Girl Scout Cookies © by Merelymel13
Last night I read a post on Steam Feed that outraged me, as a mother, a scouter( I was a girl guide ,the mom to a brownie, and 2 scouts, my mom was a Brown Owl,and my grandmother a early Guiding leader) and as some who works in the digital world every day.
If you have not read this post from Robert Caruso you need to especially if you have ever had a child involved in the international scouting movement. I believe the tweets from the Girl scout stream would have Juliette Gordon Low turning over in her grave. She is the woman who founded the scouting movement in the United States after meeting Sir Baden Powell in England.
First of all a young scouter Emma thought outside the box, and thought of others namely the American soldier (by the way my daughter’s big brother Seth serves in the US military) who might be lonely so she wanted to send them cookies to remind them they were cared about. Great cause right? According to the Girl Scouts Twitter Account they originally thought so too but then they decided the good cause should not be supported because the scout would not be collecting payment in person but would be accepting digital payment.
So they tweeted to Emma, and told her her great idea could not go forward.
What a way to correct a child. A scout. With a tweet. Not a call to her mom. But to correct a child in a public forum. I think Juliette, who encouraged independent thought and leadership who would be shaking as would Sir Baden Powell.
Then there is their reasoning, a digital sale does not teach a child effective communication skills which is paramount to the cookie sale process. This mom calls Hogwash! As a corded Girl Guide in Canada and the step mom and mom of kids who have all been involved in the scouting movement digital communication is just as important in today’s job market as the ability to sell door to door on in a location at a local mall. In today’s society we need to be creating opportunities for children to learn skills that lead to leadership both offline and online.
Now here is another kicker the Girl Scouts in the US have a site called Little Brownie Bakers and I will quote the site here:
“Setting high troop goals, building leadership skills, serving the community — these are some of the key learning goals of the Cookie Activity. By helping your Girl Scout learn to set and achieve goals, you are fostering a lifelong skill.”
Emma was doing just this..she was learning a skill that will carry her far, and serving the community at the same time.
As for not accepting a payment unless done in person, well that would mean long distance relatives could not even support their favorite scouters. Grandparents that live far away and want to receive a box of cookies couldn’t. As for a scouter being present for every sale, then no more would we ever see a box of cookies at work. All of this is done on a daily basis.
Dear Girl Scouts I would really rethink your policy.
Dear Emma as a Scouter I am so proud of you and your efforts, lets find a way to get the troops some cookies.
Now on Twitter there is a movement to get Oreo behind the Cookies for the Troops movement so tweet them if you think cookies for the troops is a good idea, I think it would be a sweet reminder of home.
Social media or any other means of electronic relationship should be encouraged, as long as the care taken in responding to each request is maintained. That should include the use of electronic payments, even more so in an electronic world.
I agree. Emma was fully supervised and really enjoyed the interaction. Well, prior to all the ugliness.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
As a mother and a former Scouter. I have to disagree with your side. I understand the nationwide guidelines and believe that they are set to help us grow.
Can I ask why? and do you think it is within the guidelines to correct a child on a public forum such as Twitter?
Worse, they deleted the original, uplifting tweet to Emma. Good thing I kept a screen shot!
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
[...] post about this was written and shared to me. This blog post happens to come from the site called Common Cents Mom, who happens to be a Girl Scout supporter herself. Quite frankly, a lot of people are [...]
I completely agree with you!
First: The organization should have contacted the parent and/or the leader. This is poor form, at best. Can you imagine the humiliation poor Emma faced, thinking that the entire world could see her getting shamed?
Second: Our world is changing! Social media IS building relationships — this is a terrible decision from the perspective of teach young girls how to interact and conduct business within a rapidly changing ecommerce landscape.
Third: Fail on the part of the Girl Scout organization to not create a method for the girls to collect money electronically on their own.
Fourth: Poor business decision for the Girl Scouts of America to deter an additional stream of income which could provide more opportunities for members of their organization.
Thanks for posting this blog — I will be sharing it across my networks!
Jennifer w/ @3MomsTips
Thanks Jenn for stopping by and for your comments, they are dead on.
