Cookie Alerts - What you need to know NOW!
Your one-stop source for Cookie Program alerts and updates
UPDATES:
March 12: 10:15 a.m.: We are aware of a petition and discussion in the community about the rewards structure. Our Product Program team is reviewing the entire reward structure and looking at ways we can adjust next year to address feedback, while remaining in compliance with IRS regulations. We’ll be in touch with more opportunities for feedback as we work through plans for next year.
March 11: 3 p.m.: Cupboard managers can now drop the hold time down to 24 hours, from 48-72 hours prior to the intended pick-up time.
Check cupboard hours/availability notes in eBudde or contact the cookie cupboard manager (CCM) for more details.
Look at the cookie exchange tab in eBudde and/or service unit or area exchange message boards for the cookies needed too.
March 10: 11:30 a.m.: In honor of Girl Scouts 113th birthday, we're celebrating with a $5 off shipping promotion. The promotion begins March 12 and goes through March 16 and is good on any shipped order of 6 or more packages. GSCO will be sending an email to customers from the past 5 years and promoting on social media. A special promotional email will be available for you to send to your customers in Digital Cookie on March 12.
March 6: 9:40 a.m.: Girl Scout S'mores Cookies will be shut off for shipped on Friday, March 7. Little Brownie Bakers has indicated they will be shut off at 1 p.m. MT. In Colorado, Girl Scouts have the opportunity to earn a free patch if they sell 6 packages of S'mores between March 1 and 16 through Digital Cookie and in-person. To claim the S’mores patch, caregivers must complete the form by Friday, March 21 at 8 p.m.
Feb. 27: 8:41 a.m.: Little Brownie Baker announced that Girl Scout S'more Cookies will be shut off for shipped on March 7. In Colorado, girls have the opportunity to earn a free patch if they sell 6 packages of S'mores between March 1 and 16. S'mores are available in Cupboards and on Cookie Exchange.
Feb. 20: 11:51 a.m.: S’mores cookies were reordered and will arrive at warehouses later this week and then be distributed to cupboards. Contact the cupboard manager if you have questions about cookie variety availability.
New wait time! Cupboard managers can now drop the hold time down to 48 hours instead of 72 hours prior to the intended pick-up time. Check cupboard hours/availability notes in eBudde or contact the cookie cupboard manager (CCM) for more details. Look at the cookie exchange tab in eBudde and/or service unit or area exchange message boards for the cookies needed too.
Feb. 18: 4:28 p.m.: The Product Program team is placing an order for additional Girl Scout S'mores cookies to go into Cupboards. We will have more information tomorrow.
Feb. 18: 9:18 a.m.: We have confirmation from King Soopers that Girl Scout Cookie booths can return at impacted stores beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 19. Emails are going out via eBudde and Salesforce. The additional King Soopers booths scheduled through March 16 also will go on as planned. Please check your booth schedule in eBudde and if your troop is scheduled for a booth that they cannot host, please release it in eBudde so another troop can pick it up. View the email sent to all TCMS, SUCMs.
Feb. 18 8:11 a.m.: We are seeing news reports that the strike is ending early and are reaching out to King Soopers for confirmation and to verify when booths can be on site again. More information to come.
Feb. 15: We are aware of an incident that occurred near a Girl Scout Cookie booth in Colorado Springs on Friday evening. We have been in touch with the troop. No girls or adults at the booth were harmed. Please remember to be always vigilant and practice safety skills.
Feb. 14: 10 a.m.: An email was sent via eBudde to all service unit and troop cookie volunteers with an update about King Soopers strike. At this time, there is no new information from King Soopers about whether Colorado Springs or Grand Junction area stores will join the strike. If they do, the process for removing booth will be the same as has been followed for the Denver-area and Pueblo stores. If you aren't receiving eBudde emails, please use the questions/suggestions link above to let us know your email address so we can check the system, or submit a case at inquiry@gscolorado.org.
