The Girl Scouts of the NMI will jumpstart their 2013 cookie season island-style by highlighting local flavors in cookies that will be sold from February to March.
Vice president Laila Boyer said at yesterday's meeting of the Rotary Club of Saipan that they will have flavors such as calamansi shortbread, pumpkin spice, sweet potato cheesecake, honey mango, and guava coconut.
As part of the cookie season, Boyer said the Girl Scouts of the NMI will hold a joint celebration of Valentine's Day and National Cookie Day on Saturday, Feb. 9, from 2pm to 4pm at the Chamolinian Room of Hyatt Regency Saipan.
Boyer said the idea to celebrate local flavors in their cookies, a major component of fundraisers for girl scouts, came about after discovering that the New York headquarters of the youth organization considers the CNMI overseas and won't send cookies to the islands.
She disclosed that the Girl Scouts of the NMI wrote a two-page letter asking the headquarters to afford them the same opportunity to sell cookies like what they gave Guam, a neighboring island located south of the Commonwealth and is only a 30-minute plane ride away.
Boyer, who is also the vice president for the Rotary Club of Saipan, said they are just awaiting a response from headquarters and CNMI Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan from whom they sought assistance regarding the matter.
“But we're taking it on a positive note. In the meantime, we're going to celebrate the local flavors of our islands and we're making our own local-flavored cookies,” she told Rotarians, adding that they will be working with local bakeries in this endeavor.
Boyer said the Girl Scouts of the NMI will have their own packaging for the cookies. Each green box will contain six pieces of cookies and the girl scouts selling the cookies will personalize the boxes “so you would know who you're buying the cookies from.”
Boyer explained that they wanted to start off small, given the economic climate on the islands.
Majority of the cookie sales will be channeled through the troop, although they are also looking at setting up a booth at a local store.
The cookie season, which is also observed from June to July and October to November, is among the many activities to be conducted by the Girl Scouts of the NMI. Initially established in the '80s, the group became dormant after its founding members left the island, according to Boyer. The group finally became active again in September 2012.
Since their revival, Boyer said they've had 38 young girls sign up to become a part of their troop.
Boyer said that during Saturday's event, they will open anew the registration for young girls age 5 to 17 years old who are interested in becoming a Girl Scout. “Daisies” are girl scouts from kindergarten to first grade, “Brownies” are 2nd and 3rd graders, “Juniors” are 4th and 5th graders, “Cadettes” are 6th and 8th graders, “Seniors” are 9th and 10th graders, and “Ambassadors” are 11th and 12th graders.
Annual registration fee is $12 per person. She added that they are also looking for adult volunteers who are 18 years or older.
Besides the cookie season, other Girl Scout events include the proclamation signing for Girl Scouts Month every March, annual fundraisers in March and October, annual Girl Scout Fun Day in April, developing community partnerships, renovation of Garapan headquarters provided by the Northern Marianas Housing Corp., and other learning and development activities.
The Girl Scouts of the NMI is the local chapter of the Girl Scouts of the USA. For information about the Girl Scouts of the NMI, email girlscoutnmi@gmail.com.
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