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By Eden Slone

Intern Reporter

It’s cookie time in the Bluegrass, and the Girl Scouts of Jessamine County are ready to sell.

The scouts recently got hyped for their entrepreneurial extravaganza with a cookie rally last Wednesday.

“At the rally, we get girls excited about cookies, give them samples of cookies to try, and get them ready to start selling,” said Christine Cruz, the county’s co-manager of the scout service unit.

Cruz has served as the cookie manager of Jessamine County for the last six years and recently became the co-manager of the service unit. She helps both troops and community members access the precious cookies and hosted the rally that officially kicked off the cookie season for the county’s 11 different troops.

The sale drive is about more than just making money too.

The Girl Scouts’ selling process focuses on financial awareness and customer interaction, which gives the scouts real-world skills.

“They are able to do more at the selling booths the older they get. There’s a whole system to teach them to be their own entrepreneurs,” Cruz said.

Cruz’s daughter, Sophia, has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. Now, as a cadet, she has set big goals for herself to achieve through cookie sales. She reached around 2300 cookies last year and hopes to hit the 5000 mark this spring.

Troop members can win prizes by selling cookies, one of which is “cookie dollars,” which helps scouts go on Girl Scout destination trips.

Sophia Cruz will be traveling on her first Girl Scout destination to Minnesota for an extensive canoeing trip through Canadian boundary waters.

The trip, and other scouting activities like it, are only possible with the funds raised by the cookie drive.

Of course, entrepreneurship isn’t the only real-world skill members gain as a scout.

From camping to community service, scouts are making positive investments in themselves through their membership, where they can further their leadership and personal skills.

Now an eighth-grader, Sophia Cruz continues to be just as involved, if not more, in scouting activities such as trips, camping, and service projects, just like she did when she was younger.

“I like being involved because of the opportunities. We do different things every weekend and get to learn things outside of school… I’ve learned a lot of leadership. I can speak out more now,” Sophia Cruz said, reflecting on what the scouts have taught her.

A few questions do remain before cookie-mania hits Jessamine County.

Number one, what do the Cruzs recommend?

Well, that answer is simple, Caramel DeLites.

Second, where can cookie lovers find favorites such as Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties?

Cookies will be available from February 3 through March 26 at Nicholasville Kroger locations and at Lowe’s on Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.

To check a complete list of local cookie booth times and locations, visit www.gskentucky.org.