Downing an entire box of Thin Mints and having a few beers isn’t just part of your weeknight plans anymore. Now it’s going to a worthy cause.
Thursday’s Girl Scout Cookies and Beer takes over the entry pavilion at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to bring together two of your favorite carbohydrates, and raise money for Girl Scouts of Central Indiana in the process.
“We thought this would be something that our community would really embrace,” said Danielle Shockey, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana.
The all-local lineup of 10 craft breweries includes Sun King, Chilly Water, Taxman and Field Brewing. They’re all on-hand at the 21-and-over event to offer their own custom beer-cookie pairings.
“Why would we put the caramel apple beer from Sun King with a Samoa? They’re saying it’s going to taste a little like an apple pie in your mouth,” Shockey said. “In the craft brewing world, this is kind of their thing. They really get excited about what taste complements or contrasts different ingredients in food.”
Shockey says the peanut butter cookies, Do-si-dos and Tagalongs, have been very popular to pair. And many breweries are using their fruit-inspired beers for a peanut butter and jelly-esque palate. Another brewery is putting cinnamon-flavored beer with the Do-si-do for a Teddy Graham flavor.
And at the end of the night, guests will get the chance to vote on their favorite pairing.
This is GSCI’s first time planning an event like this, but Shockey said similar gatherings have been happening across the country.
While straightforward cookie sales go back to the girls themselves and their troops, Girl Scout Cookies and Beer will raise money for GSCI’s Program Assistance Grants. Those grants give support to scouts who may not be able to afford the program on their own and covers things like membership fees and uniform costs. They also go toward covering special programs and travel for local troops.
“Even if all the girls sold cookies – if every girl sold [the average] $129 worth back to her troop, there are still things that Girl Scouts might want to do,” Shockey said.
According to Shockey, Girl Scouts of Central Indiana provided roughly half a million dollars in grants to local Girl Scouts last year.
While this is one of GSCI’s bigger fundraisers, Girl Scout Cookie season is only getting started. Individual sales kicked off on January 12; booth sales start in early February, and sales go through the second weekend in March.
Both Shockey and Deana Potterf, the chief communications officer for GSCI, were scouts themselves, and they say the cookie sales program is a huge boon to girls’ entrepreneurial and social skills.
“I remember really coming out of my shell a little bit,” Potterf said. “It was one of the first times I remember learning how to work with and approach adults.”
For those who can’t make it out to the event, Shockey says the best way to help is just to support local scouts.
“The community needs to understand that when they’re buying a cookie from a girl entrepreneur…that they are really helping those girls set goals, think about how to communicate, how to sell, how to budget,” Shockey said. “If they support a girl, they are supporting the Girl Scouts.”
For more info on Girl Scout Cookies and Beer, you can head to its page on Eventbrite. Tickets cost $50 and can be purchased in advance.
Featured images via Shutterstock.
