Sweet Celebrations: Bloomington’s Exciting Girl Scouts Cookie Rally Unleashed!

The delay in stocking up on Girl Scout cookies will conclude shortly, as the custom that began over a hundred years ago recommences this month.

Over 800 Girl Scouts from throughout Central Illinois gathered in Bloomington on Saturday, gaining insights into how to safely and responsibly market cookies, connect with other Girl Scouts, and taste some of those much-desired cookies.

WGLT correspondent Braden Fogerson shares some of the best highlights from Saturday’s cookie rally.

Listen to this audio-enhanced story using the play button above or read the transcript below.

Sarah Tate: I’m Sarah Tate, director of programs and camps. This is the Cookie Rally, and it serves as our major kickoff for the cookie season. We have troops from the Champaign region, Decatur, Springfield, Quincy, Peoria, and Bloomington, thus truly, all across Central Illinois.

I honestly am not sure when we officially began, but we’ve hosted this large-scale event since 2019 before it became regional. Initially, our larger cities would hold them, but then we chose to merge everything into one grand celebration, inviting everyone from the council.

Event volunteer: Get set, go!

Tate: Additionally, we also offer a variety of fun activities. There are games they can partake in, and then they get to sample those cookies. We have a DJ, pizza, and our horses from our Girl Scout camp as well. So, it’s genuinely a big festive gathering for the girls to help spark their excitement for the cookie season.

Event volunteer, encouraging a scout shooting a bow and arrow: Good work!

Tate: Sometimes they don’t even comprehend that they are acquiring these skills while they engage in their badge work. So, it’s a clever way to introduce those concepts without them even realizing it at times.

Amy O’Brien: I’m Amy O’Brien, a troop leader for Troop 1106 in Bloomington-Normal. And I think the most significant lesson is, um, even my daughter and I discussed this morning about, what do you gain from selling cookies?

And she remarked, “Well, Mom, I’m learning how to sell things, which is really crucial because if I want to start a business in the future, I need to know how to sell items.”

I observe with the cookies as well. Just acquiring those communication skills, they even highlighted in one of the leader cookie meetings, teaching the girls how to handle ‘no,’ you know, that’s a vital skill to develop in life. So many valuable lessons our girls will gain through this program.

Brinley Jordan, a member of Troop 1106: My name is Brinley Jordan, we are at the Cookie Rally for Girl Scouts, and it’s quite enjoyable. So far, we’ve mostly just been waiting in line for about 20 minutes.

WGLT Reporter Braden Fogerson: What activities have you been able to engage in once you reach the end of those lines?

Jordan: We’re going to see the donkey over there, and I’m not sure what else we’ll do.

Abby Desatnick, another member of Troop 1106, who evidently knows what else is available: We’re going to participate in the dance party.

A group of Girl Scouts relishing the karaoke and dancing area: She’s walking on fire.

Kaitlin Bostick: I’m Kaitlin Bostick, the director of grants and strategic initiatives. In the back section of the Cookie Rally, we have various stations designed for earning badges. So that’s when the girls receive their skill-building badges and will establish their goals for cookie sales.

They begin with me, figuring out what their aim is, what they wish to earn, and what their troops plan to do with their troop profits. Then, they progress through the subsequent steps of the badge so that they complete all the requirements to earn the badge.

Fogerson: Were you a Girl Scout in your younger years?

Bostick: I wasn’t. That’s usually one of the first things I admit. But had I known then what I know now, I would have certainly wanted to be one.

It’s just so much more than I believe people acknowledge. Girls require a space that is solely for them and allows them to explore things without any social pressure, to fail and try again, to make mistakes, and to experiment with new things. Not many spaces like that are available for girls, so I think it’s incredibly crucial to provide them with that opportunity early and consistently.