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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Girl Scout hits cookie pinnacle

By Jennifer Bradley, Staff Writer
   Mahiyah Sampson, 9, of Dayton, proved that business skills are not just for professionals when she sold 3,406 boxes of Girl Scout cookies during this year’s campaign.
   This achievement made her the top cookie seller for the Central and Southern New Jersey region.
   ”I’m really proud of myself because not many people can say they have the same experience,” Mahiyah said. “I made history in this 100th year of Girl Scouting.”
   According to the Girl Scouts website, Girl Scout cookie sales have been an integral part of the organization since 1917.
   According to Ginger Haithcox, director of the products program for the Central and Southern New Jersey Girl Scout Council, more girls participated in cookie sales this year than in the past. Ms. Haithcox said that the top cookie sellers in the Central and Southern New Jersey area this year ranged in age from 5-14, which shows the diversity of participation.
   She said, however, that the council would not release the actual amount raised during the campaign.
   According to the organization’s website, the cookie program is a $760 million business and the largest girl-led business in the country. The revenue from the cookie program is used to support individual troop goals as well as to fund broader service units and local council goals such as funding grants, outdoor activities, trips and by providing aid to under served areas.
   ”Selling cookies is like having a business for a month,” Mahiyah’s mother and Girl Scout troop leader, Tawanna Sampson, said. “You’re a CEO for one month.”
   Mahiyah’s troop’s goal was to sell a total of 3,300 boxes. Instead, the troop sold 6,450 boxes, which was nearly double the goal amount.
   ”Some girls in my troop had a hard time reaching their own goals so I loaded up my red wagon and went to help out,” Mahiyah said.
   Ms. Sampson emphasized the importance of a goal-oriented attitude when selling cookies. According to Ms. Sampson, Mahiyah’s decision to approach potential buyers by saying “I am trying to reach my goal” and asking for help rather than simply asking “do you want some Girl Scout cookies” made a huge difference in gaining buyers’ support.
   According to Ms. Sampson, Mahiyah owes much of her success to the purchases made by postal service workers and educators.
   ”You always have to be kind and polite,” Ms. Sampson said.
   Ms. Sampson described a time when Mahiyah asked a man if he would like to buy cookies, but the man could not pay the $4 required for the cookies because he only had $2 cash on hand.
   The patron offered to donate his $2, but his two sons were disappointed that they could not purchase a box of cookies.
   According to Ms. Sampson, Mahiyah accepted the man’s $2 and paid the remaining $2 from her own pocket so the boys could enjoy their cookies.
   Mahiyah and her mother volunteer at Elijah’s Promise soup kitchen in New Brunswick and elected to buy extra cookies and donate them to the kitchen. Ms. Sampson also said that she and her daughter also donated cookies to other needy children in area foster care and transitional homes.
   Cookie selling can also be a sweet reward not only for the buyers, but also for the Girl Scouts selling them. Those selling more than 1,000 boxes of cookies receive a trophy and a pin for their achievement, according to the council.
   Mahiyah’s troop raised enough money to fully finance trips for all members to Girl Scout events such as a “beach jam,” a trip to Washington D.C., and the Believe in Girls expo. The expo is an event that brings Girl Scouts from all over the world together to celebrate their achievements, and top cookie sellers, such as Mahiyah, receive backstage passes to meet with performers at the event like Joe Jonas and Sara Bareilles.
   According to Ms. Haithcox, cookie selling is one of the many opportunities to get involved with the Girl Scouts that emphasizes goal setting, entrepreneurial skills and helps shape future success for the girls.
   ”Any girl can join Girl Scouts and be as successful as Mahiyah,” Ms. Haithcox said.