Pandemic takes toll on Girl Scout participation

Samoa’s, Tag-alongs, Do-si-dos, and Thin Mints. Everyone’s got a favorite, but America’s long loved cookies have been seeing supply decreases in recent years, coinciding with declining troop numbers for the Girl Scouts of America.

This leaves people searching for their beloved color-coded treat boxes each spring, only to find fewer and fewer girls in green selling them.

Like many other youth serving organizations, GSA saw sharp drops in membership during the pandemic. But the groups have experienced reductions in size for over a decade now. Explanations for the fall out involve competition from various sports leagues, a perception by some families that they are old-fashioned, and busy family schedules.

In Mineral County, finding leadership for the troops has been a struggle in recent years. Darlene Kuprienko Jasper from Superior, has had her two daughters in Girl Scouts in the past.

She said, “We had a troop here in Superior for many years. There were several of us moms who ran the troop of girls of varying age levels. Because they welcomed girls age 5 through teenagers she noted, “We often had four different levels of scouts at a time which meant there had to be four different adults to run each meeting.”

Before deciding to disband the troop in the Superior area, Jasper mentioned, “We contacted all the moms and asked for someone to take over. We did have one mom who said she would take on the lower ages, but her husband had a job transfer and they ended up moving. Then COVID-19 happened, and holding meetings was not an option for a bit and the troop was never resumed by anyone else.”

The parents also found little support from GSA headquarters and that made continuing the troop very challenging.

Down in Alberton, AnnaMarie Guerrero-White has witnessed a similar account. Her and her husband are maternal grandparents to their three granddaughters, Ava, Olivia, and Penelope.

She shared, “All three have been in Girl Scouts for five years, all of them started as Daisies, just like our daughters.”

Guerrero-White explained, “We did have a very large active Alberton Troop for a couple of years but Covid greatly affected our ability to safely meet and participate and of course it took a while for effective management and safety protocols to be put in place to insure we could continue as a Troop. At the time it was difficult to maintain a structured Troop and like anything else interests change along with availability and commitment. We had a blast while it lasted!”

She shared, “My experience has been that the volunteers that step into a Troop Leader position are passionate and enthusiastic about giving of themselves, whole heartedly. I’m amazed by what I’ve seen some of the leaders take on and accomplish. I look up to them.”

Like other local families, Guerrero-White and her three girls are busy in countless activities through the year.

“We too have a very active family, school, work, social calendar and Girl Scouting just happens to be, for us, one of the most important parts of our girls lives so we place high importance on following through with our commitment to Scouting,” she noted.

Her granddaughters are now Juliette Girl Scouts, they are registered GSA members, but don’t have to be affiliated with a troop. This arrangement works well for their family, and is a practical solution for rural families. Guerrero-

White stated, “We participate in a way that fits our schedule, attending events and participating in activities that meet their needs and interests. As Juliettes the girls work on Girl Scout programs with my guidance. They decide what activities to participate in and which earned awards to complete. We also attend community and council events. They have the opportunity to participate in all Girl Scout activities individually, so we can tailor their experience.”

Ava, Olivia, and Penelope serve their community through individual community service projects and Take Action Projects.

Guerrero-White said, “The girls just completed the Winter Challenge, earning a badge, celebrated and donated to Girl Scouts World Fund on World Thinking Day and this past week they completd tasks for Girl Scout Week leading to another badge. They are each involved in their own service work and of course cookie selling.”

The girls love the social aspect of the activities, the work involved in earning badges, and currently they are gearing up for cookie sales.

She stated, “They’ve learned to be generous in their giving, caring in their relationships, committed in their beliefs, confident in their actions but camping and large camp outs are by far their favorite and where they learn the most.” This is their second year as Girl Scout Juliette’s.

“I see Girl Scouting as a way to bring our girls dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Our girls can be themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to new challenges. I’ve seen Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices to make changes that affect the issues most important to them,” expressed Guerrero-White.

She added, “From when I was a troop leader for our daughters, started 30 years ago, I’ve seen extremely active Scouting programs to programs that are in a lull during periods of change, such as the pandemic’s restrictions on gatherings. Girl Scouts is celebrating its 110th birthday this year and here’s to another 110!”

Ava, Olivia and Penelope will do “pop-up” cookie booths in St. Regis, Superior, and Alberton beginning sometime between March 25th and April 17th.

Guerrero-White assured, “We have our fingers crossed that we sell out super-fast. We’ve ordered extras of everything especially Samoa’s, we can’t reorder Samoa’s, once our preorders are gone, they are gone. And lots of Thin Mints.”

They hope to be in each town more than once during those dates and they will also “door dash” and “porch drop” anywhere. Last year the girls created drive by cookie locations on the side of the road. She said, “We literally met several people at once on our way home from school or a practice to fill their cookie cravings, it was a so much fun!”

Ava, Olivia, and Penelope are involved in lots of other extra-curriculars when they aren’t selling cookies. They all wrestle, ski on the Lookout Pass Race team, play lacrosse and basketball in Missoula, and participate in soccer and 4-H in Superior. The girls backpack, hike, and camp during the summer, and enjoy swimming and kayaking too.

Girl Scouts only sell their cookies made for that particular season, which runs from January to April. Any leftover cookies that don’t get sold are donated to local food pantries or charities.