Jennifer – Please read my comments below before you send this across your networks.
First – Girl Scouts did contact the parent. Before the sale even started and advised her that this was against policies.
Second – There is a social media aspect to the sale, not onlt through the girls' and parents' facebook, twitter, instagram pages, etc… also, our council offered it's own social media platform that works with these programs.
Third – We were provided with an electronic payment option, the parent declined it and wanted the money to go into her personal paypal account
Fourth – This council has a wonderful donation program not only to the military but also to food pantries, Ronald McDonald House, and other local charities.
Finally – When Richard was contacted by a council member to provide their side of the story this blogger advised tht he didn't want their side. This is the result of a Mom trying to boost her daughter's sales and potentially stealing these donations since it was all going to her personal account and there would be no way to track it independently.
I just read this. I wanted to STEAL? Are you kidding me? Then why on earth would the Girls Scouts tell us to take CASH? Paypal has a paper trail. Cash is untraceable. You slanderous twit!
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
Thanks Jennifer. I agree also. It was actually the troop leader who contacted Council to tell them about Emma. I don't know why, though I have my suspicions.
Emma has turned this into an incredibly positive experience. She, with my supervision, is learning so much about the power of social media.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
That's great! You go Mom! Teach her the power of social media – and the power of HER! <3
Jennifer Quinn recently posted..Newborn Care — What to Check if Nursing Hurts
Thank you Jennifer!
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
This story is a complete fabrication. Emma's mom was advised of the guidelines prior to putting up the website. As the money from donations was going directly into the mom's pay pal account, there would be no way of knowing if the donations ever even got to the military. The council that this girl is in has a very successful donation program to the military and provided the opportunity for Emma's mom to use other electronic payment systems rather than her personal pay pal account. She didn't want to do that which leads me to believe that Emma's mom had other things in mind. Finally – your blogger who was supposed to get the whole story – doesn't even have the right bakery for the Council and when asked if he wanted the whole story – Richard advised that he didn't need the whole story. This is shotty journalism at it's worst and reflects poorly on millions of Girl Scouts that follow the rules and seeks to make a martyr out of a person unwilling to follow the rules . Finally – Girl Scouts did not treat the girl harshly at all. Their tweets were clear that she needed to follow the rules yet encouraging. And – if Emma is really 11, she is breaking Twitter's policies as you need to be 13 years old to have an account.
Karen, I have no idea who you are, but Emma is my daughter. We were not told that she could not accept donations. We were told she could not SELL cookies online. When I was contacted, I immediately responded and removed the Paypal payment processing. Why is it that I was told she should collect cash or checks instead for tracking purposes? How do you track cash? As for their successful program, I have been doing research today about the San Gorgonio Council. The CEO and CFO together make $200,000 a year! After taking out based on how the money is distributed, our girls have to sell 80,000 boxes of cookies just to pay those two salaries…and that is only for ONE council. How many councils are there nationwide? 100? Not to mention salaries for national. That is horrible.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
Karen,
Speaking of facts, let's be sure YOU have them correct.
1) I offered to have the Troop mother give me her additional "facts" in the forum which she engaged me. On Facebook. She did and when refuted, she deleted her comments and left. Why am I obligated to do a phone call? This is 2013 as I state in my article.
2) If her "facts" were correct, why did she delete them once confronted with the truth. I saw her text messages backing up the claims.
3) Why Karen did the mother decline?? Because the fees were almost twice as much and requires swipping of the donating person's card. How is she going to swipe MY card or others that wanted to donate to Emma's project when we are across the country and around the world???
4) Nobody ever said the council did not have a good donation program. The issue is that they commended a young girl for her actions and doing good, then pulled the rug out. Remember, she is not selling cookies through this project we promoted, she was getting donations for coolies for the TROOPS!
5) Before you go off talking about facts, I suggest you get them and keep the subject on the issue, not emotionally charged blabber.
The two top executives for the council you are defending so vigorously make a combined $200k per year. Where does that money comes from Karen? Well, it comes from a required 80,000 boxes of cookies sold by volunteer child labor.
