FOLSOM, Calif. — As many Girl Scouts have turned to social media to sell cookies, Shannon Family Automotive started a trend in the Folsom community of buying ten boxes of Girl Scout cookies from any Girl Scout who comes in and gives a sales pitch.
Colleen Shannon, the owner of Shannon Family Automotive, started this trend five years ago to provide Girl Scouts with a place to step out of their comfort zone and safely talk to someone they aren't already familiar with.
As Shannon Family Automotive has a mission of providing a safe atmosphere in an industry some people are afraid of, they wanted to extend that mission into their Girl Scout buying program by providing the community with a safe, welcoming place to sell Girl Scout cookies.
"We realized that Girl Scouts rarely go door to door anymore and that most pitches come from parents," Shannon said. "It bothered us that an opportunity for young women was replaced by parents bringing cookie forms to the office."
Shannon hopes this opportunity gets girls off of social media and into real life to make sales.
Over the years, Shannon has found that giving girls the opportunity of a guaranteed sale, gives them the confidence to do their sales pitch.
"Any adult knows it's easier to sell something if you know the person will buy," Shannon said.
Shannon has already bought close to 200 boxes of cookies from Girl Scouts this year.
The business has decided to donate half of the cookies bought to Blue Star Moms, that's because a member of the Shannon Family Automotive business has family in the military.
After Shannon Family Automotive started this trend, many businesses across the Folsom community and the U.S. followed in their lead.
"We are incredibly humbled that other businesses have followed in our footsteps," Shannon said.
Evangeline Scott, with Reliance Home Loans in Folsom, is one of those businesses that decided to join in on this trend.
"This was an opportunity I knew I wanted to be a part of because supporting the Girl Scouts is supporting our future leaders," Scott told ABC10. "Talking with adults helps these young girls to boost their confidence."
Scott hopes to buy 400 boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year, approximately 150 more than she did in 2020.
"Something I do each year with the cookies I purchase, is I donate them to police officers, firefighters, and groups such as Blue Star Moms," Scott said.