Feb. 13: 1:48 p.m. Happy Galentine’s Day! First, we want to express our sincere apologies for the inconvenience experienced by those who wanted to get on to select booths at noon yesterday, when we abruptly had to delay the opening of eBudde. We absolutely understand the value of your time and appreciate all that you do. We know that if we had been able to give you a heads up sooner than 1 minute before, it could have helped reduce your frustrations. We sincerely apologize. We own that we could have done better and also want to be transparent with you about what we’re up against. At 7 a.m. Feb. 12, we began the process of pulling the report of booths selected during the Feb. 11 special rounds. That report took over an hour to complete and it showed that more than 60 troops had selected more than 600 booth slots over the limit. That was significantly more than we had anticipated needing to remove. The process is manual and tedious, taking more than 1 minute per booth slot. We had all four staff members who have admin access to eBudde working on it at once. They were heads down, trying to hit that deadline. It was 11:58 when they looked up and realized they would not be able to open at 12.
There have been many learnings throughout this challenge and we always strive to do better. We have a long list of platform improvements that we’re suggesting to Little Brownie Bakers (the owners of eBudde) and we have internal process checks we’ll put in place and enhance going forward. Little Brownie Bakers told us they are not aware of any other council in the history of the cookie program that had a grocery strike during their program. So, unfortunately, we’re trailblazers in figuring out how to remove more than 5,000 canceled booth slots, line up an additional more than 2,700 booth slots and then add another more than 9,000 extended King Sooper booth slots; implement a fair way for impacted troops to select new slots and remove slots from those who don’t think limits apply to them, in about a week’s time all while managing the day-to-day nuances of the Cookie Program operations. Did everything go perfectly? Absolutely not, but we’re proud of the efforts our small team has made to ensure booths are available, as well as the efforts you, our volunteers, have made to set up MySales booths and role model resiliency and flexibility, because, ultimately, we all care about empowering girls to run their businesses.
We’ve heard the call from some on Facebook asking the troops that disregarded the limit to be held accountable somehow, and although we agree, we don’t see a way to force that accountability that does not ultimately punish their girls, who we suspect were not involved in booth selection in any way. We hope they will take personal responsibility and will move on with the rest of the season with the Girl Scout Promise at heart.
Girl Scouts is a place where we fail forward and we learn from our mistakes. We are striving to do better and we hope you are too. Many on staff here are also troop leaders, helping their girls sell cookies, hoping to get a good booth, watching the weather wondering if customers will still come to our booth if it’s very cold and snowy, balancing work and volunteering and family and all the things just like you are. Throughout cookie season and always, let’s all keep our Girl Scouts and our promise to be a sister to every Girl Scout top of mind.
Feb. 12: 11:59 a.m. Unfortunately due to some troops selecting way more booth slots than allowed during the special selection rounds last night, it's taking longer to remove the extra booths. eBudde will open for all troops to select up to 100 booths, starting at 12:30 p.m.
Feb. 11
4:09 p.m.: Reminder that troops impacted by King Soopers strike will begin selecting booths in special rounds at 6 and 8 p.m. To get all of the more than 9,000 new slots loaded, eBudde will close at 5:30 and will reopen for the 6 p.m. Fall Product Program reward round.
10:30 a.m.: An email was sent to all TCMs for troops impacted by King Soopers strike about special booth sign up tonight. A separate email went to troops that used their Fall Product Program reward. Booth sign ups tonight are limited to these troops. Troops are asked to limit their selections to 3 booths (4 total booths for Fall Product Program rewards). Any booths selected beyond the allowed amount will be removed. Booth sign up for all troops will resume at noon tomorrow.
8:20 a.m. We're hearing that troops are being asked about the Moms Across America food safety study and whether Girl Scout Cookies are safe to eat. The short answer is: Yes. Girl Scout Cookies are made with high-quality ingredients and in full compliance with federal and state food safety regulations. They are safe to eat. GSUSA posted this blog and here's an FAQ you can use to help answer questions you might get from cookie customers.
Feb. 10
4:35 p.m.: Sorry, had the wrong start date for new King Soopers booths in that email and caused some confusion.
To clarify:
Current booths scheduled 2/20-23, no changes.
New King Soopers booths are being scheduled 2/24-3/16.
No changes to anything else that was already scheduled for 2/24-3//16.
2:33 p.m.: An email went out to all TCMs and SUCMs through eBudde about the new King Soopers booths and the booth selection rounds that will begin tomorrow. A round will open for Fall Product Program reward troops that were impacted by the King Soopers strike, followed by all troops impacted by King Soopers strike, and then open to all. There are more than 9,700 new booth slots being added and many available slots in existing booth locations.
