In just a few months, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) will team up with the DC Super Hero Girls to inspire more girls to participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program®, the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program in the world. The program gives girls real-world experiences managing money, setting goals, meeting deadlines, learning the basics of marketing to customers, and having fun as they learn and earn. This year, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment will collaborate with GSUSA to foster the female leaders of tomorrow through the 2019 Cookie Pro contest. Using the power of the DC Super Hero Girls, the contest will inspire Girl Scouts to be smart and courageous as everyday Super Heroes. It will also highlight and reward exceptional cookie bosses who take the lead, set high goals for themselves, bring positive change to their communities, and learn valuable entrepreneurial skills.
To enter, Girl Scouts must use a GSUSA-provided template to create their own mini graphic novel that illustrates a true story about their cookie-selling experience. Girls are also required to answer a set of questions to showcase how they used the skills they learned through Girl Scouts to manage their cookie sale. In 2018, close to 25,000 Girl Scouts in all grade levels and from all backgrounds participated in the Cookie Pro contest, and in 2019, that number is expected to double.
Twenty-four cookie pros will move on to win the Cookie Entrepreneur Experience of a lifetime. These go-getters—four per Girl Scout grade level—will travel to California for the Cookie Entrepreneur Experience, featuring fun activities; meet-and greet-opportunities with prominent business leaders, a special recognition event, and a VIP tour of Warner Bros. Studios with a behind-the-scenes look at DC Super Hero Girls.
“The Girl Scout Cookie Program gives girls the unique opportunity to build their entrepreneurship skills starting as young as five,” said GSUSA CEO Sylvia Acevedo. “These skills prepare them to succeed in school and their future careers. We’re thrilled that Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are investing in the future female leaders of our country and helping us acknowledge and reward some of our top entrepreneurs with a unique experience they can only have through Girl Scouts.”
“DC Super Hero Girls’ characters inspire girls to be creative, courageous, and inventive, and the cookie pros share these characteristics,” said Pam Lifford, president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “We believe that having role models and developing leadership skills at an early age is essential to creating the female leaders of tomorrow, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with Girl Scouts to support girls everywhere.”
Like Girl Scouts who embody the G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ spirit, the award-winning DC Super Hero Girls portray strong, brave, and fierce girls who handle challenges together and help their community. Warner Bros. continues to expand the franchise with the all-new DC Super Hero Girls animated action-comedy series from Warner Bros. Animation. The upcoming series features fresh character designs and storytelling from Girl Scout alum and Emmy® Award–winning producer Lauren Faust (Super Best Friends Forever, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends), who has worked throughout her career to improve and increase the representation of women and girls in animation. Through this collaboration, GSUSA and Warner Bros. aim to inspire girls to effect positive change, harness their creativity, and discover their potential.
Girl Scouts have been selling cookies for over a century, and more than half of Girl Scout alums working in business today credit the Girl Scout Cookie Program with developing the skills they use in their careers. Girl Scouts who sell cookies learn money management, goal setting, public speaking, and more. Over 1 million Girl Scouts participate in the cookie program each year, and all net revenue from cookie sales stays within a Girl Scout council’s local area to power amazing year-round experiences and opportunities for the girls. Many girls also use their cookie earnings to benefit their communities by investing in local causes; supporting their troop’s community action projects; and giving back to important neighborhood institutions, such as schools and community centers.
The Cookie Pro contest is open to registered Girl Scouts from participating Girl Scout councils taking part in the Girl Scout Cookie Program during the 2018–19 cookie season. The contest will be open for submissions from January 2, 2019, to April 30, 2019. To learn more about the contest and to enter, visit www.girlscouts.org/cookiepro.To join Girl Scouts, visit www.girlscouts.org.