Girl Scouts selling cookies deserve a pay raise. With every box sold, Girl Scouts of Orange County (GSOC) Council receives $2.67, almost four times as much as what each troop receive. For each box, girls earn 71 to 85 cents, depending on how many the troop sells. With the $5 collected by every young girl, the money is unevenly distributed to the troop, baker, rewards and council.

“When a girl participates in the Cookie Program, she’s not only benefitting herself and her troop. She’s providing enriching experiences for all her Girl Scout sisters,” according to the GSOC Family Guide.

Although GSOC organizes and distributes booth sales and hosts events for girls, more money should go towards troops because of the effort they put in to sell cookies.

Council explains that some of the money made from each box goes toward Camp Scherman, an optional camp that Girl Scouts pay to attend. No cookie money should go towards Camp Scherman because of the expenses being paid by from scouts.

“I’m not sure why they’re putting money towards Camp Scherman,” local Girl Scout Mackenzie Moore said. “A lot of people haven’t been enjoying Camp Scherman recently with how they [organize the camp].”

As scouts get older, their projects and events cost more money. Most Gold Award projects, the highest award a girl can work toward in the program, cost considerable amounts, and without a different option to fundraise, girls have to earn most of this money from cookies.

Increasing the amount girls earn to $2 would greatly help GSOC troops when raising funds for outside activities and experiences. Although Council would earn $1.52 per box, they would still be able to fund what is needed for their facilities and girls who need financial help.