9:50 a.m.: Reminder from your TCM Guide: Council booth locations include but are not limited to: City Market, King Soopers, Safeway, Albertsons, Walmart, Red Robin, Alta, ARC Thrift Stores, and Sam's Club locations in the state of Colorado. These locations are NOT to be contacted by any troop, girl or adult, at any time,for any reason. In addition, there are several council booth locations added this year as an exception because of the King Soopers strike. Anything you see listed in eBudde as a council booth location should not be contacted for MySales booths. Also Target, Home Depot, Costco are known non-solicitation stores.
Feb. 8
1:02 p.m.: King Soopers announced today that they will offer Girl Scouts of Colorado booth locations after the strike from Feb. 24 through March 16 at all King Soopers locations.
King Soopers has been a long-standing partner and supporter of Girl Scouts of Colorado and we are so appreciative of this gesture. King Soopers also is donating $15,000 to support our mission and empower young girls around the state.
The new booth dates at King Soopers toward the end of the cookie program will help troops keep pushing to reach their goals. We are also so grateful to the many businesses and organizations in our communities that stepped up to offer Girl Scouts booth locations today, tomorrow and over the next several weeks.
We are building out the spreadsheet of additional booth dates before we can add them to eBudde. We will send an email to all TCMs and SUCMs on Monday to let them know when the new King Soopers booths will be added.
Feb. 7:
7:57: All Denver Zoo, DCPA, and MacGregor Square slots have been taken. There are slots this weekend in Cherry Creek North - there are two listings, one is Mariel's Boutique and the other is Sidewalk in front of Eileen Fisher. Spots available at Denver Dumb Friends League this weekend, as well as some Parry's Pizza locations.
6:22 p.m.: New booth slots have been added, including slots this weekend in Cherry Creek North, Denver Zoo, Denver Dumb Friends League, and MacGregor Square during the Super Bowl watch party. Check eBudde for availability.
12:37 p.m: New booth locations are being added at Denver Center for Performing Arts this weekend. Check eBudde for availability.
8:43 a.m.: Booth selections are open for all troops to select up to 100 booths. We are adding more booths as they come in.
Feb. 6:
4:44: Fox21 is reporting the Colorado Springs stirke, if it happens, won't be until 'later in February' so Colorado Springs booths should be on for this weekend.
4:29: Email was just sent to 12 troops impacted by strike at two Pueblo King Soopers. Pueblo area booths are being added to eBudde please login at 6 to select up to 3 new booths.
4:17: We're working quickly to get the additional Pueblo area booths into eBudde so impacted troops from the two. Pueblo King Soopers now striking can select booths at 6 p.m.. today.
3:52 p.m.; More media reports are saying Pueblo strike starts tomorrow. Unclear if Colorado Springs starts tomorrow.
3:19 p.m.: Through a lot of scrambling, calling, and pleading by Product Program staff and other staff at GSCO, we were able to add 930 new booth slots in a day’s time. We appreciate the businesses that came through for Girl Scouts in this time of need. Safeway was generous enough to add booths starting Feb. 17 and WalMart added locations and dates. The timing was such that it was extremely difficult to get slots this weekend. Troops that lost KS booths are encouraged to make other plans to sell this weekend, but we will continue to add booths as they become available.
1:28 p.m.: News coverage out of Colorado Springs and Pueblo reports the King Soopers strike will start Friday. We do not have confirmation from King Soopers. We are looking into it and we already have some new booths lined up in those areas.
10:47 a.m.: Safeway and Walmart booths should be in eBudde by noon. Other sites such as ARC and Vectra bank will be added throughout the day as we get signed agreements. Impacted troops are welcome to go into eBudde before 6 p.m. to see what's been added in their area. The special booth round will be open only to the impacted troops and will be open from 6 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. today, Thursday, Feb. 6. After midnight, booth selection will open for everyone again. (Note: This differs from what we said in the email last night; we decided today to reopen booth selection for everyone at midnight rather than Monday).
Feb. 5: Striking King Soopers booth situation:
9:16 p.m. update: An email went out to all troops impacted by the King Soopers strike taking place 2/6-2/20. A new booth sign up opportunity will be open for those troops only starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6.
