Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways has launched its annual fall product sale, Treats, Reads & More. The program runs through Dec. 5, 2020, and helps local Girl Scouts earn troop funds while learning important life, entrepreneurial and leadership skills—essential components of Girl Scouting. The program continues to be conducted in-person and online, with virtual sales even more important due to challenges brought on by COVID-19.
Through Treats, Reads & More, customers purchase products from Girl Scouts to help troops pursue community service, adventures and experiences. Whether buying for themselves or getting a head start on holiday shopping, customers purchase nut and candy items by Ashdon Farms and magazines by M2 Media Group through a local GSNYPENN Girl Scout. The 2020 product lineup consists of 15 delicious nut and candy “treats” on the girl’s paper order card and 38 items available to order through her online store link for direct ship (including gluten- or dairy-free and Kosher products), in addition to a variety of “reads” magazine subscriptions and renewals. New treats this season include Peanut Butter Trail Mix, Mint Treasures and Chocolate Covered Pretzels.
Customers can also purchase items for donation through the council’s Sweet Support share program. For every $6 donation a girl receives, this season GSNYPENN will donate a can of honey roasted peanuts to Operation Gratitude. Products are distributed automatically. Operation Gratitude’s mission is to forge strong bonds between Americans and their military and first-responder heroes through volunteer service projects, acts of gratitude and meaningful engagements in communities nationwide.
Each year, 300,000+ individually addressed care packages are sent to military deployed overseas, their children, first-responders, new recruits, veterans, wounded heroes and their caregivers. Each package contains snacks, hygiene products, entertainment and handmade items, as well as personal letters of support as a way to say thank you. Learn more at operationgratitude.com.
Funds raised through Treats, Reads & More help offset costs for troops for programming, badge work, supplies, trips, Girl Scout Highest Award projects and more. Girls also earn individual program rewards. Most importantly, girls learn money management, business ethics, goal-setting, decision-making and people skills firsthand by managing both an in-person and online business. They also build virtual marketing skills by designing their online storefront, tracking their program goals and creating appealing content like customer emails, video greetings and a personal avatar.
Learn about Treats, Reads & More at gsnypenn.org/TRM, or contact the Girl Scout in your life to order. For assistance connecting with a local participating Girl Scout or troop, contact GSNYPENN customer engagement at info@gsnypenn.org or 1855.213.8555.
GSNYPENN serves girls in grades K-12 in Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne and Yates counties in New York, in addition to Bradford and Tioga counties in Pennsylvania. Annual membership is $25; financial assistance is available. To search for troop opportunities, visit gsnypenn.org/join or text LEAD to 315.766.2268. The council is also looking for caring, trusted adults to serve in a variety of volunteer roles. Visit gsnypenn.org/volunteer for more information.