Continuing with The Thunderbirds In the Community Conversations, 2022 WM Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman Michael Golding held a virtual discussion with Christina Spicer, Deputy Director of the Girl Scouts of Arizona Cactus-Pine Council. to discuss how the ever-popular Girl Scout Cookies program was affected by the ongoing health crisis, how the organization pivoted to continue its services and how the community can help.

Spicer first spoke about the history of The Girl Scouts of Arizona

“Girl Scouts mission is to build girls of courage, character and confidence to make the world a better place,” said Spicer. “We’ve been doing that over the last 108 years and our council (Cactus-Pine) has been around for a little over 80 years. We aim to install incredible leadership skills in young women through our badges program, organized trips and selling cookies.

Spicer went on to speak about some of the specific skills Girl Scouts learn

“From a money management standpoint the programs  absolutely incredible about what it teaches these girls because this is a real product the girls want and the community wants,” said Spicer. “There are five skills on the back of the box: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. And this year, our girls are going to have the opportunity to learn a sixth skill – managing uncertainty.”

Spicer spoke about how COVID-19 has impacted the program

“We decided to cancel our camps for the first time ever in our council’s history and we did that for the safety of our girls,” said Spicer. “We were, however, able to bring that into a virtual space. During the month of June, we hosted what we called camp clubhouse where the girls got a chance to engage in more of our ability to do social and emotional wellbeing. Then in July, we ran a program in partnership with ASU Prep Digital where we provided an informal, educational component through our badge work. We’ve also run blood drives at Parsons Leadership Center to support the community in that way.”

Spicer also explained how this year’s cookie drive will be different.

“Thin mints came in earlier this January,” said Spicer. “We also do our huge super delivery the week after. Typically, it’s an event to been seen. You see moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas out there helping to collect the cookies for the for the girls. It’s an incredible community effort this year. It’s going to look a little bit different due to COVID. So this year you can expect drive through booths and we also call our digital order card or digital cookie, which all of our girls have an opportunity to create their own digital marketing through cookies. They create video or a picture and then send that out to their network.”

Spicer went on to explain how the community can get involved with Girl Scouts of Arizona

“The number-one thing you can do is if you know a girl, please ask her to join Girl Scouts,” said Spicer. “We want every girl to have an opportunity to become a Girl Scout, to join Girl Scouts. It’s a fun and incredible network even if it’s virtual. The next thing is during the season, when you see girls out there selling cookies, buy a box or two and ask them what their goals are and ask them what they’re up to. This year more than ever, having the opportunity to engage with our community will be huge.”

To learn more about Girl Scouts of Arizona, visit their website here.

To donate to Girl Scouts of Arizona, click here.