3:35 p.m. update: GSCO staff have not been able to secure a contract with ARC for council booths this season and are now allowing troops to contact ARC for MySales sites. Soon after this was posted, the ARC contract was secured. ARC will be listed in council site locations. Sorry for the back and forth.
3:09 p.m. update: Several Denver-area news stations are planning to do stories on the impact on Girl Scouts. If you have a Girl Scout or troop that has a great story about using this as a learning opportunity or a creative pivot in their sales, please email catherine.schofield@gscolorado.org and kristin.hamm@gscolorado.org
2:37 p.m. update: The list of impacted stores is posted here. Starting at 5 p.m. today we will lockdown eBudde booth selection (you can still access eBudde, you just won't be able to release or sign up for booths) for about an hour while we remove the King Soopers booths impacted on Friday-Monday.
1:20 p.m. update: We just received word from King Soopers that there will be no further negotiations with union workers and all Front Range union locations will be impacted beginning at 5 a.m. tomorrow. King Soopers is requiring that Girl Scouts of Colorado cancel all cookie booths planned at these locations from Feb. 6-Feb. 20 because of safety concerns. An email is going out in eBudde. We will post the list of stores as soon as we receive it from King Soopers.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Now that the strike is over, when will cookie booths resume? King Soopers confirmed that Girl Scout Cookie booths can return to previously scheduled slots beginning Wednesday, Feb 19.
Will council be ordering more Girl Scout S'mores?
We are currently assessing inventory and demand and should have a decision about whether we can get more from the baker by Thursday. Will let you know as soon as possible.
Will booths resume on Thursday, February 20th or Friday February 21st? Our understanding is that booths on Feb. 20 will go on as planned and the strike will be over.
What is happening to booths that were scheduled from Feb. 20-23? Those are not changing. New King Soopers booths actually start on Feb. 24, not Feb. 23. Current booths on Feb. 23 will have only one troop per location as previously signed up.
What happens if you were already signed up for a booth after Feb. 23, are those being removed? No, those booths are not being removed. You will still be assigned to those booths. The only booths being removed are striking King Soopers.
We have a booth set up at a King Soopers not on the list, will the booth go on as planned? Yes, there are non-unionized stores that are not impacted and Cookie Booths will go on as planned.
How do we know if a booth is canceled? You would have received an email from Girl Scouts of Colorado either Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon (Pueblo stores) and your King Soopers booths for this weekend (through Monday) are no longer in your eBudde.
Should you secure other locations -will you give priority registration or rescheduling to those troops who already have booths scheduled these next couple weekends? Yes, our goal will be to allow only those troops impacted by strike cancellations get the first opportunity. We are in talks with Safeway but are not certain of logistics yet, but please know we’re working on it. We will be in touch with impacted troops as soon as we have more information.
We used our Fall Product Program reward to secure this King Soopers booth, how will that be handled? We are aware many troops work hard at Fall Product to secure the early booth reward and used that to select a coveted King Soopers booth. We are looking what we can do to offer an equivalent reward.
Will we possibly get KS sales in late February, early March after the strike ends but before the sale ends? Our King Soopers contact has said they will discuss a possible extension with their supervisor but cannot commit at this time.
When you remove KS booths will you save the future ones somewhere in case the strike ends before 2/23 so troops will still have those booths? At this point, we’re removing impacted booths for this weekend and then plan to remove booths one day at a time the night before the booth is scheduled so that if the strike ends early remaining booths would not be impacted, assuming King Soopers would welcome us back. However, King Soopers has told us there is no more negotiating and the strike is scheduled to end Feb. 20.
Will GSCO allow troops to return unsold cookies? No, we cannot allow troops to return unsold cookies but troops can offer cookies in troop-to-troop transfer on the Cookie Exchange
What's happening in Colorado Springs and Pueblo? We know that the union workers at Colorado Springs and Pueblo King Soopers have also voted to strike but the dates of that strike are not yet set. We heard it would start around Feb. 16 but do not have confirmation. Those strikes could impact 13 stores. We will provide more information as soon as we have it. We are also working on adding booths in those locations.