And they can teach girls on and offline social skills and keep up to date with technology and the real world?
Robert and Kimberly – There is an electronic payment option offerend by your council – you do not only have to take checks and cash.Kimberly REFUSED to use it.
Kimberly – You asked about setting the website up prior to the sale and you were advised that you could not take money online. If it does not go through the Council's system, there is no way to track the donations and you could be taking that money to do who knows what with it.
When the Council attempted to work with you, you declined to do so and that is when Robert got involved – you wanted a hyped up story instead of solving the problem.
Robert – when you were contacted by Council (not the troop leader)you stated that you had the while story – after only speaking with Kimberly and you didn't want to hear any more.
Kimberly – the messages to your daughter were quite encouraging but at the same time advised her that she was not abiding by the rules. They were in no way harrassing.
Robert – Did Kimberly advise you that the reason her daughter was trying to drum up sales through donations was not altruistic but in an attempt to earn a computer, bike, and several trips offered by our Council? No, none of this came out in your piece because you want lies and half-truths only.
I just happened upon this blog today on Twitter — I am not involved at all other than reading the stories online.
Karen — Why is it okay for you to assume wrong doing on the part of Kimberly and her daughter? The Girl Scouts can't track cash donations either. In fact, a PayPal account could be requested and presented for much better tracking.
The Girl Scouts have set up a reward system for the most participation (sales/donations), as do most fundraisers, and now you are accusing an 11 year old girl's motivation as not being altruistic for participating? You don't know why she is participating…and I am fine with her getting a bike. We live in a world of work and reward.
It has been my experience that the accuser is usually guilty of the motivations of which they accuse others.
Jennifer Quinn recently posted..Newborn Care — What to Check if Nursing Hurts
Karen, again, who are you and why are you making statement as if you know me or Emma? How do you know what Emma wants? What you do not know: Emma has already publicly stated that she is donating whatever prizes she wins to an organization that helps children who lose a military parent. Emma knows what it is like to lose a parent. She had a kind, loving heart. You probably just do not recognize what that looks like.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
It would appear that Karen Willis is a fake name..making this commenter anonymous here as the exact same sentence structure can be found on Facebook under another name. I called the regional office..there is no Karen there so at the most this person is a troop mom, and would not have access to the full story.
Well I am the troop mom. Everythng Karen Willis has said is true. In the parent meeting before the cookie sale started all parents were advised of "NO PAY PAL". All parents signed a cookie guidlines contract. Everyone wants to hear the moms side of the story only. Robert has lied in his blog by stating that he has seen text messages that confirm this information. The mom was told over and over again to remove the paypal button, not the web page, by myself and the other co-leader. (We have text messages to prove that) When she refused to take off the button, it was my obligaation as a troop leader to notify the council of the situation. This mom was putting all of our troop girls in jeopardy by not abiding by the rules. Would you want your child to be penalized because of someone else? If everyone wants to call me a bad mom or bad leader because I am following the rules, then so be it. I did the right thing and I stand by it 100%. I removed my comments from Robert's blog because per him, my facts didnt matter so why give someone the opportunity to continue bashing me for following the rules. This has gotten way out of hand. I cant change the rules. All parents are fully aware of the rules when taking on the cookie sales. It is unfortunate that this parent has made a media spectical of something she started. I am blessed to have Emma in my troop. She is a wonderful girl and I will support her cookie sales as long as they follow the rules. Thank You!
Traci, I have never met, nor have I ever heard the name Karen Willis. Emma said she has never heard of your nor has she ever met you. Karen Willis is most likely just another of the fake names being used by Traci Molina.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
I never indicated that I worked for the Council. Karen Willis is my real name and I have met Kimberly on several occassions and have detailed knowledge of the situation. BOTH SIDES. She was given several options on how to make this work but she refused all of them. I believe that it was her intent all along to go public like this – to gain some notoriety for herself. I can also tell you that our council CEO and CFO make no where near what Kimberly is stating here or on Twitter.
I don't know you. Who are you? How have we met? I don't know a Karen Willis!
