Money Earning Safety
Girl Scouts provides an exciting opportunity to flex entrepreneurial muscle with two product program experiences: fall product and the cookie program. You’ll find advice and instructions in our annual materials with directions to consult Safety Activity Checkpoints. Here are a few excerpts.
Arrange for adult supervision.
Adults should provide supervision and guidance for all program levels, and must accompany Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors when they are selling, taking orders, and delivering products. Adults oversee Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors, and must be aware of how, when, and where the girls are selling products. In addition, an adult must be readily accessible to girls when they are participating in product sales. This can be accomplished by an adult being present with the girls or by having the adult and girls exchange telephone numbers. Girls should never deliver cookies alone. Adults need to be present at booth activities with girls at any program level. Parents, guardians, or caregivers must approve all girl-delivered online orders and supervise all communications and product delivery.
Source: Safety Activity Checkpoints-Cookie and Product Sales, 2022
On the Day of a Sale:
- Girls must wear a membership pin, uniform, or Girl Scout clothing (e.g., Girl Scout T-shirt) to clearly identify themselves as Girl Scouts.
- Girls and accompanying adults should be familiar with the areas and neighborhoods where product sales take place.
- Girls should participate in door-to-door sales during daylight hours only.
- When Girl Scouts operate a booth in a store, mall, or other public place, adults must be present regardless of the age of the Girl Scouts. When planning sales booths, follow council guidelines for additional information about setting up a booth and safety and security suggestions and assistance.
- Use safe pedestrian practices, especially when crossing at busy intersections.
- Do not enter the home or vehicle of a stranger and avoid selling to people in vehicles (except at designated drive-through cookie booths) or going into alleys.
- Do not carry large amounts of money and ensure provisions have been made for safeguarding the money in advance of the sale.
With booth sales, ensure:
- You have adequate space at the booth for tables, products, and girls that allows for safe passage by pedestrians, bikes, and cars.
- Girls are a safe distance from cars. If possible, set up a safety barrier between cars and the booth—perhaps a few volunteers could park their cars in spaces near the booth location.
- The booth is not blocking a store entrance or exit.
- When girls receive cash from buyers and go to make change, they hand the money to the adult for safekeeping. It is important that cash is kept safe and out of sight. This can be accomplished by:
- Keeping the cash box against a wall or behind a barrier of cookie boxes.
- Having an adult volunteer keep the money by securing it in a front facing pouch tied around their waist.
- Depositing cash as soon as possible to prevent potential thefts or break-ins of vehicles.
Source: Safety Activity Checkpoints-Cookie and Product Sales, 2022
Refer also to Safety Activity Checkpoints-Computer and Internet Use.