Will council extend the program to allow troops time to make up for lost booths? The cookie program is already one week longer than usual. The week was built in to accommodate potential weather challenges at delivery day (yay, at least the weather was good!). Troops are welcomed and encouraged to keep selling and setting up booths between March 9 and 16. Experience has shown if we push later into March we lose folks due to spring breaks and other conflicts.
What council is doing:
- Reaching out to Safeway and other retail locations trying to secure additional booth slots this weekend.
- Waiting for official list of striking King Soopers before removing booths in eBudde.
- Working on logistics of removing striking King Soopers booths and allowing impacted troops any new opportunities secured.
- Promoting Find Cookies for customers to find other booth locations.
- Made an appeal on KOA radio for businesses willing to host booths.
- Developing press materials about strike impact on Girl Scouts and Girl Scouts resiliency.
What you can be doing:
- Create a post on local NextDoor and Facebook groups asking businesses if they'd be willing to host Cookie Booths. The wording below was shared by a troop leader, feel free to copy/paste:
Local Businesses & Girl Scout Cookies Sales
Hello local businesses! This is NOT an ask to buy cookies, but an ask to allow cookie sales at your location! Because of the King Soopers strike, our local Girl Scout troops are not allowed to sell at these locations while the strike is on. If you can, please consider a Girl Scout or troop to set up at your location as we think outside the Thin Mint box. The grocery store sales are our biggest sales spots so this is definitely a wrench in our usual sales opportunities. Please message me/comment below if you are interested and I'll pass along to local Girl Sccouts. Thank you to our community for supporting these girls of courage, confidence, character, and creativity!
- If you are an impacted troop, check eBudde for other available booth slots
Reach out to businesses near you to request MySales booths - If you are not scheduled at an impacted booth but have booth slots you can spare, please release them in eBudde to allow impacted troops another opportunity.
- Ask your Girl Scouts for ideas and suggestions, they're great at thinking outside the box.
- Post in your local NextDoor or neighborhood Facebook groups that your troop won't be able to sell at King Soopers but let people know where to find you.
Feb 4: According to reporting by KDVR, workers will picket at 77 King Soopers stores on the Front Range beginning on Thursday and the strike could last for two weeks. King Soopers will not allow troops to host cookie booths at stores where workers are picketing. We are still waiting for that official list from King Soopers.
We realize losing a booth opportunity this weekend is difficult for the troops impacted and we're actively looking at how we can offer support and contacting other retail partners for booth opportunities.
Troops that have booths scheduled this weekend at one of the listed stores can check eBudde for other open booth locations or can reach out to other non-council contracted businesses nearby to see if they can arrange a MySales booth.
Any troops planning to release booths this weekend, please do so as soon as possible to allow troops impacted by the King Soopers' strikes a chance to pick them up.
If GSCO is able to arrange additional booths with other retail partners, troops losing King Soopers booths will get the first opportunity to select those booths. Impacted troops will be notified.
Nothing has been canceled in eBudde at this time.
King Soopers workers in Colorado Springs and Pueblo also voted to authorize a strike but they have not yet announced any strike dates. News reports say they are not striking in Colorado Springs and Pueblo this Thursday.
Feb. 3: King Soopers workers plan to strike at some Front Range locations beginning Thursday. Girl Scouts of Colorado is working with our contacts at King Soopers to get specifics about locations and the impact on planned booth sales. We will update and contact impacted troops as soon as we have more information.
The serene scene at Rocky Mountain Vibes at 6:30 a.m.
Ready to rock at Armstrong. Tomahawk Ranch crew is here to help.
Rocking and rolling at Waterworld at 8 a.m.
Everything is running smoothly at Longmont this morning.
Bailey's Moving in Colorado Springs is running on time and loading
cookies out of the bays.
Girl Scouts of Colorado CEO Leanna Clark and Media Stars Jillian and
Bianca at Water World. Leanna is sad it's the last season for Girl Scout
S'mores cookies!
Loading up U-Hauls at Vibes pick up in Colorado Springs, and still
moving along smoothly.
Loading them up in Bailey's Moving in Centennial.
Loving the Stop it's Cookie Time sign in Longmont.
These were the vibes today at Rocky Mountain Vibes, getting it done with
umbrella hats!
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