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
http://www.Guidestar.org THIS IS PUBLIC DATA. Look up Girl Scouts in Redlands, San Gorgonio Council. Check out 2010. 74,000 for the CFO and 120,000 for the CEO. 2011 was not a full year for the CEO because they had two CEOs, and only for part of the year since one was fired. Look at the years prior and you can bet I will be looking at this year's filing as soon as it is reported.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
Traci I always say there is two sides to every story so your only issue was the paypal button? That is easy enough to bypass..especially say if a grand parent who lives 5 states away or even in another country wants to support a scout. You see every yr thousands of boxes globally are bought with no scout present in the room. Tracked yes, sold yes but it is a long distance sale and there needs to be a better way to facilitate that. Was there another online payment option made available. Here in Canada I often send echecks to my scouts in Arizona..
Finally…Someone who listens….Yes, the only issue was her refusal to remove the PayPal button. She refused over and over again. As a troop leader, I hat to go to my council because she was putting the other troop girls in jeopardy of missing out on cookie sales. She could still have "customers" contact her and input there credit card information through the "FREE" girl scout credit card reader. Whether they were buying cookies or donations to the troops. I am just so overwhelmed on how I have become the bad guy. As a troop leader i held up my truth and loyalty, but still am getting bashed for it.
All of that is absolutely untrue Traci. Firstly, your name was never mentioned. For some reason, you are going around to every article, responing wit your name. This started when Emma got a tweet from National, praising her. She told your daughter. For whatever reason, you decided to turn her in to Council. NATIONAL said what she was doing was fine. When our local council told me to remove the button, I did. Immediately. However, you are the one who went to Council to have them tell me to take it down. As far as I knew, it was fine because we were not selling cookies online. If you were looking out for the troop and for Emma, and if you are truly "an honest and a loyal troop leader" then why did you give cases of cookies to your brothers girl friend, who works at Red Robin, to sell cookies for you? You made special advertising cards for Kaala and displayed them at Red Robin and when people, employees, restaurant guests asked to get cookies, the Red Robin employee (your brother's girlfriend) would take their money and give them cookies. So you are telling me that is OK with the Girl Scouts? Is that OK with Red Robin?
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
As well I have a huge issue with a person in charge of a National account calling out Emma on Twitter. Huge mistake in my opinion. But I also question Emma having a Twitter account as the legal age for both Facebook and Twitter is 13.
I checked with Twitter and they lifted the 13 year old age limit. Now it is parent consent. I absolutely supervise her Twitter account. She started it to follow One Direction. I actually watch all of my kids' social media accounts using Hootsuite.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
I'm proud of Traci for what she has done and she is an excellent mother and troop leader. There is no issue of jealousy here, nor is there a competition factor. This is an issue of following the rules that were set in place by the Girl Scouts, not Traci. Would it be fair if this troop were penalized for Kim's disregard for the rules? I would not want to see the rest of the girls be denied the credit they deserve for their legitimate hard work.
Kim has not told the truth about a lot of things and it really is unfortunate. Not to mention the way she has slandered Traci and posted her name on phone number on the internet. Who does that? And she continues to bad mouth the Girl Scout organization. Why be a part of it then if you feel that strongly. There are lots of other ways to be philanthropic and donate your time a resources to our troops. This has just been used as a springboard for her own notoriety as Karen Willis mentioned.
We all LOVE Emma and it's sad what this is doing to her friendships with our children. I just hope she learns the truth someday and realizes that Traci is not the villian she has been portrayed as. Character matters and hopefully Kim will learn that from this experience.
Who are you Justin and how do you know Emma enough to "love" her? Traci manipulated a situation, not for the troops well being, but for her twisted reasons. As for the rules, when Coucil told me to take down the Paypal button, I did. Immediately. How did I break the rules. NATIONAL said it was ok.
As for being a springboard, that is silly. I do social media for a living. You are grasping here.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys
Further @Justin and @karenwillis – Why is it that neither of you have contacted ME or Emma regarding this? You have just listened to Traci and not verified a single thing she had said.
Kimberly Reynolds recently posted..Premium Keys