2025 Girl Scout Cookie Program teaches Girl Scouts important skills 

HOUSTON COUNTY — The Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia’s 2025 Girl Scout Cookie Program is back and cookie booths are just around the corner. Residents of Houston County and beyond can participate in buying delicious cookies while helping Girl Scouts achieve their goals. 

Community Engagement Manager for the Region 6 area of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, Kimberly Novak, said the Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the country, spanning almost 100 years. 

She said there are five skills Girl Scouts learn in this Cookie Program. 

• Goal Setting
• Decision Making
• Money Management
• People Skills
• Business Ethics 

“[Girl Scouts] can start as a Daisy, which is kindergarten, and go all the way up to a senior in high school,” she said. 

Novak said the cookie lineup this year will feature the classics such as Thin Mints, Do-si-dos, Tagalongs and Samoas. Adventrefuls, Trefoils, Lemon-Ups and Toffee-tastic are all relatively new to the lineup. Personally, her favorite Girl Scout cookies are Thin Mints. 

“The cool thing about Lemon-Ups is that they have really nice sayings on the top of each cookie. Toffee-tastics are gluten free, and even though it might not be everyone’s favorite, it allows individuals for whom gluten is a challenge to still enjoy, and Adventurefuls are like brownie bites” she said. 

Novak also said this will be the last year of the S’mores cookie being sold. She said the official response on why they are being discontinued is to “make room for new flavors.” 

The Girl Scout Cookie Program allows Girl Scouts to unbox a brighter future for themselves. Novak said Girl Scouts practice entrepreneurial skills and face other challenges.

“For some girls that might just be getting out and asking someone to buy cookies, as their challenge will be learning to speak up. Or for the older girls, they learn the subtle differences for how you ask someone to purchase cookies and what to say if they don’t want to purchase cookies,” she said. “We help the girls at whatever stage they’re at to push their skill level a little bit.” 

Customers can also purchase cookies with a credit card rather than cash or check. Novak said the Girl Scouts are learning more about how to sell using social media and reach more customers. 

“Girls are also learning about QR codes and those over the age of 13 are already using social media,” she said. “We’re very careful with social media and we keep the parents and troupe leaders in the loop at all times to make sure the girls are safe.”

Novak mentioned the Girl Scouts can also get rewards by achieving their set goals. 

“Some of the rewards [Girl Scouts] can get include Chromebooks that are high in tech or they can use them for travel opportunities,” she said. Especially for the younger girls, they can receive charms, but even if you’re only a first-time seller, your goal was 50, and you [sold] 50, there is still positive, encouraging feedback for the girls, so they are like ‘I set a goal, met my goal and what am I going to do next time’. It’s the kind of skills that are going to help anybody who has to do any kind of project, but entrepreneurship is the main goal.” 

According to Novak, the cookie booths will go live on Feb. 14. 

“Right now, it is just [Girl Scouts] selling individually with their troops or individually with their families,” she said.

Novak said the girls as a troupe work with local businesses to set up their cookie booths. 

“The girls will be in front of stores like Kroger, Walmart and Ace Hardware,” she said. 

To learn more about Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, go to www.gshg.org.