Out of the more than 10,000 Girl Scouts in Queens, a Far Rockaway scout stood out above them all as the borough’s top seller of the world-famous Girl Scouts cookies this year.
The 2016-2017 cookie selling season marked the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts first selling cookies, and this season, Girl Scouts throughout the city have sold 1,444,797 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.
In total, 10,610 girls across the five boroughs participated in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. However, 10-year-old Jayda Crenshaw of Far Rockaway sold 1,000 boxes, making her the top seller in Queens during the 2016-2017 sales season.
Jayda has been selling cookies for more than five years. Jayda has learned that perseverance is the key to being successful and reaching your goals.
“I learned that to be a great businesswoman you have to talk to a lot of people,” Jayda said about becoming a top seller. “To other Girl Scouts I would say to never give up on reaching your goal and try to always do your best.”
To celebrate 100 years of selling cookies, a new s’mores cookie was added to the lineup. Additionally, the Girl Scouts of Greater New York (GSGNY) started a Cookie Executive Committee where Girl Scouts who have sold 500 boxes or more come together to discuss marketing tactics and lessons learned from selling cookies, provide feedback on the cookie program, and participate in cookie-selling decisions affecting their sister Girl Scouts.
GSGNY also recently expanded the cookie-donation program to include homeless shelters and local community service organizations, while continuing to partner with United Service Organizations (USO) and VA hospitals. Called the “Gift of Caring program,” it allows customers to spread joy to those in need while supporting local Girl Scouting.