COVID Pandemic Drives Girl Scout Cookie Sales Online
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - COVID-19 has changed the way so many of us operate.
One group particularly impacted is the Girl Scouts of Greater New York.
As CBS2's Kiran Dhillon reports, pandemic restrictions have meant the girls have had to shift their annual cookie sales entirely online.
Every year, 9-year-old Elyssa Wu and her younger sister Amelia take great pride in selling their Girl Scout cookies. But the pandemic has meant they've had to alter how they sell.
"I can't go door to door, talking to everyone," Elyssa said. "We have to stay six feet apart."
The girls are some of thousands in New York who have had to shift to selling cookies online due to COVID-19.
Now, interested buyers can find sellers by using a digital cookie connector app, and the scouts sell entirely through online stores.
"They came out of the gate so strong, embraced it and took on the challenge to say can we make this bigger and better than we have in the past by doing it all digital," said Girl Scouts of Greater New York CEO Meridith Maskara.
Maskara says the online initiative has been met with great success. Earlier this month, Troop 6000, the group that serves girls in the New York City shelter system, hit its goal of selling 1 million boxes of cookies after the initiative went viral.
"For the history of New York, this is absolutely shocking and record breaking," Maskara said.
Maskara adds while COVID-19 has brought about many challenges for the Girl Scouts, such as limited contact with their fellow members, the girls have remained positive and focused on giving back. That's one reason they're sending the cookies buyers purchase as donations this year to food pantries.
Elyssa Wu says while it's been a challenging year for her and her fellow scouts, it's also been rewarding helping the community.
"A bunch of people do things for us sometimes and we don't get it do things for them, but this year it's time for us to give back to them," Elyssa said.
Cookies can be purchased online from now until April. For more information, CLICK HERE.
CBS2's Kiran Dhillon contributed to this report.