the rest of your initial cookie order in Smart Cookies.
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The Cookie Calculator lists Toast-YAYs first, followed by Adventurefuls, while Smart Cookies lists Adventurefuls first, then Toast-YAYs. Remember to verify the totals for these two varieties are correct before the deadline.
- Troops can add cookies for your first several cookie booths on your initial cookie order. This could help you avoid an early trip to a cookie cupboard!
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Picking Up Additional Cookies After the Initial Cookie Order |
Throughout the cookie sale you can restock at Cookie Cupboards across the River Valleys council area. Council On-Demand Cookie Cupboards are open to all River Valleys Troops. These cupboards are located in the Twin Cities metro area along with Rochester and Mankato. Details on locations and hours will be shared next month in The Cookie Press and on Cookie Central. Regional Cookie Cupboards are assigned to troops in communities without close proximity to a Council Cookie Cupboard. Details on locations and hours for these cupboards will appear to Troops on the Smart Cookies dashboard in early February.
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Digital Cookie Access for Troop Volunteers Begins Friday, January 24 |
Troop Leaders and Cookie Managers will receive access to Digital Cookie starting tomorrow, January 24. Watch for an email with the subject line “Cookie season is almost here! Help your troop reach their goals with Digital Cookie.” In that email, you’ll find a Register Now button to begin site set up. Check out last week’s The Cookie Press for site set up details.
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First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) Cookie Booth Rounds Continue |
There’s plenty of time to score more council-secured Cookie Booths! Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule:
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Date
| Event | Action |
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Jan. 23, 2025 Tonight
| FCFS Round 2 opens at 7 pm | Choose 3 new Booths | | Jan. 24, 2025 | FCFS Round 3 opens at 7 pm | Choose 5 new Booths | | Jan. 25, 2025 | FCFS Round 4 opens at 7 pm | Choose 8 new Booths | | Jan. 31, 2025 | FCFS Round 5 opens at 7 pm | Choose 10 new Booths | | Feb. 1, 2025 | FCFS cap is lifted
| Troops may select any new booths still available |
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For each round of first-come, first-served booths, the selections will close at 4 pm before the following round opens. During this three-hour time frame, we will upload any new booths to Smart Cookies
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Cookie Booth Outreach Updates
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We are still working to secure cookie booth's at several Walmart locations. To view a complete list of Walmart’s locations that we're still waiting for approval on, click this link. If you're interested in helping us secure these final booth locations, please fill out our Booth Recruitment Sign-up Form to let us know!
So, what do you need to know about this effort?
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- If you're assigned a location, we will email you the store agreement and a calendar for you to print off.
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Visit the store and share these items with the store manager, if approved the store manager should keep the calendar and sign the agreement. As our Girl Scout representative, you should also sign the form. Store Managers have been receiving weekly emails since mid-November and can also go online to approve the booth timeslot(s).
- Snap a picture of the signature sheet and email to us.
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The sooner you visit a location and get the agreement signed; the sooner we can get the location ready for Smart Cookies!
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We are also still in progress on several other council-secured booths, listed below, and working hard to solidify details with store managers! If you have questions on the status of any booth(s), send us an email.
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- Afton Alps
- Bierman Place
- Bomgaar's Pipestone
- Cabela's Owatonna
- Cash Wish - Hutchinson, New Ulm, and Owatonna
- Coborn's - Hastings and Ramsey
- Chuck & Don's - Mahtomedi, Rochester, and Red Wing
- Dick's Fresh Market - Somerset and Richmond
- Downtown Minneapolis Forum Building
- Downtown St. Paul Mears Park Place
- Festival Foods - Circle Pines and Hugo
- Fleet Farm Lakeville
- Fresh Thyme Rochester
- Harbor Freight Stillwater
- Hy-Vee New Ulm
- JoAnn - Rochester, Roseville, and Shakopee
- Knowlan's South Saint Paul
- Lowe's - Owatonna, Plymouth, and Shakopee
- Pacifier - Woodbury and Wayzata
- Plato's Closet Minnetonka
- Pet Suites Woodbury
- Sky Zone Edina
- Walgreens Woodbury Queens Drive
- Quatrefoil Library
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Troop-Secured Booth Approvals in Progress
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Troop-Secured Booth requests review and approvals are in progress. Here’s a few reminders to help us in this effort:
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- Submit your requests in Smart Cookies as early as possible, at least 72 hours in advance
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If you have any special notes for us to be aware of include it in the booth notes or email us.
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Booths labeled with “liquor,” “dispensary,” “gun show, range, or club” will be denied and won’t appear in the National Girl Scout Cookie Finder. If Girl Scouts can’t legally patronize a location, they shouldn’t sell there.
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Booth requests are often denied because another troop has already claimed the timeslot or the location is too close to another booth. Tip: Save emails from store managers, as they may be needed if two troops request the same timeslot.
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Planning a Cookie Stand as a troop activity? You can enter the Cookie Stand as a troop-secured booth. Don’t want your booth to be visible in the Cookie Finder? Any booth with the word "residence" in the name will not be visible in the Cookie Finder for cookie customers to see. The troop can still use Digital Cookie for credit card, Venmo, and PayPal payments and distribute sales with the Smart Booth Divider in Smart Cookies.
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Cookie Open House Events at Shops Begin this Saturday
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Don't miss our Cookie Open House events beginning this weekend! On Saturday join us in Brooklyn Center (9 AM to 1 PM) and Mankato from (10 AM to 1 PM). Next Saturday, we'll be in St. Paul (9 AM to 1 PM) and Rochester (10 AM to 1 PM). See you there!
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Cookie Chat on January 28: Cookie Booths & Cupboards
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Join the Product Program Team on January 28 at 6:30 pm (CST) for our next Cookie Chat via Zoom. Cookie Chats offer Troop Cookie Volunteers a live platform to get questions answered and receive real-time support throughout the cookie season. We’ll review Cookie Booths and Cupboards during this session.
When you register you’ll receive the meeting details. Can’t join us? A recording will be shared here in The Cookie Press, in Rallyhood, and in our Girl Scouts River Valleys Troop Product Program Volunteers Facebook group.
Here’s a link to the recording from yesterday's Digital Cookie for Troops Cookie Chat. Use access code: qHVT..7C to view the recording.
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Troop Cookie Responsibility Forms Due February 1
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This is a great time to follow up with Troop Cookie Managers who have not yet completed the online Troop Cookie Responsibility Form. Forms are due February 1. You can see which of your volunteers have completed this step by using this report. If a Troop decides to participate after February 1, no problem! Inform the Troop Cookie Manager to complete the form as you arrange to provide them with their materials and training options.
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Community Proceeds Training Completion Reminder |
Communities will earn .01/pkg in Community proceeds on all packages sold (max of $500). At least one Community-level volunteer must complete the Community Cookie Volunteer Training by February 1 to qualify for the proceeds. Find this training in gsLearn by searching 477 Community and Area Product Leader Foundations-Cookie Program.
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Assisting Troops that Missed the Initial Cookie Order |
As the Community Product Leader, you can add or modify a Troop’s Initial Order in Smart Cookies until 11:59 PM on Saturday, January 25. Review the instructions in last week’s The Cookie Press.
Troops that missed the initial cookie order can still get inventory from cookie cupboards starting on Cookie Go Day (February 21). Even without an initial order, Girl Scouts can still participate in online sales through Digital Cookie, offering shipped purchases and in-person delivery options when pre-sales begin on February 12.
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Have a question? Don't be shy!
Contact us for more information.
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